Let’s cut straight to the chase – every practice must have a focus. Plain and simple. A coach has to steer the practice toward an outcome. It may be a skill or drill, it may be a play or concept, it may be a point of emphasis – but there must be a focus.
One of the first things they teach in basic education courses is how a teacher must develop a lesson around an objective. What is the main point of the lesson? It could be a traditional 40 minute lesson or it could be a larger block of time. However, the main goal is fairly straightforward – align an objective to a standard and then develop a dynamic lesson to accomplish the goal.
Too often coaches try to “wing it.” They show up with a general idea of what they want to do and the majority of the time that doesn’t happen. There is no focus.
Coaching is teaching. It is improving an athlete’s performance as fast as possible by being intentional in what you are teaching and teaching it correctly. Ultimately, an athlete has to comprehend what you are teaching so they can play fast.
WHERE DOES THE OBJECTIVE COME FROM? WHAT IS THE FOCUS?
Your practice plans should be a part of unit plans. Coaches should develop unit plans before the season even starts. This is a roadmap for how you are going to introduce the key fundamentals, elements, and plays before the season and during the season.
Coaches that have many new members of their team will have to structure their unit plan differently than coaches that have more returning players.
Developing a roadmap is vital to the introduction of material and the management of cognitive load. Obviously, a youth coach will have less latitude than a college coach in terms of cognitive load potential.
However, every player is unique. Some struggle with learning disabilities or slower processing. Differentiating instruction for all is crucial to the next step.
HOW DO YOU TEACH THE OBJECTIVE?
Every drill that you do should be related to the day’s objective. Scaffolding is important in terms of skill development and teaching.
From a coaching standpoint, do not differentiate for each player. Knowing learning styles can help but developing dynamic lessons that feature all learning styles is a proven approach that works.
A coach should have a clear understanding of what he or she wants to accomplish in each practice. Knowing that goal is crucial and then developing a plan to get there is essential to a successful practice.
When you are teaching, use common language. You want all of your players speaking the same language. Not only does this help with comprehension, but it gets all of the players on the same page when they are in pressure situations. Use language that emphasizes what the focus is.
Super Bowl winning coach Tom Coughlin was famous for calling the traditional “red zone” the “green zone.” NFL circles always referred to the area inside of the 20 yardline as the red zone. Coughlin wanted the team to move ahead and finish with touchdowns. He aptly called it the “green zone” and ultimately his teams started speaking the same way. This subtle change reframes the concept of scoring inside the 20 yard line.
This is just one example of using a common language to get your players on the same page as you focus on a certain skill or objective.
HOW DO YOU ASSESS THE OBJECTIVE?
Like a teacher in the classroom, there must be some kind of assessment to the players. Scaffolding teaching or drills can provide immediate feedback to the coach.
Asking the players for feedback or asking simple questions will also allow the coach to assess the understanding. Having players teach the similar concept or explain the concept in film sessions is also a way that coaches can check for understanding.
Having informal conversations with players is also crucial. Not only does this build connections, but it also allows a player to think and verbalize their feelings. Just asking a group, “do you understand?” will not yield meaningful feedback. Having one on one conversations encourages a dialogue. Not only does it allow a player to verbalize their feelings in a safer environment, but it lets them know that you are listening to them.
Players want to know that you have their best interest at heart. When you develop a focused practice plan, execute it and allow for feedback, it reinforces to players that their development is paramount to your coaching style.