Matt Hackenberg

Disclaimer: This product deals with players transferring from high school to high school. This is not a guide on players getting recruited from high school to the college level

Whether you like it or not, high school basketball is becoming more and more transient in nature. In the copycat nature of basketball, things tend to filter down. This applies to basketball schemes and concepts, but it also applies to off the court concepts like player mobility. In professional basketball we have the formation of “super teams” and free agents requesting to be traded one year into a five year, 100 million dollar contract with fresh ink. In college basketball we have the “transfer portal” and “Name Image and Likeness (NIL) agreements.” These concepts have major implications on how people behave and think at the levels of basketball below.

You have a couple choices as a coach:
1. Complain about the way things are and yearn for the times of the past when it wasn’t a complete free for all in player mobility

2. Adapt and adjust to meet the times and best position your program to keep your players, and even grab players from other programs if you so desire

This guide talks about the three ways to position yourself in the high school recruiting game to WIN!

In 2014, the team I was coaching lost in the Ohio High School State Finals to a GREAT defensive team. We ran our entire offensive package (dribble drive, sets, high ball screens, etc.) at them and could not get great looks. The feeling from that game led me on a search to find a great continuity offense that included screening, ball reversals and the option to use it for interior shots or perimeter shots.

The search culminated in finding the 5-Out Euro Ball Screen Offense from watching the Olympics. We took the basics of the offense, added some bells and whistles, and made it something that could accomplish all we were looking for in an offense. We incorporated sets out of the flow of the offense, motion numbered cutting principles and various entries to spice things up.

The guide for sale is a 45 page extremely detailed pages on this offense and all the teaching points involved in making it your offense.

BONUS #1: Wave - Implementation Checklist 
A step by step phased approach to make sure Wave can be successfully installed

BONUS #2: Email Support

If you have questions as you are installing, email me (matth@hackenberg.biz) and I will respond within 24 hours

Here is the table of contents:
1. Basic Action
2. Basic Entries
3. How to Use a Ball Screen
4. How to Set a Ball Screen
5. Getting Open - Reversal Forward & Bottom Paired Guard 
6. Top Paired Motion Options
7. Forward Reversal Motion Options
8. Planning How To Attack
9. Versions
10. Scaling the Offense
11. Making Adjustments
12. Common Offensive Resets
13. Quick Hitting Sets Out of Wave
14. How to Drill
15. Advanced Entries, Actions and Quick Hitters
16. Offensive Rebounding Considerations
17. Enhancements with Stationary Moves
18. Common Pitfalls
19. Zone Set
20. Terminology

What buyers are saying:

"I cannot thank you enough for this offense, Coach Hack! We were running something similar, and these ideas took our offense to a whole new level." Eric C., Ohio

This playbook is a 37 page detailed look at the dribble drive offense. It starts with some variations to the offense that make it easier to teach the offense at the lower levels - youth basketball and middle school. Then it goes into a detailed look at the dribble drive offense to be run at the high school level. The guide has 20 set plays to run directly out of the dribble drive offense, and finally shows the drills you can use for all levels to teach the conceptual offense.

In this video we walk through the 1-2-1-1 Diamond Press in great detail. First we give a general overview of the press. Then, we go through each position in the press, discussing how it specifically functions. We then give examples of why we press, and finish the video showing common ways teams attack the press. The 37 minute video is all chopped up high school game film, moderated to explain all the small details. If you're considering going to an aggressive press, or already run this press and want a fresh look, this video will be a great resource for you!

Once I got a taste of this offense, it wasn't long before it became the base offense for our entire program. There were just so many things to like about the offense. It is easy to teach, has interchangable positions, and a spread out alignment to name just the few that started my love affair. Little did I know, I had only scratched the surface to being able to understand and teach the offense. In a few years, the action has gone from a simple set play to a more complex system that we run a majority of our games. As the offense got more complex, it got more fun, for our players and our coaches, but moreso, it became harder to stop. This course is the detailed collection of ideas and thoughts on installing this offense as our base offense in our grade 7-12 school. Enjoy!

