🏆 "We Talking About Practice?"

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💭ONE THOUGHT
“We Talking About Practice?”

Allen Iverson’s famous interview on “Practice” was a viral rant that captivated coaches, the media, and athletes everywhere.

The media and pop culture ran with the interview. Ted Lasso even used the speech in a great episode of the show.

The clip we all see, though, does not tell the whole story. This interview had much more context. You can check it out at the end of this post.

But let’s talk about “Practice.”

Practice is the lifeblood of a program. It is where teams and individuals get better.

Practice Planning and Game Strategy is one of the ten modules in my newest course, Better Coach OS. I dive much deeper into practice planning in this course.

Here is my 3-step process for coaches to think about practice.

STEP #1: First, find a Great Tool!

Technology should make our jobs easier as coaches, which should be the case with practice planning.

I have used Practice Planner Live for 13 years. It is a great tool for all sports, and coaches can even try it for free for 14 days.

This is a tool that makes my job so much easier.

Why do I love Practice Planner Live?

• It is simple

• It is practical

• It is powerful

• It can be used for ALL sports.

It lets you keep a complete drill list that you can print out for coaches in your program.

It tracks the amount of time you spend on each practice category.

It saves practice schedules year after year. I have over 400 practice plans saved and can make copies as starting points for my practices each year, which saves me a ton of time.

It is very flexible and reasonably priced.

And so much more.

If you don't have a practice planning program that you like, I encourage you to check it out.

STEP #2: Develop your Practice Goals and Template.

What are your practice goals each day, and what is your template?

As coaches, we must know our “why?” for drills and practice and communicate this “why?” to our players.

Here are some reflective questions I believe coaches should ask:

• What is our practice format?

• Why do we do the drills we do?

• How will I develop my culture today?

• What are our team goals for each practice?

• What goals do we have for individual players today?

• What players do we want to connect with today specifically?

I have three parts of my practice that I plan for:

1. Pre-Practice: What are my “Culture Wins” goals and plan for the day? Who are my player check-ins? What are 1-2 goals I have for practice today? What individual player goals do I have?

2. Practice: During the practice portion, I ask myself, what drills will we do that meet the goals I set in my pre-practice plan? I use my overall drill list to develop this. I group my practices into the following big-picture components: Warm-up, Fundamental skill work, Whole-part-whole teaching, Small-side games or breakdowns, Controlled gameplay/scrimmage, Competition, Game situations, and Cool down and closure.

3. Post-Practice: What are your post-practice goals?

   a. A wrap-up meeting with the coach and team is needed to summarize the practice, redefine the day's goals, and discuss whether goals were met.

   b. Remind players of the upcoming events.

   c. Reiterate the “Culture Wins” thought of the day. This is a great opportunity for coaches to help define the program's culture daily.

   d. Notes for tomorrow. This is important. Coaches should always reflect immediately and make notes to use in the future. It serves as a model for continuous improvement in your program.

STEP #3: Develop and grow your drill list.

Practice drills are the lifeblood of your program.

After you find a great tool and have a format, you must align drills to fit this structure, culture, and philosophical belief.

Your drills must be meaningful and purposeful. Once you find a good drill, you will return to it and use it year after year.

Make sure your drills have a purpose and a goal to accomplish.

Much like you seek out new X’s and O’s for your sport, you should also seek out great drills that fit into your culture and philosophy.

A good drill can help define the culture of a team.

Final Thoughts:

Practices are the lifeblood of a program. A good practice structure with defined goals, a clear purpose, and a great drill list is critical to developing a program's culture. There are three steps:

1. Find a tool

2. Develop a structure with goals

3. Fill your structure and goals with quality drills

If you are looking for more on items related to practice planning, check these out:

• Practice Planner Live is a tool to use to make a coach's job easier and more organized.

• Better Coach OS: A masterclass for coaches with 10 modules to be a better coach, including practice planning and game strategy. I go much deeper in this module on practice planning.

• Culture Wins Book Bundle for “culture nuggets” to add to your practice every day.

And now…the full story and context behind the famous Allen Iverson Press Conference:

PRACTICE: The story behind Allen Iverson's press conference

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📜 TWO QUOTES

🔗 LINKS OF THE WEEK

🎥 Video: The 5 T’s of Great Coaches

🎙️ Podcast: Coach Collins and I discuss What is Leadership? in this Basketball Leadership Podcast episode.

🆇 ICYMI: A Nick Saban Masterclass in Coaching

𝐗 THREE POSTS FROM OTHERS

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Contact Me: Greg Berge, [email protected]