In this section, I’ll be sharing edited versions of top international coaching clinics, specifically focusing on the on court drills and teaching progressions. Rather than sitting through an hour-long presentation, you’ll get a condensed, drill focused edit.
The goal is to highlight how elite coaches teach individual skills (1v0) and then layer those into small-sided games (1v1, 2v2, 3v3) to build habits that directly translate to the 5v5 game context.
December 8, 2025
Importance of Passing
This coaching clinic led by Nenad Trunić, renowned FIBA instructor and international coaching expert, provides a detailed and practical breakdown of one of basketball’s most fundamental skills: the pass. Trunić goes beyond basic technique, exploring how passing shapes offensive flow, spacing, advantage creation, and overall team efficiency.
Through demonstrations, teaching cues, and situational breakdowns, he highlights:
- how to improve passing mechanics and consistency
- how to read defenders and anticipate movement
- how timing, precision, and decision-making elevate player IQ
- how to turn each pass into an offensive advantage rather than a routine action
This masterclass blends technical execution with high-level game understanding, making it valuable for coaches and players who want to build smarter, more dynamic offensive systems.
November 13, 2025
Developing Elite Athletes with the Constraints Led Approach: Insights from Mel Downer
Mel Downer, Head Coach of the Basketball Australia Women’s Centre of Excellence, is at the forefront of high-performance player development in Australia. With a wealth of experience coaching across the WNBL, national teams, and elite development programs in both Australia and New Zealand, Coach Downer has guided some of the country’s top emerging female athletes toward success at the highest levels.
In this clinic, Coach Downer focuses on the Constraints Led Approach (CLA) — a coaching methodology that emphasizes designing practice environments where players can adapt, problem-solve, and make decisions under realistic game constraints. Rather than prescribing exact movements, CLA encourages athletes to explore solutions, develop game intelligence, and improve skill execution under pressure.
Coach Downer illustrates how coaches can manipulate constraints such as time, space, or rules to challenge athletes in specific ways. By adjusting these factors, players are encouraged to make decisions as they would in real game situations, promoting autonomy, creativity, and resilience. The approach bridges the gap between practice and competition, ensuring skills are not only learned but transfer effectively to live game scenarios.
The clinic also highlights practical examples from elite women’s basketball, showing how CLA principles are applied in team drills, small-sided games, and situational scrimmages. From fostering effective decision-making in fast-break situations to developing defensive adaptability, Downer emphasizes that high-performance coaching is about guiding athletes through meaningful challenges, not just drilling skills repetitively.
For coaches and aspiring players alike, this session offers a comprehensive understanding of CLA, its benefits for player development, and actionable ways to integrate it into practice sessions. Whether you’re looking to improve tactical awareness, enhance problem-solving skills, or elevate your athletes’ performance under pressure, Mel Downer’s insights provide a clear roadmap for applying evidence-based coaching principles in basketball.
Clinic Notes: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Y20aZQIBu6aWTej-qzlGeskTWIwZMdF/view
Watch the full session below:
October 26, 2025
Lessons from Allen Whitehart
Allen Whitehart, head coach of the Milton High School boys’ basketball team, is sharing his expertise on attacking zone defenses a skill every coach and player should understand. In a recent video breakdown, Whitehart dives deep into his philosophy and practical strategies for overcoming common zone setups.
Growing the Game
Whitehart begins by emphasizing the importance of basketball education and growing the game at the high school level. His approach highlights not just winning, but teaching players to read defenses, make smart decisions, and develop basketball IQ.
Zone Offense Philosophy
Before jumping into tactics, Whitehart outlines the philosophy behind his zone offense. Key points include:
- Reading the defense and exploiting weak spots.
- Encouraging movement without the ball to create openings.
- Using spacing and timing as weapons against zones.
2-3 Zone Offense Strategies
Against a traditional 2-3 zone, Whitehart emphasizes:
- High post positioning: Placing a player at the free-throw line area to act as a pivot and passing hub.
- Overloading one side: Shifting offensive players to create mismatches and confusion.
- Quick ball movement: Swinging the ball rapidly to stretch the zone and open scoring lanes.
- Backdoor cuts and baseline runners: Exploiting gaps created by defensive shifts.
3-2 Zone Offense Strategies
Facing a 3-2 zone, he recommends:
- Perimeter shooting threats: Using guards and wings to punish the outer zone.
- Penetration and kick-out: Driving to the gaps and finding open shooters.
- Weak-side overloads: Drawing defenders away from key areas to create open shots.
Whitehart’s breakdown demonstrates that success against zones requires a combination of spacing, movement, and patience. It’s not about forcing shots, it’s about reading the defense and executing with precision.
For coaches and players looking to improve their zone offense, Whitehart’s video is a masterclass in preparation, strategy, and teaching the fundamentals that make a team effective against any zone.
September 28, 2025
Attacking Options and Drill Breakdown vs. Switch Defense
Switching on defense is one of the most critical skills for modern basketball teams. Done correctly, it neutralizes pick and roll threats, disrupts offensive flow, and forces opponents into contested shots. However, executing switches effectively requires coordination, communication, and understanding team defensive principles.
In this video from the 2025 FIBA NBA BWB Asia Coaching Clinic in Singapore, Coach Ron Nored demonstrates how to attack switching defenses through a series of practical drills. These drills cover positioning, anticipation, and decision making, showing how players can exploit switches while emphasizing spacing, timing, and reading defensive rotations.
This clinic is perfect for coaches and players looking to improve their offensive adaptability against switching defenses. Watch the video to gain insights and ideas you can implement in your practices to teach players how to read switches, attack mismatches, and make quick, smart decisions on the court.
