YOUTH
ADULT
YOUTH
Why 3×3 Basketball for Youth
If you think about it, 3 on 3 HALF-COURT basketball makes a lot of sense.
It will improve a youth player’s long-term development for a number of reasons.
It will improve a youth player’s long-term development for a number of reasons.
1. Players touch the ball more often.
- In the 5 on 5 game, players can go almost the whole game without touching the ball. In 3 on 3, you could touch the ball EVERY possession. When the player gets more experience handling the ball during game situations, the player is going to improve much more than the players who hardly touch the ball in 5 on 5. It doesn’t matter if you are the point guard or the star post player, you’re still going to get more touches in 3 on 3.
- Players in a 3-on-3 game will have to make more decisions, be more responsible and accountable for their team’s success, and will be forced into having to find ways to score the ball. This is crucial for a young player’s development. Humans learn by making mistakes and adapting, and basketball players are not any different. 3-on-3 gives them more opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them.
2. More room to operate.
- A lot of younger players, especially under the age of 12 don’t have the skill, strength, or experience to utilize their basketball skills with 10 players on the court. 3 on 3 gives them more room to operate, more space.
- Because there are less players on the floor, that means there is more space for players to use their moves and skills. This is really key because a lot of players never try new moves or develop their skills in traditional 5-on-5.
3. Players learn the game!
- When there are only six (3 on 3) players on the court, players are more inclined to run the pick-and-roll, screen away, and screen the ball without a coach even telling them to do so, because there are fewer options out there.
- After a while, they will start to figure things out for themselves which is FANTASTIC and exactly what you want the players to do. With ten (5 on 5) players on the court, a lot of those options aren’t there, because they lack the skill, strength, and experience. Now, with fewer players on the court, it gives them a split second longer to recognize a situation.
- There is less emphasis on winning, less pressure, less intense coaching. 3-on-3 basketball is about development and learning how to create space and breakdown defenders. There are not any crazy coaches screaming at a player to get into a spot for a play or for a zone defense. As a result, players are less afraid of making mistakes and more likely to be more offensively aggressive, which usually leads to players breaking out of their shells and growth to new levels.
- You learn the basic and most common movements in basketball. The pick and roll, the down screen, the dribble hand off, the weave, the backscreen, slips, backdoors, are all some of the most basic and common types of movements and actions that happen in basketball. In 3-on-3, these movements happen ALL the time, which helps players master those movements and the ways to score off of those movements. It also helps players understand floor spacing.
- Forces players to play better defense. In traditional 5-on-5, players can get away with lazy defense because they know their teammates will be there to help. But, in 3-on-3, players learn how to play individual on-ball defense and how to fight through screens.
4. No pressing & zones.
- Now, instead of spending time on breaking full court pressure, breaking half-court pressure, playing against a 1-3-1, playing against 3-2, playing against a 2-3, playing against a triangle-and-two, playing against a box-and-one, you can focus on the FUNDAMENTALS. Youth coaches waste so much of their precious time working on things that they shouldn’t worry about at an early age.
In other words, 3-on-3 basketball is such a critical component of effective youth basketball development, yet it is not being used enough by players, coaches, and programs. That is why we are making an effort at bringing it back!
ADULT
Adult 3×3 Basketball
For adults, reducing the court to a half-court game gives more time and touches of the ball with less up-and-down the court trips. More shooting, passing and rebounding; less running back and forth.
Half the Court- Twice the Fun.
This doesn’t require the same degree of substitution that 5 on 5 requires. This results in smaller teams (4-5 members per team), more minutes of actual touches of the ball, more fun for all involved.
Games are quick- 15-20 minutes max, with teams playing multiple games per session, 2 or 3 is usual.
3×3 is a fast, action packed game that is fun to play as well as fun to watch.
Adult divisions have the following available groupings: 19+ men, 19+ women, 30+ men, and 6’ and under men.
