3-man weave
Basketball drill · Under-11 and up
Three players, three lanes, one ball and no dribbling. Pass to the player beside you and run behind them, and keep weaving until the ball arrives at the basket. It is a passing drill, a conditioning drill and a fast-break drill in one.
Adding it to a session puts it on your run sheet with its time and cue. It does not use up one of your saved plays.
- Time
- 10 minutes
- Players
- 3 at a time, with lines of 3 waiting at halfcourt
- Equipment
- 1 basket
- 1 ball per group of 3
Setup
- Three lines on the halfcourt line: one in the middle with the ball and one on each sideline.
- The middle player passes to one wing and runs behind that player into their lane.
- The receiver catches on the move, passes to the player in the far lane and runs behind them.
- Keep weaving without dribbling until the ball reaches the basket, and finish with a layup.
- On a full court, the next group goes as soon as the first has scored; run it back the other way.
Coaching points
- Pass ahead of the receiver so they catch it running, not standing.
- Always go behind the player you passed to. That is the whole weave.
- Run wide in your lane, near the sideline, so the floor stays spread.
- Talk: call the name of the player you are passing to.
On the run sheet: Pass and go behind the player you passed to; lead the receiver, no dribbles
Progressions
- Set a limit on passes, such as five before the layup, then fewer.
- No ball may touch the floor; a dropped pass sends the group back to the start.
- Finish the weave as a 3-on-2 against two defenders waiting at the other end.
How it runs
The middle player passes to one wing and immediately runs behind them, filling the lane that wing has just left. The wing catches on the move, cutting towards the middle, and passes to the player in the opposite lane, then runs behind that player in turn. Nobody dribbles; the ball moves up the floor by passing alone, and the three lanes keep swapping until somebody receives it close enough to the basket for a layup. The animation shows the weave from halfcourt to the finish.
It looks chaotic the first time a group tries it. Walk it through once without a ball, then once at half speed with one, and it clicks.
Why it has lasted
Very few drills train passing and running at full speed at the same time, and this one does nothing else. It teaches players to lead a team-mate with the pass, to catch on the move and to fill lanes in transition, which is exactly what a fast break asks of them, and the running makes it honest conditioning without anyone having to run a suicide.
The mistakes to watch for
Passing to where the receiver is rather than where they are going, running in front of the receiver instead of behind, and lanes that collapse into the middle so all three players end up in a line.
More basketball drills
Put 3-man weave in Tuesday's session
It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.
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