BONUS #1: Tennessee - Implementation Checklist 
A step by step phased approach to make sure Tennessee can be successfully installed

BONUS #2: Email Support
If you have questions as you are installing, email me (matth@hackenberg.biz) and I will respond within 24 hours guaranteed

What buyers are saying:
"We implemented your circle offense this season and it is great. You would think the repetition would make defenses immune to it but my kids reacted perfectly, thanks to your tennessee shooting drill" -Mike S., Juniata, PA

This is a collection of 6 simple documents we use in our program that we believe relate to how our culture is established. It does not include video, only written documents. You will receive:

Exit Interview Templates - 3 different templates. One to use with your players, one to use with your assistant coaches, and one to use with your middle school coaches. These templates help you get on the same page with your players and coaches heading into the offseason.

Team Rules - This document establishes the standards, boundaries and consequences for the program. This document includes a behavior scale, as well as the policy for our locker room, which we took great pride in as a group.

Pillars & Goals - Our pillars were the three most important overarching concepts of our program. Our goals were the statistics we chose to evaluate our performances. We wanted our goals to connect with our pillars as much as possible.

Standards - This document outlines our tell-tale habits we implemented in our program that tell us whether a player was either was a willing participant in our culture, or they were not. 

Team Building - This is a an outline we use to pick team building activities. We did too much of this at one point in my coaching career and it felt forced, so I've tried to do team building stuff when it felt like it was needed, as opposed to on a schedule.

Team Captains - This document outlines the responsibilities of team captains. We shared this with the team leading up to voting on our team captains for the season. 

This 30 page guide will tell you everything you need to know about Zone Motion. From the optimal personnel to be used in the offense, to the installation, to the drills that can be used to sharpen the scheme, this guide has you covered. If you’re looking for something a little different than traditional zone offense that provides spacing, cutting, and ball movement, then give Zone Motion a long look as your next zone offense.

BONUS #1: Zone Motion - Implementation Checklist 
A step by step phased approach to make sure Zone Motion can be successfully installed.

BONUS #2: Email Support
If you have questions as you are installing, email me (matth@hackenberg.biz) and I will respond within 24 hours guaranteed.

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From my personal basketball playing career to my time as a young assistant coach, I found the teams I was involved with mostly all had the same solution to zone offense. The solution was mostly to plant players into the gaps of the zone and have them stand there, passing the ball around until the zone couldn’t shift fast enough and an outside shot presented itself. We’ve all seen this. Against a 2-3 zone the offense forms a 1-3-1 alignment with a point guard, two wings, a high post and low post. Aside from that, there would be some tricky zone set plays with player movement that tended to work if they were executed as designed, but usually only worked once or twice per game before the defense caught on.

When I got my first varsity high school head coaching job at the age of 26, I was in search of something more. I was young enough and bold enough to be open to trying something new, and I wasn’t set in my ways as a basketball coach. I knew there had to be something more out in the coaching world than what I had previously been exposed to. I wanted to find something that could be executed all game long like the traditional zone offense of standing in the gaps, but offered more movement and options like a zone set play. I searched and I searched, but didn’t find anything that fit what I was looking for. So I decided to create my own scheme, and that creation ended up being named “Zone Motion.” It’s nothing revolutionary, but it’s proved to be successful year after year.

What buyers are saying:

"We added Zone Motion this season coach; thanks a ton. We are a guard oriented team and it suits us well. Insanely simple and unpredictable for the defense." -Terry Buckner, McGill-Toolen Catholic High School. Mobile, Alabama

"I’ve been struggling to find the right zone offense for my team. They don’t like running the static type of 1-3-1 zone attack, and we don’t (yet) have the shooters to run a full drive and kick style zone offense. Coach Hackenberg’s Zone Motion offense seems to give our team the right balance of movement (both player and ball), enough of an inside presence to score easy lay-ups and the ability to kick out when required to our (developing) 3 point shooters. As a bonus it can also easily adapt to attacking a 3-2 and 1-3-1 zones as well. If you are looking for something different for your zone offense, the Zone Motion option is a highly recommended option." -Adrian B., Australia

"I was so tired of the stagnation in our zone offense so I went looking for answers. I found Zone Motion and never looked back. It's so simple, but can be customized to meet the needs of any personnel to attack a zone." -Adam U., Virginia

"I really like this concept of having one Zone Offense that will work against almost any Zone Defensive alignment. Rotating multiple players through the middle of a Zone puts a lot of pressure on opponents to figure out who and what to cover. The post player on the baseline is well placed for their particular skill set and also causes problems for the defense. Coach Hackenberg gives a great breakdown of the simple rules, diagrams of various options, and even a multitude of Zone Specials you can add, which I particularly like." Terry Battenberg, California

"One thing I was struggling with this off season is what offense to put in against a zone. Zone Motion is a tremendous resource, as with all the other resources available on Coach Hackenberg's site." -Garrett Hickey @Coach_Hickey5

"We use Zone Motion and many of your quick hitters... They work beautifully against the 2-3 zone. We appreciate it!" -John S.

