Running Set Plays in Your Rec Basketball League

There is a paradoxical nature to most recreational basketball leagues. Everyone wants to win and wants to do everything they can to win…. except for practicing to win.

Most recreational basketball teams don’t have any set offensive plays, and those that do generally played together in high school and are just running through the plays they know. The latter folks are fine, it is the former that should probably get together outside of a game day to run through some plays.

Now, I am not saying that your team needs to go out and practice 4 hours a day, but one good practice running a simple play against both a man and a zone D will really help your team succeed. So instead of guys just running around and hoping to get open, they will be able to find seams in the D or create openings for their teammates and the results will be exponential.

If there is someone on your team who played any organized ball, have them teach you one easy man offensive scheme and one easy zone offensive scheme. If there is nobody on your team who played organized ball, or if no one can remember plays, then You Tube is a great source for finding short demonstration of plays. If you type in “Youth Basketball Offense” or some iteration of that into the You Tube search engine you will be able to find many easy-to-learn offenses. (I suggest ‘youth’ since the plays are generally easier to run and remember).

When looking at plays, remember that you are probably only going to be playing one hour a week with the plays, so don’t try and find the most complicated. Any offense with motion in it should do just find, so find one you like that looks easy to remember and fun to run and get going.

Keep sporting!
- Who’s In First