"A Simple Approach to Practise Planning”.
Are you?
Time Poor or, overwhelmed by how much is on the internet and not sure where to go?
Then please keep reading.
Hypothetically
It's almost lunchtime at work and you have practice that afternoon with your team and you haven't planned practice yet. Thanks of course to the work deadline, the kids, uni assignments or whatever else gets in the way of leading that "ideal life" of productivity. We're all human so we are all victims to the perils of procrastination, forgetfulness, or simply being overwhelmed.
In this blog we aim to reduce one of the stressors around the process for practice planning. We all want to be good role models, teaches, and coaches of the players we lead and being organised with a plan should be a realistic expectation by our teams.
What makes a good practice session? Well before you get lost again in pedagogy, planning, methodology, skill acquisition or neuroscience principles. Let's look at it from a very simplistic perspective.
Do your players enjoy the experience? Do they smile?
Do they want to come back for the next session? (anticipating walk & head up into the gym v head down slow walk)
Can you see (simple eye-test) the players are getting better?
Is the environment safe: physical environment and socially (i.e.. no bullying)
Are your players engaged and competitive?
If you're feeling good about hitting these simple measures then give yourself silent “fist bump”.
What are the ingredients to a simple team practice plan? This is my take on it.
Philosophy:
It is a safe and fun learning environment that’s age and stage appropriate. It connects individuals within a team context and a broader vision.
Functionality:
A skills focused growth environment that provides opportunity for learning, problem solving, competing (yes winning is part of it) through the application of skills in game context and game play
Format:
1/3's Principle (i.e.. 60min session, 20mins of each...SIMPLE)
Game Skills (focus on the foundations)
Game Concepts (application of the skills)
Game Play (incentivised game play that rewards focus skills)
20mins - Daily Skills
Dribble, Pass, Shoot, Defend.
These are the "cornerstones of basketball" but they all rely on movement (running, change of direction, stop, jump, land and pivoting) to execute in a game context.
So combine the foundations with the cornerstones in a fun way to warm up players:
Mentally
Focus: important for players to engage in the moment and forget whatever has happened already that day
Cognitive Loading: stimulate the brain to problem solve (simple to complex) by observing stimulus and reacting appropriately
Socially
It's a team game so you want to stimulate connectivity amongst the players
Communication is key (old cliché, but holds true)
Physically
Slow to Faster
Specific to the game (i.e.. movement foundations)
Whole of body
Basketball Skills
Cover the cornerstones but have a bias (focus) for that session
Focus Skill more time or higher reps
GAME Specific
20mins - Game Concepts
The application of specific skills in a decision making context relevant to your principles (i.e.. style of play, common actions, defensive rules etc...)
Often in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or numbers advantage drill or game.
(We'll dig into this a little more in the sample session at the bottom of the blog)
Key Points in this area:
"Flow" from the first part of practice into this one
Ensure if you have a focus for the day, that this is the time where your players have the opportunity for lots of reps
"Coach on the run": limit group interventions with providing feedback on the fly. Reps, reps, reps. Time on Task (ToT) can’t be beaten.
Evolve from "Learning Speed" (and simplistic) to "Game Speed" (more complex). This is unique for every team and a good challenge for the coach to try and get right.
20mins - Game Play
This can still be in the form of small sided games through to 5v5 full court scrimmages. The takeaway point here is that while playing games there is a "clear" objective / focus area that incentivises the skill focus for the day.
A SAMPLE SESSION 1/3's FORMAT
For the purpose of this blog there is some detail in the session below. Hopefully you can follow the drill details. However if you're at work and under the pump the session plan may be a lot more succinct. As long as you understand why you've chosen the drill and what you want your group to achieve out of it.
The Take-away Shop
Below is a list of the key takeaways from the blog.
Everyone is busy and has on-going stress we manage in our lives
As coaches we do need to be organised and planned for practice
Skills and Movement are the foundations of basketball
Simple Sessions that flow are key
Divide your time into 1/3's
Skills - Concepts - Play
Whatever you emphasise, incentivise and reward will gain greater traction and improvement
It's OK for drills and games to be messy. Let players problem solve their way through
Only save them and throw-out the life-raft when it’s really needed
All the best with your coaching journey. If you like what we do please follow us.