QuestionI was pushed into coaching my son's 3rd/4th grade basketball team & found out I'm in way over my head. I read a bunch of books, but found at the 1st practice last week, all that reading did me little good. I've fortunately got some supportive parents backing me, but what I really need is some sort of plan to get me through practices. There are 6 boys on the team, 2 of which have some skills. It's a competitive league, 1 1hr. practice a week, 1 game a week (starting after the 4th practice). Our practice facility is a school gym, 1/2 hr full court, 1/2 hr half court. Again, any suggestions you gay have or help coming up with an agenda for practices would be greatly appreciated.
Answer
Sample Practice Plan f
One of the most fun things in coaching is seeing your players improve in practice. The challenge to assess where they need to get better, plan drills to improve, and keep them motivated to work at it is enjoyable but can be frustrating. It is important to break down the skills you are teaching and keep repeating but over several practices for short periods at a time.
Here are some drills you can draw from to keep your practices moving at a quick pace:
Grade 3 Skills to teach- Dribble with weak hand, Two-hand overhead pass, Shoot from 10', Defense force side
1. Zig Zag Dribble ?Back up, spin, through legs
2. One handed shots from baseline, and straight on 5 footers
3. Around World with toss, step and shoot from 5 spots 10?both directions
4. Closeout Drills - Rollout to partner and play D from 5 spots (2-baseline, 2-elbows, FT)
5. Partner shooting ?1 each from 5 spots
6. Dribble Pivot ?Forward & Reverse - Pull it through high or low (Over Head, Chest, Bounce passes)
7. 3 on 2 Down, 2 on 1 back
8. 3 on 3 half court
Grade 4 Skills to teach- One-hand passing, driving to basket, defensive position ball-you-man
1. Warm-ups杕ake 2 each side (a) Power Rebound - Fake and Make, (b) Box turnaround Bank, (c) Mid lane shot, (d) Short Free Throw
2. Zig Zag Dribble ?Back up, spin, through legs, behind back
3. Crossover step drive to basket
4. Rocker step & shot, drive
5. 4 corner passing with lay-up
6. 4 man shell defense
7. 3 on 3 make it take it
8. Lightening (line shooting - you are out if player behind you makes her/his shot before you do)
Grade 2 Skills to teach ?Dribble spin, Two hand bounce pass, Strong hand lay-up
1. Dribbling in Place ?Figure Eight
2. Dribbling lay-ups around lane
3. Lay-ups ?normal, stutter
4. Dribble Pivot ?Forward - Pull it through high or low (Over Head, Chest, Bounce passes)
5. Zig Zag Dribble ?Back up, spin
6. Zig-Zag One on One Full
7. Four corner Passing (step toward next corner on pass (bounce, overhead, chest), follow pass to that line)
8. One handed pivot shots off board from block
9. Golf ?5 spots from 5 feet, lowest score wins.
You can also use parents (or chairs or cones) to stand in for 5 on 5 practice walking through team defense and offense situations. Tie it in to things that happened in games and how we could have done it. Build your practice plan starting with drills, moving to live situation play, and mixing in games for fun. Decide ahead of time how to group for each activity and move kids around so they do things with all of their teammates. Enjoy and celebrate their improvement and have a great season!
