Importance of Practice Plans

Having a practice plan is essential to running a successful practice. At every FLG Select Team practice, our coaches have a typed plan to help guide their team through a productive practice. The format of each and every FLG practice is the same. With that said, the overall goals, expectations, and drills at each practice change. Below is an example of an FLG Select Team practice plan:

Practice Plan: Saturday (9-26-15)

Pre-practice:  Goalie Warm-up & Partner Passing (Outside, Inside, Levers, Quicks, BTB’s – Everything Forward and Backward)

:00 :30    Approaches (Defense & Goalies) Coaches – Bennett, Wink, Dunne

                   Pop and Move (Mids) Coaches – Nazz, Timmy & Corey

                   Fish Hooks (Attack) Coaches – Corey & Mangan

:15 :45      Build Up 1v1s Mids (Nazz, Corey & Holman) Attack & Def (Wink, Bennett, Mangan & Dunne)

:45 :15      2020/22 Offense w/ Corey and Brandon/Nazz, Star Drill 2020/22 Poles and 2021/23 Team  w/ Dunne, Holman, Bennett

:00 :30    2021/23 Offense w/ Corey and Brandon/Nazz, Star Drill 2021/23 Poles and 2020/22 Team w/ Dunne, Holman, Bennett

:15 :45      6 v 6 Both ends by team

:30 :00:   Ball-Hunt/Break-down

Walibees (9/26/15)

1. Stick checks over getting your hands on people

2. Dodging to Feed

3. Having your back to the ball

 

Now, what’s essential to building a great practice plan?

1. Its important to always put the date at the top of your plan. This allows you to use that plan the following year and build off it.
2. Find a format that works for you. 
3. Doing something productive “Pre-practice” is a great way to get the team to start practice on time. Also, it allows the team to start practice warmed-up, loose, and energized.
4. Everything must be timed. If you don’t put a time limit on each drill, you could spend the entire practice focusing on 1 thing. Stay on schedule!
5. Coaches and players should know exactly which drills they are running. If you don’t assign specific drills to specific coaches, than coaches won’t know what they are supposed to be running during practice. If players don’t know where they’re supposed to be going, you will waste precious practice time deciding who should go where!
6. Make sure you have goals for each practice. The practice above focused on building up to team offense and team defense.
7. Find 3 walibees that should be limited throughout practice. Walibees are plays that shouldn’t happen more than once.

For more practice plan ideas, feel free to email us at [email protected]