The Three-Man Weave

By Paul Tayvar eteamz.com

Principles of the Drill:

The Three-Man weave is one of the most common ways in which coaches begin their practices. Along with the fastbreak drill, it is an excellent way of warming the players up, while at the same time having them work on their fundamentals. This drill helps develop a player’s ability to pass the ball sharply and efficiently while moving at high speeds; while the second part of the drill works on his ability to move quickly and effectively from offense to defense.

How to Run the Drill:

Have one player stand directly beneath the basket with the ball; have the two other players, one on each side, flank him, outside both three-point lines. SPACING IS KEY IN THIS DRILL.

Have the player in the middle pass the ball to one of the other players’, and have him follow his pass. In other words, if the player in the middle throws to the player to his right, then, as the ball is in the air, he is running towards that player. The player who has caught the ball, meanwhile, is moving in a sharp diagonal line towards the center of the floor, as he passes the ball to the man on the opposite side of the floor, who is moving diagonally ahead of him. The player who was initially in the middle, has now moved behind the man he threw the ball to, while the man now throwing the ball will proceed to move behind the player that he has passed to. Ideally, the movements of the three players make a type of amoebic figure-eight as they move down the floor, constantly moving behind the player that they just passed to. At the other end of the floor, after the last player to catch the ball lays the ball into the basket, that player runs back to play defense, and the other two players now run a two on one fastbreak against the player who laid the ball in.

This, again, much like the fastbreak and one-on-one drills, works on the players’ abilities to move from offense to defense in quick and effective fashion, while at the same time improving the players offensive abilities in successfully running a fastbreak when the opportunity presents itself.