First, we gathered around a table out on the floor. With my clipboard, I used some tokens (pennies and dimes) that they could move around on the clipboard. I let the kids set up the board and helped them with placing the defense in a 2-3 zone. Then I told them to set the offense markers in a 1-3-1. I had one orange marker for the person with the ball.
Then I let them figure out where the gaps in the zone are. So every time they would position the offense, I would then move the defense and then they would have to find the gaps again. They really got into this, like playing checkers. Then we went out onto the court to practice what they discovered on their own. Amazingly, the kids came up with the same offensive scheme that I had devised, and it is diagrammed in the drawings below.
Now, on the court, I used hula hoops and some old car floor mats that I threw down in the gaps so they could see where to move to. Having these visuals seemed to help them understand where to move on the floor. One caution: players could trip and injure themselves with these objects on the floor, so we just used them in "walk through" ball rotations, not up to speed.
First things to stress to the kids: you beat the zone by quick passing and movement, and avoid unnecessary dribbling (which allows the zone to recover). Dribble only to penetrate a gap, or improve a passing angle, or to get out of trouble. Offensive rebounding is very important since the zone defenders do not have clear-cut box-out assignments (as in a man-to-man).
Now study the diagrams below, and at the end I will give you just a few simple rules.
This zone offense starts with a 1-3-1 offensive set where our offense is already positioned in the gaps. One tip: your high post O4 might initially be positioned along the lane, and then as the point guard brings the ball into the forecourt, O4 flash cuts to the high post at the free-throw line.
Make sure the wings are high and wide, so that the point-to-wing pass is not easily intercepted.
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