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Practice Planning & Coaching

A play on paper is not a play your team can run. This is the bridge: how you install, a practice template you can copy, the checks that tell you it stuck, and the teaching method behind it all.

The install sequence

Four steps from chalkboard to live.

1 · Walkthrough

Zero defense, half speed. Players walk the spacing and cuts so they learn where before how fast. 3–5 minutes.

2 · Guided reps

Add token defense and a coach calling the read. Stop and fix on the spot. Build the habit before you add pressure. 5–8 minutes.

3 · Live reads

Full speed, live defense. The action stays the same; the defense gets to fight it. This is where players learn the counters. 8–10 minutes.

4 · Review

Two clips or two reps: one that worked, one that broke. Name the fix in a sentence the whole team repeats back. 2–3 minutes.

Practice template

A 90-minute plan you can copy.

Warm-up & skill · 20 min

Dynamic warm-up, then a skill block tied to tonight's install (e.g., backdoor catches before you install a Princeton set).

Install block · 20 min

Run the install sequence above on one new action. One concept per practice. Do not stack three new things in a night.

Team / 5-on-5 · 25 min

Live play where the new action must show up. Score a point for the team that runs it correctly, made or missed.

Competitive & review · 25 min

A competition that rewards the habit (paint touches, assisted baskets), then a short review and free throws to finish.

Copy-ready plan

A full 90-minute install practice.

One concept a night, everything tied to it. Swap the play for whatever you're installing. The shape holds.

  1. 0:00 · Dynamic warm-up, 6 min. Movement prep, then straight into the gym, no standing around.
  2. 0:06 · Form shooting & free throws, 6 min. Close to the rim, perfect form, then two at the line.
  3. 0:12 · Skill + competitive shooting, 12 min. Ball-handling on the move, then a scored shooting drill like Oklahoma Shooting. Every rep counts for something.
  4. 0:24 · Install the new action, 18 min. Run the four-step sequence above on one play from the library: walkthrough → guided reps → live. One concept, not three.
  5. 0:42 · 5-on-5, constraint on, 22 min. The new action has to show up. A point for the team that runs it right, made or missed.
  6. 1:04 · Competitive, under fatigue, 16 min. A game-shaped drill where the habit has to hold when legs are tired.
  7. 1:20 · Review + free throws, 8 min. One rep that worked, one that broke, name the fix in a sentence, finish at the line.

Coaching a younger team? Run the same shape in 60 minutes. Trim the team block to 15 and the competition to 10.

Teaching checks

Know it actually stuck.

Can the second unit run it?

If only your starters can, you have a play, not an installed play. Reps with the backups are the real test.

Can they run it tired?

Put it at the end of a competitive block. A play that only works fresh will not survive the fourth quarter.

Can a player teach it?

Ask one player to explain the read to a teammate. If they can teach it, they own it.

Need plays to install? Pull a diagrammed set from the play library, or read a full playbook breakdown.

Coaching & teaching method

The philosophy behind the plan.

All breakdowns →

Keep exploring

Offense · Defense · Situations · Drills & Player Development · Start Here

Every Practice and Conditioning page

All 68 pages in this section, grouped by topic.

Practice Plans and Drills 47

Conditioning 16

Health, Recovery and Nutrition 5