Winning the margins - part i
One of the biggest pain points is just not having enough time. As we all know, time is the only truly non-renewable or replaceable resource we have. We have to be able to “get it all in,” whether that means content or that means all of our inbound plays, presses, defenses, and drills.
But what if we told you there was another way? A way to win the margins and create a climate in your program that leads to ownership over individual and group development.
We generally think of practice or class as a fixed amount of time - we have 90 minutes or 2 hours to get something done. And then that’s it. And we lament, perhaps, that players do not have the “will,” to get in the gym. Or that students simply won’t do the homework or that homework is evil. But independent, deliberate, task oriented practice has been proven to work. So, how do we win the margins and develop a habitual climate that then leads to our players and students improving in a way that is aligned to what we are looking to do in our programs.
Here is one way:
Winning the margins Part 1:
— Aseem Rastogi🔺💰 (@Rastogi_Aseem) November 18, 2019
15 minute pre/post-practice 1 on 1 games.
15 mins x 50 practices = 750 minutes = 12.5 FULL practices.
No coaches, just players playing 1 on 1 before or after practice. Give them a card with constraints to use & they pick 1 or 2 for the day.
In that tweet from 2019, I offered a glimpse into how we can collapse timeframes and actually come out ahead in the aggregate.
To break it down, if we were to play 1 on 1 (deliberate games of self-organized 1 on 1) prior to practice or after practice for JUST 15 minutes…we’d hit 12 and a half full practices worth of 1 on 1.
Those same 2 hours that we spend meticulously planning, and maybe only get 50 of in a good year…now turns into 62.5 practices in the same amount of days. Our players get OVER an entire day of playing 1 on 1 for the year…all in those 15 minutes per day pre-or-post practice.
What does this accomplish?
It accomplishes the major goal of encouraging our team to self-organize. You do not need coaches to organize this - what a role for a “captain,” to take charge and get their teammates to the gym early.
It allows players to experiment with their games and improve at what we need them to improve. For example - one of the constraints could be: “we must score on the left side of the court and start from a spin out to yourself. Defense can move when the offense moves.” Just that simple start creates a whole host of situations in which our players learn to play on their own and are responsible for their own development.
Speaking of being responsible for their own development - how often are we getting all of our players quality reps, especially when we “shorten the rotation,” as we get to conference play. That’s another topic for another day (which…why are our players not ready to play by the time we hit the second half of the season?), but the point stands nonetheless - are we doing everything we possibly can to squeeze more juice from the proverbial berry? The players learn to take their own development into their own hands.
It is FUN to play 1 on 1 and compete. There’s been a lot of talk about competing and how “college coaches are looking for competitors.” Well, here’s a great way to build that.
At the end of the day, perhaps you’re constrained by time (we all are) and you can’t find those 15 minutes pre-or-post practice. Like anything else, what we really want to do is create habits and culture from our climate. Up to you, coach - we are here to help you get more of what you want.
