Q: I am coaching a Middle School Boys Team in a unique situation. We have 5 practices each week (7-8 hours total). We have 16 players and access to only 1 hoop. Do you have any advice on how to manage this coaching situation in terms of teaching the Read and React? Thanks for any help you can give.

A: With 16 players and 1 hoop, you’ll have to get a little creative, but it’s not too difficult. Most of the 3-player drills can use just one side of the goal, meaning you could have another group on the other side of the goal doing the same drill (mirror image). Instead of 3 player drills, you’ll need a line that feeds into the drill. When players rotate out of the drill, then they go to the end of the line on the other side of the floor. This way, they’ll get work on both their right and left hands, right and left handed lay-ups, etc. depending on which side of the goal they are on.

Also, you can spend more time with 5 players against 0 defenders and 5 players against 5 “dummy” or “shell” defenders and rotate a new 5 in every possession: offense to defense, defense to the half-line to wait, and new team comes in on offense. In this manner, you are working 10 players at a time with only 5 or 6 standing and waiting. Of course you can turn this into LIVE action, but my point is that you can drill the first 5 layers 5 players at a time and always have 5 defensive players guarding the offense. Tell the defense to not touch the ball, but instead to be in a stance, move in a stance, be in the right position, and block out and rebound when a shot is taken. Even though 90% of your attention may be on the offense, at least your defense is getting some work and everything is a little more game-like.