The Cutting Circle Drill is a continuous movement exercise where players rotate through multiple positions, making timed basket cuts from the perimeter. It helps improve spacing awareness, footwork, passing precision, and finishing under movement.
Objectives
- To link perception with decision making.
- To inculcate the habit of move after move.
Contents
- Boat
- Shot
- Pass
- Outputs
- Stops
- Step Zero
- Tickets to the basket
- Bounce
- Changes of hand
- Occupation of space (spacing)
- Synchronization (timing)
- Game without the ball
Recommended age
- From 10 years onwards (Minibasket: category alevín).
Number of players
- From 3 players forward.
Recommended time
- Recommended time: 4-6 minutes.
Equipment and facilities
- 1 ball available for each group.
- Can be performed in an open space or in court.
- You can place cones or rings or paint on the ground with chalk so that the players have some reference in the early stages of learning (aims to acquire the concept of the right to occupy spaces instead of locations. In this way connect better to the pattern which league game without a ball with the occupation of spaces).
Initial layout and description
One player from each group with a ball. The entire group will have identified what type of geometric shape have to maintain and/or adopt.
- If the group is of 3 people, they will make a triangle.
- If the group is 4 people, will make a square.
- If the group is of 5 people, make a pentagon.
- If the group is 6 people, will be a hexagon, and so on.
- At this point it should be noted that if we want to capture the attention of the entire group, can reach up to 12 players. For effective practice are recommended for groups of 5-6. You can even request that a player is under the ring and say to their companions where you are going player with the ball and the rest of the players without the ball decides accordingly to the guidelines previously agreed to (all of them combined).
The player with the ball starts a movement towards a partner. That partner should react by releasing the space and having to find another couple to the whole group keeps the shape intact. It is ideal for working out also the notions of teamwork, cohesion and synchronization.
Variants
- The coach, or a team-mate (‘surplus’) who is outside, give a signal and changes only the direction of the displacement.
Notes:
- You can start with a pilla-pilla. Then put a few cones (by drawing a geometric shape, and saying that the interior of this form cannot be stepping on/through. Finally, you can link with this exercise removing the pilla-pilla (can be put between the two exercises, the exercise of Ways intact).
- It can also perform first game of the 4 corners and then bind with the exercise of circle cuts.
- This exercise is a great way to start to introduce how to play 5 open so characteristic of mini-basket.
Cedric Arregui GuivarchNational Coach of Basketball (CES 2014)
