Want Better Practices? Change the Flow, Not the Focus

Want to get better?
Focus on the same fundamentals day after day.

Want to get better and make it fun while keeping your players engaged?
Focus on the same fundamentals day after day but change up the flow and approach to keep them on their toes and their attention peaked.

Just like us as coaches, players fall into routines. They learn what parts of practice they enjoy, when those segments usually happen, and—whether consciously or not—pace their effort and focus accordingly.

The key is keeping their attention from start to finish by changing up the flow.
Notice I didn’t say change your focus points… just change the flow.

Most coaches fall into a predictable practice structure. For example: warm up with ball handling, move into layups, then shooting, small-group drills, team offense, team defense, some scrimmage, and finish with free-throw conditioning. Run that same structure for a week or two, and kids will start saving their focus and energy for scrimmage time.

So what’s the solution?
Warm them up, then surprise them with a short, focused scrimmage. After that, go right into team offense or defense drills based on what you just saw. You’ll be amazed at how quickly players grasp the connection between the drill work and the game.

Another option: knock conditioning out at the beginning of practice. Let them know it’s the only running they’ll do that day. You’ll get better effort early and still see strong energy later during scrimmage.

Want to really kick up the fun and focus?
Start practice with a shooting competition or ball-handling relay. Then hit team defense before breaking into small-group shooting. Keep them guessing. Keep them engaged.

There’s no right or wrong way to mix it up—just mix it up. You’ll still cover the fundamentals and reinforce your core concepts, but by changing the flow, you keep players excited about what’s coming next instead of drifting through a repetitive routine.