Do you have an offseason program?
After the long, tough grind of any season, entering into the offseason can be tricky. How do you go about not overworking your players, but making sure you maximize their ability? How do you keep them engaged? As part of my continued “Coaching Tactics” mini-series, I dedicate the #CJJblog this week to my offseason program and how each season of the calendar year should be treated. Enjoy.
- Spring. The basketball season has just ended and the players (and coaches) are exhausted no matter how the year ended up. I meet with every player and ask them to rate me as a coach from 1-10. If not a 10, I ask them “What can I do to get to a 10 rating?” If they are a Senior, I would ask about post-High School plans. If they were not a Senior, I would ask if they planned to try out for the team again next year. I would also give them a Goals Sheet as well to fill out and return. Open gyms, coaches meeting, and workouts were very seldom in the spring time as well.
- Summer. Summer was a great time for development and team cohesion. Whether it was a team camp or summer league, we liked to get the team playing together as much as possible. We would also have gym workouts to increase strength, as well as summer picnics to get together outside the gym. At the end of the summer, I would meet with each player again and complete a Summer Assessment.
- Fall. Workouts in the fall were often after school wherever we could find the gym space. I would also meet with coaches and parents to discuss expectations for the upcoming season. The parents would also start to coordinate fundraising events and our annual team booklet with sponsors and pictures. I would meet with the players two weeks prior to tryouts to discuss the upcoming season, our values, and what to expect. Outside my office, I would have a bulletin board with updates, workout schedules, and upcoming events. I would send out a fall newsletter and (throughout the calendar year) send out birthday cards to everyone in the program.
Did You Know? Coach Jim Johnson is writing a second book, “Blue Print to Timeless Leadership” to help emerging leaders become more effective. You can help him out by completing this questionnaire as he collects data for the book. Complete this form and help coach out HERE.
Life Tip #27: Go the extra mile consistently. There are no traffic jams on the extra mile.
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