What’s so great about our Fast Play and 3v3 Programs?

Players need opportunities to play basketball in a setting that has lower risk, more space, and MORE time with the ball.  Our Fast Play small and 3v3 programs do exactly that. In typical 5 on 5 games, players play about half the game and with 5 players on the court, most players have the ball 5% of the game or less. That is not a lot of opportunity to create, take risks, and build experience needed to translate to competitive 5 on 5 basketball!

Our programs are designed to create lots of possessions, lots of time with the ball, and an environment for players to take risks. We want our players to take chances and learn from the outcome. Most leagues and teams are not designed for player development. Consider these points contrasting our Fast Play and 3v3 format vs 5 on 5 league play:

4v4 and 3v3

• Players have more opportunities to handle the ball, make decisions, and score simply because there are fewer players
• The court is more open in 3 on 3 providing more space for basketball actions like driving, passing, screening, and cutting
• Decisions are simpler, helping players learn
• College and professional teams practice in 3 on 3 and 2 on 2 formats so players can learn how to read situations
• 3 on 3 helps teach defense. Defenders must move their feet to stay in front of the offensive players because it is easier to drive and there is more space
• A Feel for the game is developed through repetitions, decisions, and experience. 3 on 3 provides more opportunity for Feel to be developed

5 on 5

• Players have the ball in their hands far less. Often less than 5% of a game
• Spacing is poor because there are 10 players congesting the half court
• Screening and cutting actions are difficult because young players feel for the game and skills aren’t developed
• Spacing is hard to achieve without efficient shooting and young players struggle to shoot consistently with range
• Players’ ability to pass and catch are still developing further making spacing difficult

These reasons and more are why we believe 3 on 3 is one of the best formats to learn how to play and have fun! Some of my most fond memories of basketball were playing 3 on 3 with my friends!

Here’s a few more reasons why our Fast Play and 3v3 Programs are great!

• Focus on principles of play that teach players how to play modern basketball without the need for set plays and structured offense
• Constraints led approach to teaching principles (players learn through specific rules or scoring methods to incentivize behavior)
• Representative play in small sided games
• High time on task with lots of playing time and little down time
• Teams adjusted each night to keep things fresh and give players different looks