August 24, 2025
Jackie Carson on Player Development
This clinic video features Jackie Carson, former women’s basketball coach for the Furman Paladins, as she shares a series of player development drills for small group workouts. Coach Carson walks through practical and competitive drills that build finishing, ball handling, and shooting skills in ways that apply directly to game situations.
The clinic is broken into clear sections, starting with finishing around the basket from Mikans and reverse Mikans to power and flick finishes, as well as positional and paint finishing. She then transitions to guard specific dribble moves, scoring concepts out of the 5 Out offense, and finishes with both competitive team shooting drills and individual skill work.
What makes this session valuable is that it balances fundamental skill building with competitive elements, pushing players not only to refine their technique but also to apply those skills under pressure.
Whether you’re coaching a small group workout or leading a full team session, these drills can easily be adapted to fit your environment and help your athletes grow in confidence and execution.
Check out the video below to see Coach Carson’s full breakdown.
August 4, 2025
Coaching Clinic Breakdown (Italy, 2016)
On December 5, 2016, renowned Italian basketball mind Renato Pasquali delivered a powerful coaching clinic in Italy one that still holds strong relevance for coaches around the world today.
Coach Pasquali has been a key figure in Italian and European basketball for decades, known not only for his tactical depth but also for his philosophical approach to teaching the game. He has served in various roles, including as a head coach, assistant, and technical director within the Italian Basketball Federation and top tier clubs like Virtus Bologna. What makes him stand out is his emphasis on player development, basketball intelligence, and the mental side of competition.
In this clinic, Pasquali dives deep into key principles that shape winning habits, both for teams and individual athletes. The session is rich with conceptual frameworks, on court drills, and coaching wisdom that go beyond the X’s and O’s.
Whether you’re a new coach trying to build your foundation or an experienced one looking to evolve, this clinic offers timeless insight.
Watch the full breakdown video below.
August 3, 2025
Defensive Progression with Andrea Capobianco
Andrea Capobianco is widely respected in European basketball circles for his meticulous defensive teaching and progressive practice design. As the former head coach of the Italian Women’s National Team, he is known for blending tactical detail with an ability to communicate clear expectations to his players.
This video is an edited version of Capobianco’s defensive clinic, organized drill by drill, with explanations of how and why each segment builds toward the next. From individual closeouts and footwork to full team rotations and help coverage, you’ll see exactly how he layers defensive concepts to create cohesive habits.
If you’re serious about improving your team’s defensive understanding and want to see a proven progression in action, this is an excellent resource.
Watch the complete clinic below. All credit to Coach Capobianco for sharing his philosophy and to the original organizers of the clinic.
August 2, 2025
The Evolution of the Big: Developing the Modern Post Player
In today’s game, the role of the “big” has radically transformed. No longer limited to low-post duties, post players are now expected to be mobile, skilled, and intelligent decision makers contributing across the entire floor on both ends.
This blog explores the individual development of post players, supported by real training footage from Partizan and FMP professional clubs. These videos reflect the coaching philosophies and development methods used in Serbia to elevate their frontcourt players into modern, multi dimensional threats.
1v1 Battles in the Paint
Partizan and FMP place strong emphasis on post players winning physical, strategic battles in tight spaces. Training focuses on:
- Establishing deep seals
- Using footwork and angles to create finishing space
- Executing counters and pivot moves
- Scoring through contact and pressure
- Reading second defenders
It’s about mastering close quarters combat a skillset that’s increasingly rare but game changing.
Pick and Roll Movement
In both clubs, bigs are taught to be active thinkers in pick and roll situations not just screen setters.
Drills highlight:
- Sprinting into screens with timing and spacing
- Identifying defensive coverages (switch, drop, hedge)
- Making short roll passes or scoring reads
- Slipping or popping when appropriate
- Playing out of dynamic 2 man actions at game speed
These teams value post players who act as connectors within the offensive flow.
Off-Ball Activity Around the Hoop
The Serbian system emphasizes movement without the ball duck-ins, dive cuts, and spacing reactions based on how defenses rotate.
Players are taught:
- How to relocate along the baseline
- When to crash from the weak side
- How to open space by dragging help defenders
- Using short bursts of movement to create layups or draw fouls
This off-ball instinct is a hallmark of efficient frontcourt play.
The New-Age 5: Mobile, Tough, Smart
Both Partizan and FMP challenge their post players to be complete athletes
- Run the floor
- Defend in space
- Make decisions at the elbows or short roll
- Read help defenders
- Rebound aggressively
- Space the floor when needed
It’s no longer enough to just be tall and strong today’s bigs must think, move, and impact the game in layers.
Drills That Build Elite Post Players
The videos below include real training examples from Partizan and FMP.
They feature:
- 1v1 finishing drills
- Pick and roll spacing and reaction work
- Passing drills for bigs
- Off-ball cutting sequences
- Interior decision making drills
- Competitive live reps
Each drill is designed to mirror the real situations players face in 5v5 settings.
Scroll down to watch
These aren’t theoretical diagrams they’re authentic, high level coaching methods that develop post players capable of thriving in modern basketball systems.
Whether you’re a coach or a player, take notes. The big man position isn’t dying it’s evolving.
July 21, 2025
Practical Drills with Game Transfer
Today’s featured sessions:
- Cristian Santander (Argentina), showing detailed progression from skill acquisition to 1v1 application, with a focus on footwork, spacing, and decision making.
- Nenad Trunić (Serbia), bridging technical fundamentals with live play, emphasizing how to use constraint based drills to develop tactical understanding.
These are ideal for coaches looking to improve player development frameworks that go beyond static drills and for players aiming to connect their individual training to game performance.
Cristian Santander (Argentina)
Nenad Trunic (Serbia)
Clinic #1:
Clinic #2:
fatihakser.ca 