5-A-Side — Glossary

Every 5-A-Side term explained in plain language: technique, equipment, rules and slang – with tips on avoiding the classic mistakes.

Clearing the Ball (3x3) (Rule): When the defending team wins the ball — by rebound, steal or block — it must take it back beyond the two-point arc before it may score. Otherwise the basket does not count.
Closeout (Movement): The controlled run-out at a player ready to shoot: cover the last few metres with short, chopped steps, one hand high, centre of gravity low.
Double-Arm Swing (Cheat code): Throwing both arms back and up on take-off instead of taking just one along. In young female volleyball players the arm swing raised jump height by roughly 15–19%.
Foul Trouble (Slang): The state of having collected so many personal fouls that your coach benches you as a precaution. Under FIBA rules your fifth personal foul ends your night.
Knee Valgus (Movement): The knees collapsing inward during squats, jumps and landings. One of the key risk markers in technique analysis.
Pick-and-Roll Coverage (Movement): The umbrella term for how a defence answers a pick and roll: drop, switch, hedge, ICE or blitz. Whichever gets called decides where the gap opens up.
Quiet Eye (Cheat code): The long, still gaze at one single target point — usually the front of the rim — held before the shooting motion begins. Elite shooters hold it for around 900 milliseconds or more.
Shot Clock Reset (Rule): After your own offensive rebound the shot clock resets to just 14 seconds, not the full 24. Only a change of possession earns a fresh 24-second clock.
Three-Second Rule (Paint) (Rule): As an attacker you may stay in the opponents' paint for a maximum of three seconds at a time while your team controls the ball in the frontcourt. Breach it and you lose the ball.

General

Terms from training theory that apply in every sport.

1RM (One-Repetition Maximum) (Rule): The maximum weight you can move for exactly one clean repetition. The reference value behind almost every training plan.
BMR & TDEE (Rule): BMR is your basal metabolic rate at complete rest; TDEE is total daily expenditure including everyday movement and training. Nutrition targets always work off TDEE.
Cadence (Movement): Steps per minute when running, or pedal revolutions when cycling. For most runners, 170–180 steps per minute sits in the sweet spot.
Core Tension (Movement): Active stabilisation of abdomen, back and pelvis — the bridge that lets force travel between legs and arms at all.
Deload (Cheat code): A deliberately lighter week with volume or intensity clearly reduced, so adaptation can catch up.
DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) (Cheat code): Delayed muscle soreness 12–72 hours after unfamiliar load. Not a measure of training quality.
Progressive Overload (Cheat code): The one principle no training works without long-term: the stimulus has to grow over time, otherwise adaptation stops.
RIR (Reps in Reserve) (Rule): How many clean reps you had left at the end of a set. RIR 2 means two more were available.
RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) (Rule): A scale for perceived effort. In strength training it usually runs 1–10, where RPE 8 means you had two more reps in the tank.
Zone 2 (Aerobic Base) (Cheat code): The easy endurance zone where you can still hold a conversation in full sentences. The base of almost every endurance plan.