THINGS I BELIEVE ABOUT PRACTICE:
You need a WRITTEN plan with you when you step on the floor.
I panicked if I couldn't find my plan before practice. Don't be a slave to your plan. You may want to lengthen a segment or even omit a segment (drill). If you need a sample I have many I would be wiling to share with you.
Start with a brief meeting on the floor.
Position players so you can see all of them (half circle). If you stand in the middle of a circle of players you can't tell if you have their attention or not. You want to see their "eyes." Got this idea
from Coach K. LIMIT how long you talk 3-5 minutes is best. (I violated this to often!)
Name drills and have players “echo” yell.
Teach communication in all drills. Reduces transition time between drills. (A coaching point: Don't say anything the first 5 minutes of practice and see how quiet it is?). If your team is like
the teams I coached, you will have to teach a system of communication.
Run from drill to drill.
(Run to your destiny.) We wanted a sense of urgency in the way we practiced. Practice at game speed
whenever possible.
Do not run drills longer than 5-10 minutes if its used for teaching individual techniques.
If you want to work 15-20 minutes on shooting for example, break it down to 2 or 3 drills.
This will be much more efficient and keep your players attention.
Team drills should not be longer than 10-15 minutes
This may be defensive/offensive breakdown drills. I prefer keeping drill length to 10-12 minutes.
Keep the practice moving!! You are always fighting boredom.
Short lines …. keep players and coaches involved.
I was always concerned about using our practice time efficiently. Long lines reduce the number
of repetitions a player will get in that drill. Long lines waste time and bore players. Be creative.
Use all your coaches and managers in drills whenever possible.
Start and end practice on time.
Don't get into the habit of disregarding start and end times. Resist the temptation to go longer
because the drill/practice is not going well. If anything, consider shortening a drill because it
is being executed well.
Not every drill will be well executed by all of the players.
Pay attention and learn from your practice experiences as a coach. Some drills may be too complicated for some players. You want to quickly and correctly use drills that will improve the fundamental execution of your players. If you have certain players who struggle in a drill, pull the player out and help them without disrupting the drill or embarrassing the struggling player. You also can assign a veteran player to "coach" the struggling player.
Reduce the length of practice as the season progresses.
IF we practice twice a day, it was during the first two weeks of practice and we would usually practice twice every other day. Morning practice would be an hour and then
after school would be 2 hours. We never went more than 2 hours in a session. Usually, by
late January, we reduce practice to 90 minutes and by the end of February we might be down
to 1 hour. (If you end practice, and all your players head for the shower, you may be practicing
too long? Teams do not get physically stale but they can get mentally stale. SOMETIMES LESS IS MORE!!
Change drills frequently.
Don't use the exact same drills everyday. You are fighting your own boredom and remember you
player's attention spans. Drill variety will keep the player's focus and your's. Even small tweaks
can pay big dividends. Try to make drills game like. Design drills that breakdown your offense
and defense into segments.
Make drills competitive
Add the elements of competition to your drills. Use the clock or numbers of. This will allow players to either compete against the clock, against themselves or against their team mates. Examples: See how many 3's you can make in 30 seconds. You must get 3 rebounds in a row before you get out of this drill etc.
Have some fun.
End practice on a positive note. Late in the year, consider doing something totally out of
routine. For example, play a brief volleyball game. Get some soft nerf balls and play a game of
dodge ball. One year I felt we were pressing, so I starting practice with half court hook shots
and "granny" 3's. The players thought I had lost it, but they had fun.
Give them a day off
Find a time where you can take a day off. If properly considered, it can give your team and yourself a much needed mental break.
End practice on time with a brief meeting.
Good time for announcements and reminders. Coaches “fist bump” each player and we had a
senior “stacks them up” to end practice.
Evaluate the practice
Ask your coaches AND ask your players, especially seniors, how they perceive practice. They are excellent sources of feedback.
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