Components of a Successful PracticeThe number one key to success is to plan your practice in advance. It amazes me how many coaches get to the field and wing it. You must know what you're going to do--and more importantly--what you want to accomplish before you start the practice. A good practice needs a warm-up, primary activities, and a scrimmage all of which should be tied into the theme or objective of the practice.
The length of the practice should be equal to the length of a game. The warm up should be 15% of the practice; the main activities 45-50%, and the scrimmage 30%. The remaining 5-10% is for cool down and administrative tasks.
Warm-ups should include intervals of movement and stretching. Stretching should be interwoven with dynamic activities. Introduce your topic and objective during the warm up. Have players begin to work on the simple, technical skills involved with the topic. The main activities are the heart of the practice. Here you may have a progression of 3 to 4 drills or games. Each step increases pressure and moves the practice from simple to more complex, real game-like situations. Lastly, it's time for the test drive or the scrimmage. Here players are given the chance to apply what they've learned in match-related conditions.
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