Trail & Fill
Teach the trailing player to fill the back of the break for the kick-out three.
- Duration
- 10 min
- Steps
- 4
- Equipment
- 2 items
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
How to run it
- 1
A teammate breaks with the ball; you're the last one up the floor.
- 2
Trail the play to the top of the key, spotting up for a kick-out pass.
- 3
If the break doesn't score, you're the reset option — catch and shoot or reverse.
- 4
8 reps; rotate the trailer.
Coaching points
- Trail wide to the top, not behind the ball-handler.
- Spot up in shooting range, ready for the kick.
- If no kick, reverse the ball to start the half-court offense.
Equipment
- Basketball
- Full court
Why it works
The trailer is the safety valve of the fast break. The nugget: the break doesn't always score — the trailing shooter is the reset that turns a broken break into an open three. In a game, the defense collapses on the break, leaving the trailer wide open at the top. A kid who learns to trail and fill gets open kick-out threes that no defender accounts for. This is how good teams score even when the break is stopped.
Trail & Fill
Purpose: Teach the trailing player to fill the back of the break for the kick-out three.
▶How to run it
- 1A teammate breaks with the ball; you're the last one up the floor.
- 2Trail the play to the top of the key, spotting up for a kick-out pass.
- 3If the break doesn't score, you're the reset option — catch and shoot or reverse.
- 48 reps; rotate the trailer.
✓Coaching points
- ✓Trail wide to the top, not behind the ball-handler.
- ✓Spot up in shooting range, ready for the kick.
- ✓If no kick, reverse the ball to start the half-court offense.
▢Equipment
★Why it works
The trailer is the safety valve of the fast break. The nugget: the break doesn't always score — the trailing shooter is the reset that turns a broken break into an open three. In a game, the defense collapses on the break, leaving the trailer wide open at the top. A kid who learns to trail and fill gets open kick-out threes that no defender accounts for. This is how good teams score even when the break is stopped.