"Love Zone Motion.... I started running this a couple years ago and my kids love it.... Gives them a little more control and keeps the other team guessing." -Chris M., Oklahoma 

"The Zone Motion book is very easy to read... I felt confident installing with my team, and they learned to execute it at a high level very quickly"-Mike S., Florida

My paid coaching content in my store is MUCH more detailed, but enjoy this free sample!  This FastDraw PDF playbook and video breakdown is the information for a 5-out Screen Away Motion Offense. This offense fills all the perimeter spots, and uses a screening and cutting philosophy to attack the defense as opposed to a drive and kick philosophy. The concept is the distort the defense using complimentary cuts within screening action. Email me with questions - matth@hackenberg.biz

Disclaimer: This product is written from the stand point of not having a shot clock. Clock manipulation is a key element in this strategy.

Most all coaches have been there unless they are incredibly lucky. Face to face with an opponent that has way more material than you do. What are you going to do? This 48 minute game film break down shares the strategies we used for years to play in a conference with several basketball powerhouses, who frankly, we didn't belong on the court with. Through these strategies we consistently competed, and even won a few major upset victories. 

This is a 48 minute video of collective game clips showing the various strategies in real game action, with my voiceover. 

This is a FastModel playbook featuring 47 gap drives sets. All of the sets diagrammed can be seen on film in the embedded videos from my YouTube channel. The playbook is broken down by the featured player you are trying to run action for - a dynamic point guard, a wing slasher, or a forward to isolate.

Enjoy this freebie! My paid content is very detailed. Check it out. The Chino Hills team from 2015-16 really pushed the limits on playing an aggressive, uptempo style. They were supremely talented, and let their talent go with the schemes they chose. I love how simple they kept things. They never tried to overcomplicate their scheme, relying more on their individual abilities, and the cohesiveness of their top 5 players. While the system wasn't overly complicated, no one can argue with the results - 35-0, state championship, and the concensus #1 overall team in the country for high school basketball that season.

In this 30 minute video we walk through the 1-3-1 half court trap in great detail. First we look at how the defense functions before walking through the keys to running it well. We then go through each position and show clips of players running their assignment effectively, and clips of them not executing well. And finally, we watch some full game clips and try to indentify the different errors that were made during the possession in execution. The 30 minute video is all chopped up high school game film, moderated to explain all the small details. If you're considering an aggressive trap defense, or already run this trap and want a fresh look, this video will be a great resource for you!

What they are saying:
"Although there might be tons of material out there on the 1-3-1 zone defense, Coach Hackenberg's product on it is very simple and easy to follow. He also includes a video breakdown which was very helpful!"

With so much focus on some of the more obvious strategies of a basketball team like offensive systems, defensive systems, transition systems or team culture, some of the smaller strategies can become an fterthought. I see that as a tremendous opportunity to gain an advantage! Some of the smaller strategies may only gain your team small advantages, but those small advantages add up - especially when you get smaller advantages in several phases of the game at once.

That is the reason I wanted to share some thoughts in these 39 pages on “special teams.” Special teams are the in-between situations in a game. Some coaches have strategies for these phases, and others don’t spend the time or energy to optimize. Deciding not to spend time or energy on a particular smaller phase is certainly fine, but it should be a decision. You shouldn’t disregard these areas out of ignorance. With each phase I’ll share some advice, and then discuss how I handle these situations specifically.

I’ve spent nine years as a head coach and three as an assistant. The thoughts I share are designed to help you think through these in-between phases of the game to decide if you want to invest time and energy into organizing them. The specific strategies I share with you are the strategies I’ve used with my teams, and with great success.

BONUS #1: Special Teams - Situations Checklist 
A list of special situations to be prepared for to make sure you have all your bases covered.

