Preparing for Coaching Practice
One of the unspoken concerns that prevents many parents from volunteering to coach youngsters is the uncertainty about how to organize and run an effective coaching session for kids. This is also a shame, because assembling Crackerjack Workouts for Kids in any sport only needs the following components:
Prepare in advance
Training time management
Training by walking
Planning “spontaneous” exercises during practices
Enjoy
Whether you’re coaching your local swimming team, football club, or Peugeot basketball team, an effective and productive training session begins with your preparation to make sure the practice is worthwhile. Nothing is more boring or counterproductive than an exercise session in which the coach simply stands around, circles the kids together, and says, “Okay, gang, what do you want to do today?” This is a sure sign that the coach is not ready.
Instead, prepare for your practice with these steps:
1. Several days before your exercise session, take out a paper and a pencil.
2. Think about the last game the team played, or if they haven’t played a game yet, identify in your mind the basic skills they have to develop in order to improve.
3. Make a quick list of those skills and exercises you want to cover.
4. Consider your total available exercise time, then block out 5, 10, or 15 minutes of time for each workout.
5. From there, start deciding the order of your training session.
For example, suppose you trained on a Saturday morning, and your workout time lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes, or 75 minutes in total. You’ve chosen six skills to cover. Spending 15 minutes on each skill will take 15 minutes more than you have. If you allow 15 minutes for three workouts and 10 minutes for three more, you leave no time to rest in between.
A more realistic plan might be to practice just five skills or spend just 10 minutes on each skill so the kids can breathe and you can do some group work.
Breaking down your training sessions into structured parts or time slots allows you to stick to your schedule. He also ensures that the team is working on all the exercises they need, and keeps the work going at a fast pace. Make sure to bring a watch with you to every practice!
Here is a sample training schedule for a youth basketball team:
First 5 minutes: Two laps and simple calisthenics to stretch and loosen up.
Next 5 minutes: A quick review of what the team did well and not so well last game. Always talk about the team — never an individual player.
Next 5 minutes: A simple drill, perhaps a line of lay-ups.
Next 5 minutes: Defensive stance and lateral movement.
Next 10 minutes: Rebounding and how to box out opponents.
Next 10 minutes: Free-throw shooting.
Next 10 minutes: Passing drills and how to hit the open player.
Next 10 minutes: Running offensive plays and teaching basic give-and-go.
Last 15 minutes: Controlled scrimmage.
75 minutes: Total practice time
This simple act of thinking ahead about what the team should work on makes each exercise run smoothly and gives children a strong sense of progress toward their goals. Even better, when the session is over, you walk away from feeling self-satisfied because your outline worked and the action moved quickly.