Five Areas of Focus in Pre-Season Planning

One of the most important components to having a successful season is creating a plan for your program in the off-season. There are endless areas of focus to plan for but the five main things that I typically like to focus on are coaching roles and responsibilities, offensive philosophy, defensive philosophy, rebounding philosophy, and drills for individual and team skill development.

Furthermore, before the start of each season it is vital to meet with your coaching staff to not only share your plan, but to also discuss and receive feedback on any additional thoughts or changes that are in the best interest of your program. Whether it is a weekend retreat to the beach or a Monday night dinner, it is extremely important that your coaches buy-in to the plan before it’s conveyed to your players.

Coaching Responsibilities

From the head coach all the way down to your last assistant (and Director of Operations and Video Coordinators if applicable), each coach on your staff needs to fully understand their roles and responsibilities for the season. Here are some suggestions of responsibilities to cover:

• Academic Tracking & Progress
• Practice & Game Gym Setup (Chairs, Sweeping Floors, Clocks, etc)
• Bench Duties (What is being charted/watched on the bench?)
• Community Outreach (Newsletters, Pictures, Community Service, Booster Clubs, etc)
• Strength & Conditioning
• Film (Highlight, scouting, and motivational videos)
• Guard Development (Who is mainly in charge of the guards during individual instruction)
• Post Development (Who is mainly in charge of the bigs during individual instruction)

Some may find it unusual to have a particular coach in charge of a group of players such as Guards or Bigs, but I have found it helps players by hearing the same language and terminology. I understand that it is a collective duty to improve your players’ skills. However, if you have differing voices it becomes difficult and the players don’t buy in.  It is key that everyone is on the same page! Click here to finish reading the article at FastModelSports.com…

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Backboard Tap Drill (1 Hand)

This is an excellent drill that teaches your bigs to have a soft touch around the rim and have better ball control by improving hand-eye coordination.

Player starts by tossing the ball against the backboard and then continues to tap the ball (jumping) off the backboard with one hand. (Left hand on left side, Right hand on right side). Goal is to successfully make 10 taps in a row and then finish with a made lay-up. If the lay-up is missed you must start over.

Keep bouncin…