BEHAVIORS IT TAKES TO WIN

So…  That begs the question, WHAT ARE THOSE BEHAVIORS IT TAKES TO WIN AND HOW DO YOU TEACH THEM?

First of all, stop talking about winning and losing.  Change your focus to each player DOING HIS/HER BEST at practices and in games.  Do you see how this can be accomplished by each and every player in spite of talent levels--no matter the score?  

Next, sit down and make a list of ALL the skills you want your players to exhibit--one by one and be specific.  Have a brainstorming session with all of your assistant coaches.  Do this very early on, like several weeks before your first practice.  I promise you, it will not be your only session.  That list will change over and over and over.  It will change from year to year and it will most definitely get tweaked from game to game.

One thing I found to be extremely fun and actually very gratifying was to invite some of the local high school coaches to lunch.  Explain to them that some of your players will be involved in their program and that you want to pick their brain for skill sets that are specific to that coach’s program.  My invitation was never turned down and I ended up picking up some very productive drills in addition to other skill sets.

OK, now you have your skills list.  Now what?  You will take each skill listed and devise a drill (or several drills) that you believe will help teach that skill set to your players.  Now, with the Internet, you have unlimited access to drills in every sport.  It also doesn’t take a rocket scientist to develop your own drills.  Just make sure the drills are teaching what you want.

Once you have devised one to several drills per skill set, you now have your daily practice schedule.  Huh?  Yes, there it is right in front of you.  All you have to do now is prioritize those drills so there is some logical order.  In other words, you will want to work on gripping the baseball before you work on throwing drills.  Or you will want to work on the lineman’s stance before you work on blocking drills.

Once that prioritized list is completed, you will know what you will be doing each and every minute of at least your first few weeks of practice up until your first game.  Not only does that ensure you will have covered everything and left out nothing, but your players will know before each and every practice what will be expected of them that day.

It will also serve as a checklist for you.  What areas need work?  Where were our strengths?  Where were our weaknesses?  What needs to be covered again?

OK…  Now a very important message about those drills you devised, found online, or gathered from other coaches.  YOU MUST DEMAND THAT THE DRILLS ARE DONE PERFECTLY IN PRACTICE!  YOU MUST NEVER SETTLE FOR ANY PRACTICE PERFORMANCE LESS THAN ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!  If the drill is not done perfectly, repeat the drill until they do it perfectly.

Another point…  Make sure your players UNDERSTAND WHY they are doing that particular drill.  In other words, set up a game situation where the skills from that drill will be utilized.  This helps them refer back to that skill and how they learned it when they come upon it in game conditions.  Don’t leave your drills in a vacuum.