Playing positions and a game that follows instructions

1Why this matters

Five good dribblers do not make a good team. A team works when each player knows their job, knows where to stand, and follows the plan the teacher or captain has given. This session sets out the court, the five positions and the rules you need for a match, then puts them together in a class game played to instructions.

2The court and the game

• Under FIBA rules the court is 28 m long and 15 m wide, and the top of each ring is 3.05 m above the floor.
• Each team has five players on court. Substitutions are unlimited, but they happen only when play is stopped.
• A FIBA game has four quarters of 10 minutes. It starts with a jump ball: the referee tosses the ball up between two opponents in the centre circle, and each tries to tap it to a teammate.
• A basket scores 2 points from inside the three-point line, 3 from beyond it (6.75 m from the basket), and a free throw scores 1.

Figure 3. A FIBA court, with one typical starting shape for the five attackers. Diagram: Ganzaa.

3The five positions

The rules do not name any positions, but teams use five roles, known by number:

Players 1 and 2 are called guards; 3 and 4 are forwards. Many modern coaches want every player to be able to pass, dribble and shoot, whatever their number.

4Playing to instructions

In a class game, your teacher sets instructions to practise a skill. Examples: "every player must touch the ball before a shot"; "guard one opponent each, and stay between that player and the basket"; "when you lose the ball, all five sprint back behind halfway". Following them matters more than the score: they are the lesson.

The whistle always means stop. Hold the ball, stand still and listen.

Worked example

Instruction: "every player touches the ball before a shot." Ishimwe's team passes twice and she scores a lay-up. Only three of the five players have touched the ball.

Decision. In this class game the basket does not count and the ball goes to the other team. Her team should count passes aloud and look for the players who have not yet touched the ball.

5The session (about 40 minutes)

Warm-up (8 minutes). Jog, side-step and back-pedal along the court lines. Then, in threes, pass the ball up the court while jogging, without dribbling, and finish with a lay-up.

Positions walk-through (7 minutes). In teams of five, stand in the shape in Figure 3. The teacher calls a number; that player explains their job in one sentence and receives a pass in their spot. Then every player moves one number up and repeats.

Class game (20 minutes): 3 against 3, half court.

• Teams of three; one ring per game. Other students referee, keep score and keep time, and rotate in every 4 minutes.
• Class rule: when the defence wins the ball, it must take the ball back beyond the three-point line before it may score. 3x3 basketball uses a similar rule.
• Instruction for round 1: every player touches the ball before a shot. Round 2: guard one opponent each. Round 3: the teacher's choice.
• The referee calls travelling, double dribble and fouls, and the ball goes to the other team.

Cool-down (5 minutes). Walk, stretch the calves, thighs and shoulders for 20 seconds each, and then each team names one instruction it followed well and one it found hard.

6Safety and fair play

• Basketball is a game of limited contact: play the ball, not the player. Pushing, holding and hitting arms are fouls.
• Keep space around the court, and bags and benches well away from the lines.
• Shake hands with the other team at the end, and thank the referee.

Practice

Solution. The point guard, number 1.

Solution. 2 points. The line belongs to the two-point area; a three-pointer must be taken from beyond it.

Solution. Wait until play is stopped, for example after a foul or when the ball goes out, then come on.

Solution. Spread out and stand in your own spot, as in Figure 3, so that the dribbler always has someone free to pass to.