Developing The Practice Plan

By Jim Harrick, Fmr. Head Basketball Coach
University of Georgia

Points to Ponder
Have Patience
Players must understand what they are doing wrong and doing right
Fundamentals - executed quickly and properly
Run a well organized practice
You improve the team by improving yourself
Keep eyes and ears open - learn from your players
Teach new ideas during first hour of practice
Learning is better by absorbing it a little at a time
Repetition - over and over until habits are formed

Teaching Methods - Parts to Whole
One extra player in each drill. (ie: Five on Offense against four on Defense)
On all drills move and change quickly
Make practice harder than games
Put players in tough - alert - concentrating situations
Stance - Concentration - Quickness - Balance - Hard
Don’t take a good shot and turn it into a bad play (Shoot the open shot)
Get more and better shots than your opponent

Three Defensive Points of Emphasis
1. Pressure on ball (Trace, talk, dictate focus)
2. Ball position

1. Know where ball is
2. Know your position to ball (where you are suppose to be)
3. Know where your man is/ you want to develop 5 on 2 or 5 on 3 situation

3. Wrap up defense possession

1. Shut off penetration
2. Stop pass to post
3. Screen off / Limit putbacks

Everyday Constants – Defensive / Offensive
Five Areas to Cover Daily in Practice Four Offensive Points of Emphasis

1. Pressure Ball                      1. Shot selection
2. Deny passing lanes                        2. Handle ball without mistakes
3. Help and recover                 3. Play/Move without the ball
4. Block out                             4. Help each other get open
5. Post Defense                                  5. Fake a pass – Make a pass

Sample Practice Plan
30 Min. Individual Attention - Pre-Practice Work
10 Min. Floor Length and Open Up on Floor
5 Min. Fast Break - No Defense
20 Min. Defensive Break Down Drills
10 Min. Special Situations
10 Min. Zone (off-def)
10 Min. Full court Lane Drills / Fast Break Drills
1. Min. Water Break - Gatoraid
10 Min. M-M Offense/ No Defense
10 Min. Shooting
10 Min. Four on Four shell Defense
5 Min. Four man break - No Defense
20 Min. Foul Shooting - Forty per day

Things To Cover Before Your First Game
· Man offense against straight, switching and sagging D SPECIAL SITUATIONS
· Zone offense against (2-3), (1-3-1), (1-2-2) & Chaser Our Ball…..
· Man defense – Full, ½ court & Top of the key Down 1, 2 (10 sec)
· Zone Defenses (whatever you run) Ahead 1, 2 (10 sec.)
· Zone Presses (Whatever you run) Down 1, 2 (1 minute)
· Work against some kind of zone press & ½ crt trap Ahead 1, 2 (1 minute)
· Out of Bounds (Zone & Man) O and D
· Delay Game (Clock Management) Foul Shooting
· Fast Break Offense (Secondary Break) (Offensive & Def)
· Late Game Situations (How to foul)
· Jump Ball Situations (Coverage) Same series of plays
· Last shot plays vs man & zone (Their Ball)

Things to Remember
1. Don’t give too much. Keep things simple.
2. Have players stretch on their own. This saves time.
3. Start with a warm-up drill. (Shooting: Spin outs or offensive routes)
4. End with a team drill.
5. Vary the setup of your drills from day to day. This prevents monotony. It’s a good idea to have two or three drills to teach the same skill.
6. Make your drills competitive

7. Start and end practice on time.
8. Use the clock and the 45-second clock.
9. Don’t run your drills too long. A good guideline for a team drill is no longer than 10 minutes and for an individual drill, no longer than 7 minutes.
10. If you need to emphasize a drill longer than 10 minutes, do it in two sessions.
Example: A 20-minute drill can be split into two 10-minute segments.
11. Teach new things early.
12. Repeat new things daily until the results are satisfactory.
13. Follow harder drills with easier ones.
14. Have shooting drills after running drills.
15. Practice a 5-minute overtime daily.
16. End practice on a positive note. Summarize the practice.
17. Keep all of your players active. (break lines up, shorten wait time b/n reps)
18. Name all drills and make sure players know the names.
19. Take anywhere from 1-2 hours to plan your practice.

20. Involve all your coaches in the planning.
21. Provide each coach with a practice plan to use on the floor.
22. If you can’t get it done in 2 ½ hours, you are not organized enough.
23. Shorten practice as the year goes on.
24. Utilize the whole, part, whole method of teaching.
25. Must use constant repetition in your teaching.
26. Present material to your squad at their level of understanding.
27. Run a closed practice. The gym is your classroom.
28. Run your practices the same way you coach in a game.
29. Don’t use a whistle. Your players need to learn to respond to your voice. You can’t
use that whistle in a game.
30. You must stress perfection of the small details of the game.
31. Explain to your players what your drills will accomplish.