Basketball Practice Plan Template

Who it's for

Youth, middle school, high school and rec basketball coaches who want every practice on one page, and assistants who run practice when the head coach can't.

What's inside

• Practice plan: date, time, location and focus of the day, then ten segments with time, drills and details, and minutes: dynamic warm-up, ball handling, shooting, passing, defense, rebounding, offense and sets, scrimmage, conditioning, and free throws and recap
• Today's goals (six lines), absent or injured players, and notes for next practice
• Drill library: 18 rows for the drill, the skill it works, setup and description, minutes and number of players
• Play diagrams: four courts, each with the play's name, opponent and call or signal, plus a symbol key for offense, defense, cut, dribble, pass and screen

How to use it

1. Pick one focus for the day, then give each segment its minutes to fit your gym time.
2. Fill the drill library over the first few weeks, then pull drills from it when you plan.
3. Draw your sets on the play diagram page and keep it with the plan on the bench.

How to plan a basketball practice

Start from the gym time you actually have, minus a few minutes for arrivals and water breaks. Then choose one focus for the day, such as transition defense or breaking a press, and give it the biggest block.

The template follows a common order: a dynamic warm-up, then skill work (ball handling, shooting, passing) while legs are fresh, team defense and offense in the middle, and scrimmage and conditioning at the end. Free throws come last, when players are tired, which is closer to how they shoot them in a game.

Write the minutes for every segment before practice and check the clock as you go. If a drill runs long, take the time from the scrimmage, not from the focus of the day. Afterwards, use the next-practice box to note what to repeat.

Questions