This guide describes the progression of skills, drills and concepts for implementing a vertically aligned basketball program starting from 1st grade and ending with varsity basketball. This is our guide we share with our youth coaches, and includes videos of some of the drills described for each stage of development.

The guide is written from the persepctive of a varsity coach and directed to the youth coaches. The guide shares what the goals of the youth coach should be and what behaviors youth coaches are to encourage and discourage. The guide walks the reader through the four stages of athlete development including the skills and drills to be used at each stage.

Part of effective coaching is learning the annual cycles of coaching, and nailing down systems and processes. It’s obvious to all coaches that they need to have an offensive philosophy or a press breaker, and they give those concepts considerable thought. But far too often coaches don’t have a plan for some of the less glamorous parts of coaching. This guide tightens the screws to your whole operation, knowing that we are maximizing the preseason, and will enter the grind of the actual season optimized both physically and mentally.

The sport of basketball requires a very unique blend of strength, balance, speed and endurance. Because of that, the plan to develop this unique blend of athleticism can be a complex problem to solve. This program outlines what our basketball program does to best develop the athleticism needed to become more equipped to excel at the sport of basketball. Even though the problem is complex, we must try to find the simplest solution. In our program, we keep the core of what we do simple and branch off from there to wherever our athletes need to go. 

The sole purpose of this strength and conditioning program is to make a stronger, bigger, faster, better-conditioned athlete, who is less susceptible to injury. With that being said, in basketball we want strong upper bodies, but the bigger focus is placed on lower body and core training to avoid getting too top heavy. The is a dense, 27 page guide.

This is a 51 page guide filled with everything you would need to know about the offense to install, drill, correct, and tweak the offense. It's filled with diagrams and explanations, with no stone left unturned.

After running the Euro Ball Screen Offense for years, I decided I wanted an offense that could really let my guards have space to create. See, it isn’t any fault of the Euro Ball Screen Offense, and I loved the time I spent running and teaching that offense, but I always felt like the space coming off the ball screen was a little limited by the spacing. So I went to my FastDraw laboratory and started tinkering. I tried different formations, alignments, and movement patterns, eventually coming up with what we now call “Flow.” I kept a lot of the features I loved about the Euro Ball Screen Offense, and carved out a little more space to favor the guards being able to be creative off the ball screens.

Flow is a high ball screen, roll and replace continuity offense with DDM principles. Flow has freedom, space, and movement. Flow features three guards and two post players to deplore all the options in the offense, but a guard can be shifted into one of the post positions if it fits your personnel better (we did this commonly). Flow is meant to feature the guards, providing them space to create and make decisions but has great options for the post players as well.

BONUS #1: Flow - Implementation Checklist 
A step by step phased approach to make sure Flow can be successfully installed.

BONUS #2: Email Support
If you have questions as you are installing, email me (matth@hackenberg.biz) and I will respond within 24 hours guaranteed.

What Buyers are Saying:

"I implemented the Flow Offense during my time as the head coach of the nationally ranked program at Milton High School (Atlanta, Georgia), so I have studied it and talked about it with some of the top college and high school coaches in America. I promise that there is no finer product in print for teaching The Flow than the one offered here by Coach Matt Hackenberg. From the whole to the finest details, Coach Hack breaks it down and teaches it in a way that will turn any coach who studies his product into an expert." -Matt Kramer, Ohio

This is 7 simple documents for coaches to use as they build their youth basketball program. This is for high school coaches or youth coaches looking to refine and enhance a communities youth basketball approach, mapping out the key events you want to make sure you are executing. The 7 documents include:

Youth Basketball Overview - Explains the key programs to implement in running a well-oiled community youth basketball program

In-House Sign Up - A sample form used to sign up for a general youth league in a community

Skills Assessment Rubric - A form used in the evaluation process to divide teams and choose which players make the travel teams

Youth Basketball Tournament Info - A document with all the general information about a youth tournament as well as the game play rules

Youth Camp Flyer & Outline - 2 documents. A flyer for a summer youth camp, and an outline for how to execute the camp

Seasonal Skill Camp Flyer & Template - 2 documents. A flyer for a seasonal skill camp, and a template for how to execute the camp

Timeline - A document showing how all the pieces fit together chronologically

This is a document we use in our exit interviews. It provides talking points and steers the conversation to make sure players have all their bases covered to get to become the best possible player they can be. I love how this document helps kids learn life skills they can carry with them the rest of their lives. This document is designed to be inspiration to be used as a guide to conduct conversations with your players, or for you to create your own version to share with your players!

