Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: c138e4c0958b3c6d03ea5d88c42016a1b466bb7259c4d9a3f8b0a341afe40aba

# Three-Lines Basketball

Participants form three lines at the top of a half-court and rotate through quick 3-on-3 basketball possessions. The team that scores stays on defense, while the other team cycles to the back of the lines.

**Time:** 15 minutes. Playworks notes 10 minutes or more. 15 minutes provides ample rotations for up to 24 players.
**People:** 6 to 24. Three parallel single-file queues feeding 3-on-3 mini-teams on a half-court.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Rotate every group member through active offensive and defensive mini-games with rapid turn-taking.
**Use it when:** Use during recreational, physical education, or movement sessions where participants want an active ball game that accommodates large groups on a single hoop.
**Skip it when:** Skip when participants lack athletic footwear, when the physical space lacks a regulation hoop and safe court boundaries, or when non-physical team activities are needed.

## Materials and tools

- 1 basketball
- 3 boundary markers or cones
- 1 basketball hoop on a marked half-court
- 1 whistle or horn for the facilitator

## Before participants arrive

1. Verify the half-court playing area is clear of trip hazards.
2. Place three cones evenly spaced along the three-point arc or top of the key facing the basket.
3. Inspect the basketball inflation level.

## Say this to open

We are playing Three-Lines Basketball. Line up behind one of these three cones so the lines are even. The first three players will step across the cones to form our defense. The next three become the offense. The first offense to score stays on court as the next defense, while the other group returns to the back of the line. The ball always starts with the middle offensive player passing to a wing.

## How to run it

### 1. Set lines and teach rotation rules (3 minutes)

Divide participants evenly behind the three cones. Have the first person in each line take three steps forward onto the court to form the starting defense of three. The second person in each line steps up to the cone to form the starting offense. Announce non-contact rules: no reaching in, pushing, or body checks. An offensive play starts when the middle cone player passes to either side.

### 2. Run standard scoring possessions (5 minutes)

Hand the basketball to the middle offensive player. On whistle, offense initiates play. Either team can rebound and attempt a shot. The first team to make a basket wins the possession. The scoring team transitions immediately to defense. The losing team goes to the back of their respective cones. The next three players in line step forward as the new offense.

### 3. Introduce quick-play countdown (5 minutes)

If any possession exceeds 45 seconds without a basket, lead the waiting lines in a loud countdown from ten to zero. At zero, whichever player is holding the ball takes an uncontested free shot from where they stand. If it goes in, their team stays on defense; if missed, the other team stays. Apply the streak rule: if any team wins three consecutive possessions, the group gives them three claps and they return to the end of the line so fresh players get court time.

### 4. Review team movement and close (2 minutes)

Blow the whistle to conclude active play. Collect the ball. Gather all players at center court for three brief reflections on ball movement and court spacing.


## Debrief questions

- What helped your team get an open shot quickly during a fast possession?
- How did communicating from the waiting line help your teammates on the court?
- Which defensive strategy helped your group protect the hoop best?

**Finished output:** Every participant completes multiple offensive and defensive possessions or serves as a designated court referee/timekeeper.

## Remote

This physical basketball drill requires an in-person hoop and court. It cannot be run online. For a remote team-communication alternative, run a verbal pass game where participants call names across video tiles while passing a virtual token under time limits.

## Hybrid

Hybrid delivery is not suitable for this physical sport drill. In-person attendees run the court drill, while remote attendees cannot meaningfully participate in live basketball plays.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may choose non-running support roles such as scorekeeper, countdown caller, or line manager without explaining personal physical limits.
- Low-impact movement option: players can use walking basketball rules (no running, passing only) by whole-group agreement.

## If the session gets stuck

**Lines become severely uneven as players return to lines.**

Require each player to return strictly to the exact cone line they started in.

**One dominant triad stays on the court for too long.**

Enforce the three-win maximum rule strictly so successful teams rotate to the back after three wins.


## Terms used here

- Half-court: The boundary area extending from the baseline under one hoop to the center line.
- Possession: The active segment of play where teams contest for the ball until a point is scored or play stops.

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in Playworks Game Library under Three-Lines Basketball.

Retains the core 3-on-3 continuous rotation mechanic, line-countdown rule, and three-win maximum from Playworks documentation. Discards corrupted metadata describing this as a relationship mapping exercise. Adds standardized facilitator scripts, safety guidelines, and explicit role choice for non-running participants.

[Playworks](https://www.playworks.org/game-library/three-lines-basketball/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/three-lines-basketball/