| Iowa's Blueprint for Practice Organization
We have a practice blueprint that we follow at The University of Iowa. "The Blueprint" generally stays the same throughout the entire season. Moreover, notable exceptions are the days before the games. This is when we do less drill work and more preparation for the team we are about to face. Practice Blueprint 5 – Ball handling and passing 5 – Full court drills (work on passing, shooting, running the court hard- setting the tone for practice) 10 – Rebounding 35 – Defensive drill work 10 – Free throws/Drink 15 – Shooting 20 – Half court scrimmage, and/or new plays 20 – Full court scrimmage 20- Extra time to work on press, press break, special situations 15 - Film 30 -Weights and or conditioning (2-3 times per week) I follow the blueprint pretty religiously when organizing practice, but I use a variety of drills within each specified time segment. For example, in rebounding, I may do two five minute rebounding drills to make the 10 minutes. I also believe in having a variety of drills to keep the players from getting bored with the same drills each day. Following a practice blueprint helps me to keep organized and make sure that I don't skip over any areas that I need to cover. The blueprint allows the players to know what to expect in practice and eliminates the guess work of what they think will come next. I have found that a consistent practice blueprint tremendously helps my player's increase their focus and their practice performance is much better. It also demonstrates to the players what I value and what I do first as the most important areas. (Rebounding) To help me plan my practice each day, I have a drill book with each of these sections labeled with different drills that I like to use. As I plan practice, I go to the drill book and pull out different drills that I want to work on for that day. I think this really expedites my practice planning and helps me to remember to use a variety of different drills. I use my score clock every second that I am in the gym. It helps me to stay on task and also gives a sense of urgency to practice. My players understand that every second counts and I don't want them to waste a second! This helps me avoid the common pitfall of getting to the end of our practice time and realizing that I didn't get to some parts because I spent too long on one item. I think it helps the players stay focused as well, they know a drill is going to last 4 minutes and then we are moving on to the next one. There is no guessing involved. The players get used to seeing the score clock and using it; thus on game day, it becomes second nature for them to become aware of the clock. I make notes to myself for next year's planning if I need more or less time allotted for each skill area. I also encourage you to make your drills as "game like" like as possible. For example, I will be speaking at a clinic and a coach will ask me to share my favorite shooting drill. I don't have shooting drills just for the sake of shooting; my shooting drills are designed specifically for the type of shots we get in games. We don't pull our shooting drills out of a coaching manual, each of them are designed with our offense in mind. Another area where we can get more out of our time is by altering our drills to work on our offense and defense at the same time. For example, we may want to work on stopping the drive within our defensive segment; thus we would set that drill up in a manner to work on a driving aspect of our offense at the same time. I strive to create drills in which both a defensive and offensive skill are practiced. I would also strongly encourage you to use all your gym space and baskets effectively. I have watched some practices where there will be 30 players and the coach will be using 2 baskets and one court, while another court is sitting idle. Too much time spent standing equals an ineffective practice and a non-championship season. This would also include using your assistant coaches, managers, and players that are out with injuries in a useful manner. Like most people, I like to give the team a rest break by shooting free throws. I don't like to send them to a drink break until they have made a certain amount. This ensures that they are shooting free throws when they are tired just like they may be in a game; and also puts some pressure on them to make their free throws, the quicker they make their free throws, the longer their drink break. Lastly, probably the most important aspect of practice planning is making sure that you are ready to go! That means that you are prepared with a practice plan for everyone involved. You have made sure that all equipment needed is ready, the lights are on, the scoreboard is lit and the floor is clean and ready for action. It also means that you are coming into the gym with a huge amount of confidence and enthusiasm. After all, you are the leader and they are looking to you and if you expect the team to be enthusiastic, positive and energetic, you certainly need to bring it to the court! Here's to a championship season and Go Hawks! |
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About the Author... |
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| One of the most respected and admired coaches in collegiate basketball, Lisa Bluder is in her 12th season as head women's basketball coach at the University of Iowa and her 28th year overall. Under her direction, the Hawkeyes have advanced to 10 postseason appearances (eight NCAA and two WNIT), including NCAA Tournament berths in each of the last four seasons. The dean of Big Ten coaches, Bluder has posted a 211-132 (.615) record at Iowa and her 27-year record stands at 567-274 (.674). Her 211 wins at Iowa are the second-most of any Hawkeye women's basketball coach, behind Hall of Famer C. Vivian Stringer (269 wins).
Bluder is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2001, 2008 and 2010) and two-time WBCA Regional Coach of the Year (2001 and 2008). She has guided Iowa to a winning record in 10 of her 11 years at Iowa, including eight upper-division finishes in the challenging Big Ten Conference. Bluder has led Iowa to six 20-win seasons in her 11 years, including the last four years in a row. Bluder has coached numerous players to different awards in her 11 years in Iowa City. She has mentored 14 players to 31 all-Big Ten honors, including 10 first team picks, eight second, eight third and five honorable mention selections. She has also had two Big Ten Freshman of the Year award winners, a Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year recipient, four members of the Big Ten all-Freshman team and two players named to the Big Ten all-Defensive team, with Kachine Alexander earning the honor twice. Four players during Bluder's tenure have earned a total of five Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) all-region team accolades and five players have earned a total of nine honorable mention All-America honors. With Bluder on the Iowa sidelines, student-athletes have been named Academic all-Big Ten 48 times, including a program-best eight honorees in 2010-11. Additionally, Lindsey Meder was a two-time Academic all-American (2001 and 2002). A graduate of Linn-Mar High School in Marion, IA, Bluder was a three-year starter at Northern Iowa. She graduated from UNI in 1983 with a bachelor's degree in marketing. On Sept. 4, 2008, Bluder was inducted to the Linn-Mar Athletic Hall of Fame. |