3 Things to Focus On Before Off-Season Training Starts

For high school and college teams the season has come to a close. Some coaches have taken their time off to decompress and most players have finished up their vacations and spring breaks. These next few weeks will be crucial for coaches who want to make adjustments and improvements heading into the off-season and leading into next year. Let's take a look at 3 things coaches need to be focusing on before the summer rolls around.

1. Evaluations

It's important for coaches to evaluate their players and coaching staff at the end of the season. There are several questions that need to be answered honestly. Use a sliding scale of 1-5 and being truly honest without worrying if you’re hurting feelings. Ask questions like:

• Was I on the same page throughout the year with my staff?
• Did my staff take ownership of their areas of responsibility?
• Did my players react the way I’d hope towards my staff?
• Did my staff communicate well?
• What are 3 things my staff can do to be better next year?

Next, do the same for yourself and try to be as honest as possible. Look to ask yourself:

• Was I the best version of myself each day?
• Did I lead by example inside and outside of practice?
• Did I give my team the tools to succeed?
• Was I positive more than I was negative throughout the year?
• What are 3 things I can do to improve as a coach next year?

If you haven't already done your end-of-season evaluations, whether you're a coach or supporting staff member, download our FREE Evaluation Sheet by clicking below.

I personally would also send out a survey to my players and ask them several questions on how they felt the coaching staff was throughout the year. This feedback can be tough to read at times but it will help you understand the feelings of all your players.

2. Goal setting

Preparation for next year starts now and it’s vital for coaching to set goals for the summer and also some initial goals they'd like to accomplish next season. These goals should be attainable and also fluid depending on what they are.

For example, your team goal could be to have all your players shoot “x” amount of shots in the summer. Half way through your team could be way behind because of uncontrollable factors. This would then be an instance where you adjust those team goals accordingly so that your players feel like they actually have a chance to accomplish this set goal.

Figure out what areas of improvement are non-negotiable for your team and set goals to accomplish growth in those areas. It’s simply not enough to tell your players to get better without providing a plan and pathway for them to do it. 

3. training tools

Growth in skill development is the best way to help your entire team get better and have more success season after season. Setting standards for your program will help maintain that success long term. Looking into a training tool like a Dr. Dish shooting machine is a great way to help your players hold themselves accountable while allowing them to get better faster.

Dr. Dish also provides in-depth shooting analytics that can help coaches make decisions throughout the summer on how to navigate off-season training. By doing this, players will be more efficient and effective when they are on the court.

At the end of the day the goal is to become better in every area of your program. By doing this, you’ll have more fun coaching and experience the success every coach hopes and dreams of!