4 Ways to Run Better Practices

Hi Coach,

Today, I’m sharing four types of changes you can implement in one or multiple of your practice activities.

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The art of coaching is knowing which lever to pull.

As coaches, we can typically quickly diagnose what areas our players or team are struggling in.

The magic happens when we deliver a practice activity or game that helps that individual or the team improve in that specific area.

Here are four of my favorite ways to do this.

Shrinking or expanding space is one of the simplest and most effective ways to alter the level of challenge for athletes in practice activities.

It’s also a key aspect of making activities more representative of competition, especially when you play small-sided-games with fewer numbers.

For example, a 1v1 basketball activity in a full half-court isn't very realistic, but a 1v1 activity in a half a half-court is more realistic of what may occur in a game.

I often split the half-court and make the midline "out of bounds” for 1v1, 2v1, or 2v2 games.

Shrinking or expanding space also works well for dribbling activities.

For younger, less skilled dribblers, they typically need more space as they have less control of the ball.

For older players, we can shrink the space for the activity to make it more challenging as they have to interact more frequently with opponents in tight spaces.

In general…

More space = less challenging.

Less space = more challenging.

Changing the rules of a game or activity can nudge players towards effective solutions and/or keep them away from ineffective ones.

It’s one of my favorite areas to experiment with.

Here are a few examples:

Changing the score can guide players to new or better solutions.

My favorite example is "Shot Selection Scoring."

First, I teach a shot quality scale: 3s, 5s, 7s, and 9s (Credit: PGC Basketball).

Then, we watch film clips to see examples of each of each type of shot.

Then, we play games scored by shot quality.

Players get 7 or 9 bonus points for taking a "7" or "9" shot.

This happens even if they miss.

If the shot goes in, they get the 2 or 3 points plus the bonus.

Example: A "7" shot (a 3-pointer) that goes in gets 10 points (7+3).

We’d play a Shot Selection game to 35 or 45 points.

The intention is to improve the shot selection of our players and team as a whole, which it does quickly!

Other simple scoring changes:

This could be the easiest and most effective way to make most practices better.

Running games and activities with numerical advantages/disadvantages helps players get better at what happens often in competition.

Let’s talk about shooting activities in basketball practices for a minute.

Traditionally, coaches have used lots of blocked, unopposed (without defense) shooting drills.

I run 2v1 or 4v2 shooting drills instead.

In our 4v2 drill, the offense can't dribble, must catch outside the 3-point line, and they have an 8-second shot clock.

Two defenders start in the paint.

They pass out to to an offensive player start the drill.

The offense does 8 reps, with new defenders each time.

The offense is now getting reps against a live defense, but the numerical advantage helps them get a high quality shot within the shot clock.

Another example is a 5v4 full-court game.

I call it 5v4 Continuous.

There are 5 offense versus 4 defense. There is a 12-second shot clock, and the offense only gets one shot per possession.

After the shot, the shooter leaves the court.

A new player joins the defense from a line under their basket.

The defense now attacks 5v4 the other way.

We typically play the game to 11 points to keep it quick and competitive.

A few thoughts on how this could apply in your coaching or leadership context…

Thanks for reading, I hope this serves you on your journey.

To your growth,

Luke Gromer, RYG Athletics

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