The is a dense, 52 page document on The Wolf Pack Defense System. The Wolf Pack is a defensive system of play to disrupt offenses with ball pressure and protect the paint from penetration by the dribble or pass. The guide describes how implement the system including many small points emphasis to help the defense come together. A complete drill package is included at the end of the guide for implementation purposes. 

We implemented this defensive system in 2013 at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Louisville, Ohio and set the school record for defensive points allowed 3 separate times in 4 years. During our four seasons running this defense, we made it to the state championship game one time and to the regional level (final 16 or 8 teams in our division) the other three seasons. I've ran this defense 8 or the 9 years of being a head coach. It is probably the best basketball concept I teach.

If you are looking for a defensive system to control the paint and stop your opponent from getting high percentage shots, the Wolf Pack may be right for you.

What people are saying: "I've purchased coach Hackenberg's Wolf Pack man to man defense because I was looking for a defensive system that shares my beliefs, and this is exactly what I wanted. Since purchasing it I've been able to implement it with my jv and varsity teams with no problems" -Eli H., Brooklyn, NY

BONUS #1: Wolfpack - 10 Day Implementation Checklist 
A step by step phased approach to install The Wolfpack Defense in 30 minutes per day over a 10 practice period.

This guide takes you from 2 months out from your youth camp all the way to the conclusion of the event. It takes you through all the planning a preparation for the event, and how execute with campers in the gym. This is a 30 page document with pictures, outlines, and 8,000 words of writing on running a youth basketball camp.

This 13 page guide consists of the teaching points and descriptions on how to install a pressure man to man defense. It is an aggressive system based on putting pressure on the offense by denying passes and funneling the ball to the sideline. As with any defense, there are pros and cons to the system. This system plays well to attack the offense, cause turnovers, and defend the three point line, but has some vulnerabilities, most commonly in allowing dribble penetration and fouling. If taught properly and precisely, the strengths of the defense can be heightened and the weaknesses diminished. 

I think this system can be for any team that can teach and execute, not just teams that have superior athleticism. Great athletes certainly help defending the ball in space and rotating quickly, but ultimately the technique and execution is what will make this system successful.

If you're not sure how to raise money for your basketball program or want a fresh look at your fundraising, this document is for you! Fundraising Ideas for High School Basketball Teams is a 55 page document that includes 20 pages of ideas dedicated to fundraising and then the flyers, forms, and outlines to show you what the fundraisers look like in execution.  

This is 7 simple documents we use in our program to help keep us organized. It doesn't not include video, only written documents. If you feel like their are too many loose ends in your program, you are not alone, but these documents can help. The 7 documents include:

Season Checklist - This is a 150+ item checklist of all the things that need done within the program throughout the season. I always felt like identifying the tasks is step number one to being able to execute the way I want to within the program.

Preseason Parent Packet - After we make cuts, and around the time we start our official practices, we have a meeting with all the players and parents in the program. This meeting is a tone setter for the whole season and very important. This is where you sell your vision as a coach and set up all the boundaries and expectations for both the players and parents of the program. We go through, and send the parents home with, a large packet that includes all the key information and details for the season.

Practice Plan - This is a sample of three practice plans from a previous season. It lays out how we allocate our time and what we are going to track. Each coach is provided a plan each day.

Media Day Outline - This outline shows how we got all the promotional aspects of our program out of the way on one day early in the season. If you are going to try to promote your program, it's better to do it all at once instead of scrambling all throughout the season for various things.

Social Media Plan - This is another internal document our coaching staff used to divide and conquer the various social media outlets we divided to use. Executing on social media is becoming the status quo, so having a plan to execute is important. 

Newsletter - This is an actual newsletter we are using as a sample to see how we structure and promote things within our program. The image you promote to your community Is very important.

Middle School Evaluation Form - This is a form I give to the middle school coaches to use during tryouts. Sometimes we have upwards of 120 players trying out for 42 middle school spots, so we want to make sure everyone received an evaluation and that we have documentation if it was needed for any reason.

This document is a FastDraw playbook of 22 different 1 on 1 games you can use with your players to put them in a variety of situations to play offense and defense. Enjoy for free. My paid content is much more detailed.