Ep 1914 Are Your Open Gyms Developing Players… or Developing Bad Habits?

0:00This podcast is part of the Sports Social Podcast Network. From the 5th quarter studios in Madison, Wisconsin, you're listening to Coach Unplugged. And now, your host, Steve Collins. Hi, coaches. Welcome to the 5th quarter studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Before we get into it, a quick word from teachoupes.com. If you want done-for-you-practice plans, open gym structures, off-season calendars, and culture tools you can plug in immediately, go to teachoupes.com. All right, coach, let's talk open gyms. Because late April into May, open gym season takes over. And here's the problem. Most open gyms don't develop players. They develop bad habits. They turn into five on five chaos. The best kid takes 25 shots. The quiet kids disappear.

1:01And everybody plays hard, but nobody actually gets better. So today, I'm giving you a simple system to run open gyms so they build your program. I call it theme, constraint, and pressure finish. Step one. Pick one theme for the day. Not ten. One. Ball security. Fishing. Spacing. Rebounding. Close-outs. Whatever you need most. If you don't pick a theme, the gym will pick one for you. And the gyms theme is usually bad shots in selfish basketball. Step two. Add one constraint that forces the theme. If your theme is ball security, two dribbles max. Turnovers are minus two. If your theme is spacing, no shots unless you have a paint touch. Or every possession needs a reversal. If your theme is finishing, no threes for the first five minutes.

2:05Paint touches only. If your theme is rebounding, no point counts unless the defense blocks out. No block out, no point. If your theme is defense, points don't count unless you get a stop first. Or no talking equals automatic point for the other team. You see what's happening? We're not yelling do better. We're designing the environment so they have to do better. Step three. Start small-sided. Three on three. Four on four. Five on five hides players. Small-sided exposes habits. In three on three, everybody touches the ball. Everybody defends. Everybody has to make decisions. That's development. One more quick fix that changes everything. How you rotate.

3:05If you let teams self-pick and stay on forever, the same five guys dominate. You'll make it structured. Three minute games. Winner stays, but you must sub two. No subs, you lose. Loser comes off. Next group is ready at half-court. Play to five, ones and twos. No arguing calls, just play. Now everybody plays. Now the gym has tempo. When your middle players get reps instead of standing, step four. Score what you want. If you only score buckets, kids only chase buckets. Try this for one day. One point for a stop. One point for a box out. One point for an extra pass that leads to a shot. Minus one for bad body language.

4:07This one for a lazy closeout. Now you're building identity. Step five, coach the flow, not every rep. Open gym isn't a lecture. Your job is to referee the habits. So here's my rule. I only stop play for one teaching point. Then we play again. You can even use a two-minute huddle. Ask one question. What was the theme today? Then one cue, two dribbles, paint touch, talk. Then right back into play, less talking, more reps. Step six, finish with pressure, games and in pressure. So your open gym has to end in pressure. Two easy options. Then one free throw ladder. Make two in a row to move up. Miss and you restart.

5:10Option two, one stop to win. First team to three stops wins. No talking, restart the possession. Now here's a 60-minute open gym you can steal tomorrow. 10 minutes, partner shooting with purpose, footwork and game spots. 10 minutes, advantage finishing, two on one, three on two. 20 minutes, three on three with your constraint. Score stops and turnovers, not just points. 15 minutes, five on five, but keep the same one rule. One theme, same constraint. Five minutes, pressure finish, free throws or one stop to win. Coach, if your players leave and can answer this question, what did we work on today?

6:13You're winning the off season. If they can't answer it, you just entertain them. And one more thing, open gym is also culture. So reward talk, reward sprinting back, reward unselfishness, reward guys who make teammates better and protect your quiet kids. Give them a roll, tell them exactly what winning the workout looks like for them. Walk on defense, get two rebounds, make the simple pass, sprint back. That's how you build depth. Alright, for my full library of open gym templates, constraints by theme and offseason calendars you can copy and paste, go to teachubes.com, that's teachubes.com.