Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill

The Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill is a great activity for players to utilise in learning how to attack the basket. Often in basketball players are presented with scoring opportunities very briefly before the advantage is lost. The Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill looks to provide players with an opportunity to catch a pass and attack the basket at pace. This lay-up drill focuses on the position on players being on the wing at either the foul line extended or the long corner.

The Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill starts by the coach placing four cones on the floor just inside the three-point line, in line with the basket at the baseline and at the foul line extended. The cones are for the player to cut around before turning to attack the basket.

The player starts under the basket and upon the cue from the coach runs out and around a cone.

The coach will perform the pass to the player so as the player comes around the cone they catch the ball and move straight into a drive to the basket. Preparation by the player in turning around the cone is vital. A player should plant their closest foot to the cone upon reaching the marker angled so they are starting to turn tight and as soon as possible.

As coach should be asking a player to as quickly as possible start to also gain vision of the basket so they can assess the movement of the defence and possible options available. Players should be able to turn, watch the ball into their hands and then focus quickly on the driving lane as they start to take the first dribble.

The aim of the player to catch and attack the basket is in one quick and succinct movement. One dribble is all the player is allowed in driving to basket for the lay-up. This should force the player to become very efficient with their movement towards the basket and body positioning coming off of the cone.

There are a few options for shooting the ball, these include:

• Lay-up
• Floater
• Jump Shot

All of these offensive shooting techniques should be performed by the player within the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill. This will ensure the player achieves the most benefit for the activity.

In the diagram above the player (One) have cut over the cone in the long corner, caught the pass and taken one dribble for either the floater or jump shot.

In the diagram above, the player (One) is demonstrating curling off the cone at the foul line extended and driving to the basket for a lay-up.

A coach will really want to see a player attacking the basket at pace during the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill. Form the foul line extended position like in the diagram above the player (One) will catch the pass, take one dribble, and then accelerate into two steps before performing the lay-up.

Often overlooked by players, but once the ball is picked up the player should be able to accelerate to the basket. By performing this activity correctly and continuing to accelerate to the basket during the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill, the player will better prepare themselves for doing this during a game.

Variations

One of the options for the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill is to use this activity with a conditioning focus as well. This might before example that a player perform the lay-up drill at full pace for two minutes trying to reach a specific target of made shots or better a previous score.

Another option which can be used to vary the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill is to add a defender into the activity. The defender can be placed along the split line at the foul line or directly in front of the coach. The defender becomes “live” only when the offensive player catches the ball. This will provide an open driving lane to the basket for the offensive player while still providing some defensive pressure.

A defender can also be placed under the basket with the offensive player and must run around any cone before taking part in playing defence. This provides some incentive for the defender to work all the more harder at running in the drill. Additionally for the offensive player this also means the defender will be recovering from different angles on the floor that is always useful in helping the player to deal with the help defence. The defender is allowed to run around the same cone as the offensive player in this variation of the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill. Even in this variation if the offensive player chooses to perform a jump shot instead of attempting a lay-up they will still do so under the pressure of knowing the defender is closing out to them. This mental pressure is sometimes hard to simulate in training sessions and so is a valuable option especially for younger players.

The Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill provides a very specific opportunity for players to work on attacking the basket at pace. This will be of great benefit for junior and senior players alike in helping with perfecting good catching footwork as well as developing a habit of always looking to attack first, instead of being overly hesitant. If a player is perimeter orientated, but without a strong outside shot, then the Catch and Go Wing Lay-up Drill is for you!

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