Free Basketball Practice Plan Templates

Basketball Practice Plan: What Is It?

A Basketball Practice Plan is an itemized list of physical activities and exercises basketball players are required to do during training sessions between competitive events and in preparation for a tournament. Since it is likely the time the coaches spend with their players is limited, you have to find a way to figure out how to maximize it, improve their natural abilities, address the weak areas in their game, and encourage the athletes to make an effort whether your goal is to convince an established professional to stay in your team or simply motivate an aspiring player to take their talent to the next level.

For a full list of Basketball Practice Plan templates please check out our library below.

How to Run a Basketball Practice?

Here is how any basketball coach is supposed to arrange a practice to get the most out of the athletes they are in charge of:

1. Complete a Basketball Practice Plan template and share this document with the players. It can look like a table or list depending on your preferences. A meticulously planned practice that indicates the times allocated for every drill or group of exercises is probably the best format - do not forget about the warm-up, ask players to perform the relevant drills for five or ten minutes each, and make time for breaks.
2. Introduce variety to practice sessions. It may be tempting to ask players to do the same drill again and again until it is done to perfection but dull exercises they are forced to do on daily basis will not inspire them, quite the opposite - they will feel physical and mental exhaustion that may compel them to quit.
3. Consider adding illustrations and schemes that depict new drills the athletes have never been exposed to before to give them an idea of what is coming - alternatively, insert links to videos that portray certain exercises which is particularly important for kids making their first steps on the court. A Youth Basketball Practice Plan, for example, can look like a list of captions to videos of basic skills they should work on first.
4. Make competitive drills your priority - teach the players about the importance of winning and constantly striving to be the best even if it seems just another practice behind closed doors. Besides, if you are recording the progression of the training you will be able to identify the athletes with the highest potential.

How Long Does Basketball Practice Last?

The duration of the Basketball Practice will depend on the level of your team and the short- and long-term objectives you have set - obviously, professional athletes will rarely have days off while younger players that have not yet chosen their career path will have to balance various duties leaving them a limited amount of time to train. Still, generally, a Basketball Practice lasts for about two hours and it is recommended to work on the drills four or five times per week.

Make sure you are open to schedule flexibility. For example, share a High School Basketball Practice Plan with your squad as soon as it is drafted and your training sessions are planned to learn if any of them has extra classes to prepare for graduation and university admission - your readiness to negotiate the complexity of the practice and its time will be valuable for you and the students alike.

How to Make Basketball Practice Fun?

If you want to ease the pressure of the training session which is significant regardless of the age of your squad, take advantage of the tips below and have a good time developing strong player-coach relationships:

1. Find out what the players want - for instance, once a week you may focus on the drills they love most. Collect feedback from them regularly or simply request their input during practice.
2. Adopt a more cheerful approach, avoid pointing out the mistakes of players for a short while, and celebrate every successful action - even if you believe in the effectiveness of a harsh coaching style, a certain variety will not hurt and may prove to be very beneficial.
3. Slightly modify familiar exercises to make them more entertaining - ask your players to use tennis balls instead of regular ones, participate in the drills with other coaches to demonstrate the tricks the players may not be aware of, organize a small shooting contest and announce the winner, and dim the lights in the training area if you have an illuminated hoop at your disposal to test the skills in a new environment to break from routine.
4. Watch an iconic basketball game or a movie that featured a basketball storyline to give the players an opportunity to recreate the movements or scenes as closely as possible - the best reconstruction deserves verbal encouragement or a symbolic prize.

Still looking for a particular template? Take a look at the related templates below:

• Basketball Shot Chart Template;
• Basketball Invitation Template;
• Basketball Tryouts Flyer.