A practice plan is a written plan that outlines your practice; reminding you what you want to do and when you want to do it. You may be the type of coach that can organize a practice off the top of your head and accomplish what you want in the desired time. For the other 99.8% of us a practice plan is a critical part of a successful practice. It may be written out on a napkin or your work stationary, it really doesn't matter as long as it gives you enough detail to allow you to move through your practice in a structured and organized manner.

The practice plan starts with an objective. Early in the season this can be difficult because there's so much to cover. This is another example of where the objective can help you plan. Let's say you have 5 practices before your first game. Do you just go practice to practice and hope you cover everything you want? With this method, you may miss something important and may also be teaching things that would be better covered during the season.

Write a list of the skills, situations, and plays you want to cover. Prioritize those items and then break them down into an objective list for each of your first 5 practices. It usually takes longer than you think to practice certain skills, so after each practice you can modify the objectives of the next practice.

Once you fill out your objectives for the practice, then it's a matter of writing down drills and games that support those objectives.

Try to place a loose time frame on each drill or game. Some things will go smooth and take exactly the time you think and others will take longer.

Try to end your practice with something fun. You don't want that to be left out because you run out of time. Try to have the drill right before it be one that can be very flexible in the amount of time spent on it.