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đ "We Talking About Practice?"
Practice is the lifeblood of a program. It is where teams and individuals get better.
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Here's what's coming:
âWe Talking About Practice?â đ
Some Gandi GoldđĽ
Dave Kline on Leadership đ
Read Time ~ 5 minutes.
Let's dive in, but first, Momentum offers Mindset Coaching For Athletes, check it outđ
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đONE THOUGHT
âWe Talking About Practice?â
Allen Iversonâs famous interview on âPracticeâ was a viral rant that captivated coaches, the media, and athletes everywhere.
âWe talking about practice? Practice? I am supposed to be the franchise playerâŚâ
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 letâs talk about âPractice.â
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 âwhy?â for drills and practice and communicate this âwhy?â 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:
Pre-Practice: What are my âCulture Winsâ 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?
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.
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 âCulture Winsâ 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 Xâs and Oâs 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:
Find a tool
Develop a structure with goals
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 âculture nuggetsâ to add to your practice every day.
And nowâŚthe full story and context behind the famous Allen Iverson Press Conference:
PRACTICE: The story behind Allen Iverson's press conference
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đ TWO QUOTES
âObstacles donât have to stop you. If you run into a wall, donât turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.â
"Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will."
đ LINKS OF THE WEEK
đĽ Video: The 5 Tâs of Great Coaches
đď¸ Podcast: Coach Collins and I discuss What is Leadership? in this Basketball Leadership Podcast episode.
đ ICYMI: A Nick Saban Masterclass in Coaching
đ THREE POSTS FROM OTHERS
The number one key to performing well under pressure is keeping your focus on the process instead of the outcome.
â Sports Psychology (@SportPsychTips)
2:00 PM ⢠Aug 17, 2024
5 short rules to lead effectively:
1. Show up early
2. Keep your word
3. Get your hands dirty
4. First curious, then decisive
5. Take the risk, give the creditLeading isnât easy, but itâs not complicated.
â Dave Kline (@dklineii)
1:44 PM ⢠Aug 17, 2024
A good rule of thumb to live by:
Whatever you think it takes, it takes longer.
â Ross Harkness (@THEROSSHARKNESS)
9:00 AM ⢠Aug 17, 2024
đ BOOKS, COURSES, BUNDLES, & FREE RESOURCES
Bundles:
The OS Bundle - Save $ when you get the Team Leader OS and Better Coach OS.
Mega Bundle - Get ALL of my paid resources, save BIG $.
Culture WINS Bundle - Get ALL of my Culture resources in place.
Super Bundle - Bundle all four of my books and save $.
Buy Two, Get One Free - My three most popular books.
Culture Wins Book Bundle - Both books for a discount.
ADs: Want site licenses for a school? Reply to this email for more.
Courses, Curriculum, and More:
Team Leader OS - Develop your team leaders year after year.
Better Coach OS - Masterclass course to be a better coach.
Culture Wins Curriculum - Growing curriculum to use with a âCaptainâs Councilâ concept in your school.
Culture WINS Mini-Course - A 37-minute Culture WINS Course for coaches.
Pre-Season Playbook - 33 pages to prepare for your season.
Off-Season Playbook - The seasonâs done, but the work is not.
Books:
Culture Wins - 50 ways to build a winning culture.
Culture Wins 2 - 50 MORE ways to build a winning culture.
Coaching Gold - Winning insight and wisdom for coaches.
Great Teams Better Leaders - Actionable ideas for coaches.
Paperback books (AMAZON) - All of my books are on Amazon.
Find all FREE books and resources at gberge.gumroad.com.
đ OTHER WAYS I CAN HELP
Are you interested in Sponsoring an Issue? Reply to this email or click here: Sponsor Great Team Better Leaders.
Are you seeking a Culture or Leadership workshop for your team or school? Contact Greg for more information.
Contact Me: Greg Berge, [email protected]
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