Inside Hoops- Pre-Practice Routine

I liked to have a routine the players would perform as soon as they came on the floor. I didn’t want the players to come on the floor and just do “free shooting.” I wanted the message to be that as soon as we got on the court it was time to be purposeful and to get to work. 

The Emphasis

1- The definition of “being on time” is that you have started Pre-Practice Routine by the start time of practice. So if practice was to start at 3:00pm, players were not to be stretching or tying their shoes or putting on their reversible. All of that needed to be taken care. The player was to doing our Pre-Practice. 

2- Our Pre-Practice Routine is focusing on weak hand development.

3- Our Pre-Practice is focusing on form shooting as warmup. 

4- Our Pre-Practice is designed as an opportunity to warmup by moving and shooting. 

5- Nothing in our Pre-Practice is unique, but I believe if the players are doing weak hand work and form shooting every day, it can make a big difference in their skill level. Doing these basic skills for just 10-15 minutes daily adds up to make a huge difference. 

6- I believe having the players start an assigned activity the minute they step on the court, it is establishes that we as coaches are now in charge. 

The Basic Drills

1- Stationary Weak Hand Pounds

2– Stop & Go Weak Hand Dribbling

3- Circle Weak Hand Layups going around the FT line. 

4- Mikan Layups

5- Form Shooting

6- Partner Shooting

Variation

1- To break up routine, sometimes after players do weak hand layups, we may have them to either 8 x 8 Shooting or Tennessee Shooting. 

Organization

1- We assign the shooting partners. We have done it on a daily or on a weekly basis. 

2- We have sometimes assigned by similar players, and other years rotated so eventually everyone partners with everyone.

3- Our best plan was to have a chart where the partners rotated each day. It seemed like it really helped develop team chemistry.  

4- By assigning partners and rotating partner, we found it reduced “social hour” by some pairs. 

5- I liked to have an assistant in charge of this segment of practice. The players hear my voice as the head coach enough, so for 20 minutes it is the assistant giving instructions. That also can free me up to rotate and talk to players as needed as the shoot. 

Added Value

We hammer on the players that this routine is what you do when you step on the court. As a result, the players then will start open gyms doing the same routine. So even in off-season, they are working on skill development.