Practice Plan Pack

60-Minute Basketball Practice Plan

Two complete one-hour practices for youth teams, minute by minute, plus how to adapt them when kids arrive late or the gym is shared.

Sixty minutes feels like plenty until you lose ten of them to arrivals, explanations and finding the balls. The trick is a fixed shape: the same blocks in the same order every week, with different drills dropped in. Players learn the routine, so you spend less time organising and more time coaching.

The shape of a one-hour practice

TimeMinBlockDrillCoaching point
0:00–0:055Arrival / free shooting
0:05–0:127Warm-up
0:12–0:208Ball handling
0:20–0:3010Skill block 1
0:30–0:333Water break
0:33–0:4310Skill block 2
0:43–0:5714Scrimmage / game
0:57–1:003Wrap-up

Roughly a third of the hour is skill work, a quarter is a game, and the rest is warm-up, ball handling and transitions. Ball handling comes early because every player needs a ball and it gets them moving the moment they arrive.

Plan A: Week 1 — Meet the team, ball control, layups

Goal: Everyone learns names, the practice routine and a right-hand layup.

TimeMinBlockDrill and focus
0:00–0:055Arrival and welcomeCircle up: names, practice rules (listen, hustle, encourage)
0:05–0:105Warm-upW4 Red Light, Green Light Dribble — Jump stop lands on two feet at the same time.
0:10–0:188Ball handlingB1 Stationary Ball Series — Fingertips, not the palm.
0:18–0:257Ball handlingB2 Cone Weave — Ball stays on the outside of your body away from the cone.
0:25–0:305Water breakQuick break; ask two players to explain the jump stop
0:30–0:4010FinishingS2 Layup Lines — Right side: right hand, jump off the left foot.
0:40–0:466ShootingS1 Form Shooting Close — Hold the follow-through until the ball lands.
0:46–0:5610GameB7 Sharks and Minnows — Use your body to shield the ball.
0:56–1:004Wrap-upOne thing we learned; next practice time

Plan B: Week 2 — Passing and catching

Goal: Clean two-hand chest and bounce passes with a target.

TimeMinBlockDrill and focus
0:00–0:044ArrivalFree shooting at close range
0:04–0:095Warm-upW1 Line Jog Ladder — Eyes up, talk to the person next to you.
0:09–0:156Ball handlingB1 Stationary Ball Series — Fingertips, not the palm.
0:15–0:238PassingP1 Partner Passing Series — Step toward your target as you pass.
0:23–0:296PassingP2 Monkey in the Middle — Fake high, pass low (or the reverse).
0:29–0:334Water breakWater, quick reset
0:33–0:418FinishingS2 Layup Lines — Right side: right hand, jump off the left foot.
0:41–0:5615ScrimmageT3 Controlled Scrimmage — A pass must be made before every shot
0:56–1:004Wrap-upShout-out for the best pass of the day

Drill IDs (W1, P1, S2…) match the cards on the drills page and in the pack.

When things don't go to plan

Half the team arrives late

Make the first block something players can join mid-way: free shooting or the stationary ball series. Never start a relay or team game until everyone is there.

You share the court

Choose half-court drills only: cone weave, form shooting, partner passing and 3-on-3 instead of a full scrimmage.

A drill falls apart

Don't stop and re-explain for two minutes. Switch to the card's easier version, let them succeed for a few reps, then step it back up.

You're running out of time

Cut minutes from skill block 2, never the scrimmage or the wrap-up. Finishing on a game keeps kids coming back.

Need more time on the court? See the 75 and 90-minute plans, or go back to the practice plan template to build your own.

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