One of the most important jobs a coach must do is set up and execute practices. Each state has their own rules and how many games and in what timeframe those games have to be played within. Due to this some states have more time for in season practice. However, coaches need to get as much improvement done in each practice as possible. I can always judge a good coach and staff by the amount of improvement that takes place during the season. A good coaching staff will be much tougher of an opponent later in the season due to the improvement and adjustments they have made to their team throughout the season. The practice and essentially the practice schedule is where a good coach can get the most out of the team as possible.
Planning Stage-Preparation
The planning stage is the first step in conducting a practice. I ask a couple of questions about what I want and the answers will lead into how the practice plan looks. First is how long do I want the practice to last. For me, early season practice is 2 hours long. I do not go over the 2 hour limit. As a high school coach, the 2 hour limit is where I have found the focus and concentration of players will leave practice. If you are coaching 3rd graders, that might be at 1 hour. Also as a teacher as well as a coach, I do not want to take up anymore of the kid’s time than the 2 hours. As the season progresses, that 2 hour time limit slowly comes down. At about 25% of the season from the first practice to last game, the practice drops to 1 hour 45 minutes. At the 60% mark, just past the halfway point, practice times are about 1 hour 30 minutes. And the last couple of weeks of the season we practice for only about 1 hour 15 minutes. I make practices very high tempo with very little down time. Early season is a lot of install so practices run longer. End of season is more refining what we do and preparing for the next opponent. I believe in running high tempo practices because it makes the players focus more and we are able to accomplish more each day. Since my practices are set at such a high pace, I feel like I need to reduce floor time in practice to help preserve players legs as the season progresses. And those times are not set in stone. If we have a major game late in the season then we may stay on the floor longer to get some more practice reps against what that team is going to be running. Also I do more film study as the season progresses. I will get players mental reps with film as I reduce the practice time on the floor. The hardest thing a coach has to do is keep getting reps and conditioning in practice while not burning out the players legs. Once a players legs has maxed out then the only way to get them back is to have a few days off in a row. If you are in tournament play then it is hard to take 2 or 3 days off in a row to allow recovery time.
Practice Script
I write out a practice script everyday for practice and I would advise you to do the same. This gives the coaching staff knowledge about what we are doing and when we are doing it. This helps prevents downtime in practice. I want to minimize lost time during practices. Transitions from one drill to the next is the single most lost time during practice. The practice script tells the coaching staff what we are doing next so once a drill ends, we are immediately into the next drill.
Although we have a practice script, I make changes to the plan as we go along in practice. If I have 10 minutes set for running quick hitters and the players execute them flawlessly then we will end the drill early. I am looking for perfect practice and when that happens in a drill then I move on. So if a drill ends early then I will look to fill that time with another drill that we are not executing well. Also sometimes a drill will run over and when that happens then I will cut something out of the practice script. That constant editing and communication with the coaching staff has to happen frequently and quickly. I also always have a pen with me during practice to make notes to myself during practice and to use to make the cuts and changes as the practice is going on. Once the staff understands what is happening then practices will run smoothly and more work and development will get done because we have eliminated the downtime.
There are two things that I do not do in practice. First, I do not have timed water breaks. I do not refuse the players ability to get water. The players are free to get water at any point during practice. They do not have to ask to get a drink or to get a sub. The only thing I require is they be quick getting a drink and the drill does not stop while they step away. They are responsible to communicate to the other players to fill their position. Kids now a days do not communicate well and this forces the players to talk with each and communicate which helps them learn how to communicate with each other. This forced communication helps the players learn how to talk to each in a high tempo situation which translates to talking in games. Secondly, I break practices up into 5 to 10 minute blocks for the duration of the practice. I never want the players to lose focus or get bored in practice. The players know we are going over every drill for a very short time period in practice. If their focus is not there then the practice starts to become a mess. In a game every possession can be the difference between winning and losing the game. I want every practice rep matter, so the players get used to pressured situations in practice. I also try to make every drill into a competition. This makes every drill have a winner and loser. The players do not want to lose so this puts added pressure into each drill. If they only have 5 minutes to win the drill then they have to maintain focus in the 5 minutes. If they do not focus during that drill then they lose the drill. These short time blocks require each player to have maximum effort and focus. This keeps the players engaged and focused throughout the whole practice.
During Practice
Once the planning stage and practice plan is finished, the actual practice takes place. As a coach, I try to do things to keep practice fun and enjoyable. Always remember basketball is a game and it is meant to be played to have fun. I will introduce themes at times for a practice. If we have struggled rebounding, then we will have a rebounding day. I will make every drill have to end on a rebound. I may have the coaches chart rebounds during practice. At the end of drills or end of practice, we will reward the player with the most rebounds during practice and “punish” the player with the fewest. Even though I may punish a player, I try and make the punishment something that is funny and not something that belittles a player. Punishments may be that the player has to collect and rack all the basketballs or make the player go last in the final drill of the day so they are the last player to leave the gym. These theme practices help to bring an emphasis to something that the team is lacking. Some themes that I have used is rebounding, finishing with a basket, or competing every possession. Every theme day puts added emphasis on a skill that needs to be addressed to help improve our team.
Practices are about making each player and the team better. Concentrate on making as big of improvements as possible each practice. Keep introducing new things that make the players have to work on getting better throughout the season. Never let practices become boring. This is the time where the coaches are having the most interaction with the players. This is where the most fun should be taking place as a coach.
Post Practice-Planning Stage
After practice has ended then the coaching staff will discuss how the practice went and about individual players. It may be that Player A has been working very hard during practice and we either need to acknowledge that effort or reward the effort with more playing time. It is also a time to talk to individual players and give them a pat on the back or a kick in the butt depending on what they need at the moment. If a player played well in a game the night before then I will make an effort to congratulate them about their performance. All of this may take just 5 to 10 minutes after practice ends. This is also where I self-evaluate my performance and try to make improvements on myself. The staff will review the practice script and see if something that was cut out needs to be put in the next day. If a certain drill was poorly executed, then we will make a note of it and do it again the next day to improve our execution. Evaluating the practice immediately afterwards will help to determine the planning stage and practice script for the next day of practice. If a play or press offense was executed well then we may add the next wrinkle to it the next day. If done correctly, the practices of each day will help to influence the next practice. We as coaches should be constantly evaluating what our team is doing well and poorly. Changes need to occur when necessary to get improving and not ever plateauing as a player or coach or team. A constant state of player, coach, and team evaluation should be taking place each and every day.