Let’s close our eyes and take ourselves to any Little League field in America. It’s a warm spring evening, a bunch of 12 year olds run down to the dugout and gather in the outfield with their gloves. They group up in a circle and stretch – all the typical stretches – jumping jacks, toe touches, quad stretches, arm stretches. Then they partner up and begin throwing. After 10 or 15 minutes, the coach then starts the meat of the practice.
This can be Little League. This can be soccer practice. Basketball practice, Football practice. You name it. For the majority of practices, it begins with a half-hearted stretch. Even more focused practices usually start with some kind of dynamic stretching.
Is this really the most effective way to start a practice? Why is it so common? Is it just because that’s the way it has been done for 50 years?
Teachers in the classroom often have a Do Now on the board as the students enter. The Do Now is usually a mental activity designed to get the students focused on the objective of the day. What are they going to be learning about? By having the Do Now on the board as soon as they come in, they get into a habit of engagement right at the start of the period. There is no wasted effort or time.
THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH
The typical warm up routine is based on the age old theory that you have to stretch before you start practicing. Now, I’m not disputing the fact that a good warm up can not hurt. However, many young players, especially those prior to high school, do not need a lot of stretching.
In recent years, a dynamic warmup has overtaken the traditional sit and stretch. Sport-specific stretches have found a home at the very beginning of practices. Loosening muscles you are about to use definitely prevents injury and can help maximize performance.
Why is it always the first thing in practice though?
Go back to any youth or rec league coach from decades ago. They always started with some kind of stretch. Most of these coaches did not have much training. In fact, many didn’t have any training at all. They just followed the simple Phys Ed. class blueprint of stretching first.
But what if there is a better way to start a practice?
THE PROBLEM WITH STARTING COLD
While a case can be made to immediately warm up as you arrive on the field, that only takes the physical approach to the forefront. In fact, research has shown that static stretching before activity has limited benefits for performance.
Oftentimes starting with a carefree stretch brings a passive mindset to the start of practice. There is no focus while a player is going through the motions of jumping jacks, toe touches or arm circles. This is a missed opportunity for early engagement and focus.
THE POWER OF STARTING WITH PURPOSE
Immediately starting a practice with a walkthrough, discussion or video review before any physical activity can help a player focus during the practice much better.
By conducting a walkthrough right at the beginning of practice, a coach is making it very clear to the players what the focus of the practice will be. The coach has an opportunity to lock a player in when they are most fresh. There hasn’t been an opportunity for distraction yet and the coach is showing the players what they will be focusing on for the next couple of hours.
The walkthrough should be the main focus or objective of the practice. Even if there are multiple goals of the practice, a coach should pick one – a major theme that they want the players to have a good understanding of by the end of the session.
Structuring a practice this way – with a walkthrough – builds mental readiness before physical readiness. This is a hallmark of good teaching.
EXAMPLE PRACTICE FLOW
No matter the sport, a coach should gather players right away, as soon as practice starts and hold a brief team huddle to explain the walkthrough. The coach should be very clear and concise about the focus and objectives of the day. The first 5-7 minutes of a practice should be spent walking through the plays, fundamentals or drills of the day.
Let’s use football as an example here. A coach has decided that the focus of the offensive practice will be running between the tackles. As soon as players arrive at the field, the coach should hold a brief team huddle explaining the focus of the day. Immediately, coaches should get the offensive players into position and conduct a 5-7 minute walkthrough of plays. The coach should not look for perfection here, just a focused walkthrough of certain plays to emphasize the objective.
The next part of practice, after the walkthrough, should be a dynamic warmup designed around the skills and drills of the day.
Once a dynamic warmup is completed, the coach should present well designed drills that build the fundamentals for success. Maybe it is the first and second steps offensive linemen take? Maybe the backs work on how to receive the handoff and hit the hole? Maybe the quarterbacks work on their footwork and hand offs? These drills should be progressive.
The coach should then build a session on game-type scenarios where the players practice the objective at full speed or close to full speed. You can even incorporate a defense to run against. This is the full speed portion of practice.
Finally, the coach should provide an opportunity for reflection and reinforcement. Can the players explain what they were doing? Can they provide feedback as to what works and what doesn’t? Can the players teach the concepts that were presented?
FINAL TIPS
It is important to stress we are not getting rid of warmups, we are simply shifting when and how they happen. By conducting a walkthrough (no running) at the beginning of the practice, we are not opening ourselves up to going full speed too quickly.
Keep the walkthrough short and focused. Every player should be able to explain, in one or two sentences, what the focus of the practice is.
Use whiteboards, video, or even cones for quick visuals to help the players understand the initial concepts.
Build this structure as a habit. You will be surprised at how quickly the players adapt to this and even get used to it. They’ll arrive at practice immediately looking forward to the first walkthrough. They will want to know what they will be working on right away. That kind of curiosity is inherent.
Try it out. Start your practices differently and see how your team reacts.