#1 Mistake Coaches Make In Practice
This mistake alone ends up causing more losses than anything else I know. I believe that it's the #1 mistake that coaches make during practice.
Short term, you don't see the impact. You might even win a few more games immediately by doing this. It's actually kind of like fool's gold because it results in more losses in the long run!
The mistake is that coaches don't spend enough time on skill development during practice.
Many coaches will even completely remove skill development from their practices!
Instead, some coaches focus on strategies and tactics like teaching plays, multiple defenses, multiple offenses, etc. And these things have no impact on the long term development of the team or the players!
In fact, if this happens year after year... not only does the team lose more games, but it's also possibly costing your players a chance at college scholarships.
Spend at Least 1/3 of Practice on Skill Development
You should spend AT LEAST 1/3 of your practice on skill development.
(Note: If you're coaching teams ages 16 and under, you should also teach universal offensive concepts and universal defensive concepts.)
The late Hall of Fame coach Don Meyer who once led the NCAA in total wins (923) once said...
"When it comes time for the playoffs, which would you rather have, two better players, or two new plays? I would rather have two better players."
From personal experience, you even start to see major differences by the second half of the season!
Simple Math Shows Why This Is Vital!
And if you think about it, this makes sense.
Let's say you have 30 practices that are 90 minutes each. At each practice, you spend 30 minutes on skill development.
Over the course of just one season, that's 900 minutes of skill development! You can make a big impact over just one season!
All things being equal, who is going to be the better team? The team who spent this time memorizing plays or the team who became better at shooting, ball handling, passing, footwork, and attacking the defense.
Then let's do that over the course of 9 seasons, that's 8,100 minutes of skill development!
You can make a tremendous impact on multiple seasons!
How to Turn 8,100 Minutes of Skill Development into 810,000 Minutes
And to top it off... you motivate players to practice outside of practice.
1 - You show them drills to do. So they know what to work on outside of practice. Not every kid will do this, but some will.
2 - When they see themselves getting better at their basketball skills, they want to practice more outside of practice. It's fun seeing yourself improve! So those 8,100 minutes could easily turn into 810,000 minutes! That's where you get unbelievable results.
What Skill Development System I Use with My Team
When it comes to teaching skill development and mentality with my teams, Don Kelbick's Attack & Counter Skill Development System is a big part of what I do. You can incorporate many of the principles with players as young as 10 or 11 years old.
It's also very important to learn how to attack the defense. That's why I use plenty of game-based drills (or small-sided games).
Let Us Know Your Thoughts Below!
Has this approach for skill development helped you? Have you benefited from Attack & Counter skill development system? Do you have questions? Let us know below!
What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...
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