How to Design an effective Basketball Practice Plan

Effective practice planning is vital to the success of your basketball team throughout the season. One of the biggest mistakes I see young coaches make is to think they can run an effective practice without planning it out in advance. There is a skill to designing an effective practice and any coach can learn that skill by keeping some simple principles in mind. If you will follow these 6 basic principles I guarantee your practices will be more effective, your players will be more focused, and your season will be more successful.
Determine what your objectives for the practice are. You cana€? t simply show up to practice with a plan to a€? just practice basketballa€?. There is a lot to the game of basketball and if you dona€? t think so, try showing up with a group of 10 teenagers and try to keep them interested and on task for 90 minutes in anything other than a video game or text messaging. Only use drills that teach to your specific objectives for that practice. This is very important so your players do not become confused. Too often players are taken from one drill to the next without knowing why they are doing them. Young coaches often think that because a drill is fun or challenging that it is a good drill. Do not make the mistake of doing a€? good drillsa€? just because they are basketball drills. A a€? gooda€? drill is one that teaches a specific set of skills to reach the objective you have established. This means that a good drill one practice may not be a good drill for another practice based on what your objectives are.Mariano Rivera Grey jerseys[/url]

Drills and skill development should build in a progression from simple to complex. Set your drills up in a way that teaches a progression of skills leading up to your objectives for the practice. For example: If my objective is to improve help defense as a team, I will start with a 1 on 1 close out drill with an emphasis on foot work and reaction time. The next drill in the progression will be a 2 on 2 close out with an emphasis on foot work, reaction time, off ball positioning, and help and recover technique. The next drill in the progression will be a 3 on 3 drill with an emphasis on foot work, reaction time, off ball positioning, and help and recover technique. The next drill in the progression will be a 4 on 4 drill with the offensive players cutting with an emphasis on foot work, reaction time, off ball positioning, help and recover technique, and staying with your player as they move while still being able to see the ball. The final drill will be a 5 on 5 controlled half court scrimmage with the offensive players running through their offensive plays and trying to score a basket. This means the defense really has to work on all of the above skills in a game like situation. It started with a simple 1 on 1 drill to a controlled game of 5 on 5.Wang White jerseys[/url]

After 90 minutes, practice becomes tiring and difficult for young athletes to stay focused and usually very frustrating for you as a coach. This is a lose-lose situation that you can avoid with concise practice planning. You and your players should leave each practice feeling like you wanted just a little more.
Write your basketball practice plan out and post it for your players to see. Also, you will need to keep a copy for your records so that you can reference it when designing tomorrowa€? s practice. The same concept of progression should apply from one practice to the next so it is important for you to keep a record of what you have done. This will help you keep track of things that do and dona€? t work which will make you more effective as the season progresses. I use a basketball coaches planner called Coaching Planner designed specifically for practice planning, game planning, and scouting opponents. Ita€? s a great way to keep everything I need in one place.