Practice Plans on the Fly: Create Your Practice in Under 10 Minutes

Are you a coach or a team leader who often finds yourself pressed for time when it comes to planning practice sessions for hockey, lacrosse, or soccer? Don't worry, you're not alone! In the fast-paced world of sports, being able to quickly create effective practice plans is a skill that can save the day. With CoachThem and our practice planning tips, we’ll show you how to significantly enhance your efficiency by saving valuable time in creating effective practice sessions.

 

1. Understanding Your Team's Needs

The first step to quickly creating a practice plan is understanding your team's current strengths and weaknesses. Take a moment to reflect on recent games and identify areas that need improvement. Whether it's refining passing techniques, enhancing defensive strategies, or working on goal-scoring opportunities, a clear understanding of your team's needs is vital. With a PRO license on CoachThem, you can unlock access to an extensive library of free Marketplace Drills and resources, helping you to quickly identify the specific skills and techniques their team needs to work on.

 

2. Set Clear Objectives

Once you've identified the areas of needed focus, set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives for the practice session. For example, in hockey, you might aim to improve power plays, while in lacrosse, your objective could be to enhance ground ball retrieval skills. In soccer, you might want to concentrate on corner kicks and defensive formations. Whatever your objectives might be, our platform enables you to create detailed, step-by-step practice plans that align with your team's goals. These plans can be tailored to focus on the identified areas of improvement, ensuring that every minute of practice is purposeful.

 

 

3. Quick Warm-Up Activities

Begin with a brief but energetic warm-up session. For hockey and lacrosse, dynamic stretches and light jogging can prepare muscles and improve flexibility. In soccer, activities like dribbling exercises or passing drills can get the players warmed up and ready for the main session. At CoachThem, with the ability to draw unlimited drills, coaches can customize these exercises to meet their team's unique requirements, ensuring that players receive focused and relevant training.

 

4. Targeted Drills

Focus on drills that address the identified areas of improvement. For hockey, set up stations that work on passing accuracy and shooting techniques. In lacrosse, concentrate on stick handling and defensive maneuvers. For soccer, practice dribbling under pressure, crossing, and shooting on goal. In addition, take advantage of CoachThem's extensive library of free Marketplace Drills with accompanying videos covering a wide range of sports techniques.

 

5. End with a Team Game

Wrap up the practice session with a friendly scrimmage or a game that allows players to implement the skills they've practiced. It could be a mini-hockey match, a short lacrosse game, or a soccer scrimmage.

 

6. Sharing is Caring!

The platform's sharing capabilities enables coaches to collaborate with fellow coaches to share fun challenges or innovative practice ideas. Coaches can inspire each other with creative drills and engaging activities, fostering a sense of community and learning. CoachThem allows coaches to create unlimited plans, and design realistic game scenarios, complete with strategies and objectives; helping players apply their skills in a game-like environment. This hands-on experience enhances players' understanding of the sport and boosts their confidence on the field or ice!

 

7. Provide Feedback

Lastly, collaborate with one another and provide feedback. CoachThem's drill and plan sharing feature enables one to share their practice plans with both fellow coaches and players. Facilitating open communication, while receiving personalized feedback, fostering a continuous feedback loop that supports your team’s development.

 

 

Creating effective practice plans on the fly is about understanding your team's needs, setting clear objectives, incorporating targeted drills, adding a dash of fun, and providing feedback. Add in CoachThem's features, including drawing unlimited drills, creating unlimited plans, our vast collection of free marketplace drills (including visuals and clips), and the ability to share with others, so that coaches and teams can optimize their training sessions; making the most out of practice time and accelerating their skill development. With CoachThem, coaches can turn their vision into reality and design a practice session in under 10 minutes that is not only productive but also cost saving and efficient for your hockey, lacrosse, or soccer team. So, lace up those shoes, grab your sticks, and hit the field or rink with confidence!

 

Written by the CoachThem Team 

October 5, 2023

 

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