Why Use Practice Plans?

     Too many times, time constraints interrupt a coach’s ability to stay organized and communicate the way he or she would like to. Although the effectiveness of utilizing practice plans does not seem to be in debate, most coaches are forced to give into the fact that there just isn’t enough time to utilize Practice Plans to their fullest extent. A quick sketch on the way to practice or a hasty write up on a whiteboard at practice is all too often the best a coach can do. Unfortunately, this practice actually causes inefficiencies that add to a coach’s workload. By using DrillShare to create and distribute practice plans, coaches can be more efficient  and stay organized as the season progresses. DrillShare.com was conceived by a coach to specifically address these needs.

Be more efficient

With the price of ice time still a major portion of a team’s budget, efficiency can not only lead to a more effective and organized practice, but it will also allow coaches to get the most out of the costly time they have on the ice. Having pre-printed practice plans allow coaches to avoid the time consuming ritual of gathering players together to draw up the subsequent drill in the practice. Allowing players to see the drills they will be doing in practice gives them time to become familiar with the drills, and thus avoid stumbling through early portions of the drills. Expecting players to master a drill after seeing drawn on a whiteboard for 5 minutes is unrealistic, yet has become the norm. In addition, allowing coaches to see drills prior to practice will allow them to be prepared to teach throughout the drills, and ensure that prep for the drills is done quickly and efficiently. Again, ask any coach, and this seems like common sense, yet without the proper tools, it can be extremely difficult to follow through on.

Communicate with Players, Coaches, and Parents

OK, this one is pretty obvious, yet as the season drags on, communication with the three main groups of a team gets more and more abbreviated. Players and coaches will have the necessary communication on practice days and game days, but providing practice plans on days prior to practices allows players and coaches to provide feedback in the form of questions and suggestions and come to the rink prepared having previously been exposed to that day’s activities. This can lead to more effective practices and even lead to a coach tweaking drills based on this feedback. Then there is the communication with parents. This is very often a heated topic on teams. More often than not, the manager is singled out as the source for information in order to allow the coach to go about his/her work. Many times, animosity between parents and coaches is driven from a lack of communication. Parents often feel out of the loop, and coaches are continuously frustrated with parents who provide feedback to players that is contrary to the message a coach is trying to get across. By providing parents access to practice plans, a coach is giving them the ability to follow along during practices, and the ability to provide feedback to questions that come up during general discussions regarding team activities. Coaches cannot filter all of the information that is being passed on to players, but they can try to educate parents and give them as much information as possible to properly discuss the goals of practices and drills. This can lead to stronger, and healthier interaction between parents and coaches, as well as a general feeling by the parents of being involved in the teams progress and activities.

Stay Organized

Lastly, creating and maintaining practice plans and drills in an organized fashion allows coaches to evolve over time. Having physical practice plans, and drills allows a coach to analyze practice and game activity, and evolve practices and drills as necessary. This leads to more pointed, and effective practices which can be reutilized throughout one or many seasons. Over time, the coach will build a collection of practices and drills that are most effective at different parts of the season, or more effective at addressing specific skill sets. As a coach reflects on the issues his or her team is experiencing, the ability to browse existing practices and drills for ideas and inspiration allows for more time addressing the team’s needs. This is specifically why DrillShare.com was created. It was created from one coach’s frustration and inability to address the above needs, and the hope that this site will allow other coaches to be more efficient and effective, and concentrate more on developing their team’s skills.