1. Drills
  2. Basketball
  3. Defense

Mirror Slides

Stay in front of a partner who changes direction, like a mirror.

By Coach Evan Waechtler Youth coach (U11, Cache Valley, Utah) and founder of SSTracker Updated October 30, 2026

Set up

Face a partner about 4 feet apart in a defensive stance.

Core: Jogs. Beat your own run of steady slides.

Ages
11 and up
Time
8 min
Players
You and a partner
Space
Gym or court
Bring
Partner
Level · skill
Developing · Defense

The steps

How it works

  1. Face a partner about 4 feet apart in a defensive stance.
  2. Your partner slides left or right randomly. You mirror them.
  3. Do 20 seconds, rest 20 seconds, then switch roles.
  4. Do 4 rounds each.

Coaching point

Eyes on their belly button, not the ball.

Make it fun

Play it, don't drill it

Game version

Mirror slides: a partner walks side to side and you stay in front in a defensive stance, with no contact. Swap often.

Challenge

Pick a level: Less (partner walks), Core (jogs), More (changes direction). Beat your own run of steady slides.

Story

You are a shadow that sticks to its owner.

My best

Beat your own count

Beat your own run of steady slides. Only your own number counts: today against last time.

Practice makes progress

Print it now, or save it free

Free for families and teams

Save this drill to your child or team, free

Sign up and the free basketball week for this age opens in your child's planner, kept to healthy limits. A coach can send this drill to the whole team as homework, and parents see every session logged.

14 days free for a family, no card · Running a team is always free

Does your child's coach know about this?

An email from you to the coach, with the words ready. Nothing is tracked and nobody is rewarded.