The following clinic article from Cedarville coach Pat Estepp appears in the Winter 2021 edition of NABC Time-Out Magazine. To view the full Winter 2021 issue, click here.
I think as coaches we are well aware of the many challenges we have faced running our programs during these unprecedented times. Obviously concerns about player and staff health and safety are at the forefront of our minds. But as some of our programs are starting back trying to balance getting our players ready for games with the prospect of a much longer pre-season than what we and our players are used to. For our program there were a few keys that dictated our preseason workouts and now how we are running our practices. We always want to be a staff that has a good handle on the pulse of our team.
Lack of Competition During Quarantine
In talking with our players one of the things they missed most during the quarantine through the spring and summer was competition. They spent a lot of time working on their game alone but hardly any competing and playing. With that in mind we put as much competition into our pre-season as our university and conference would allow. We would compete against each other as well as a set target score depending on the drill.
Academic Calendar Changes
Many of the universities, like Cedarville University, have had to make adjustments to their academic calendar to limit the exposure of the student body. The normal breaks that students might get like Labor Day, fall break, were canceled this year. Even though basketball players don’t typically get a fall break just the continuous schedule of classes has added stress in their life. In past years we have allowed our players to get a couple of days with family for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, that isn’t possible this year. Another challenge is the longest winter break we have had in my 20 years in college basketball. Our players are going to be on campus without the rest of the student body for nearly two months. While that has been referred to as the “Golden Window”, being the safest time for our teams to play games. It is also a long time for the student athletes to be on our campuses without the routine of classes. This is a crucial time for our programs to strengthen our culture.
Player Burnout
One of my biggest concerns as a coach is player burnout. I have a rule as a coach during the season. “If I am tired then our players have been tired.” I use this when I think we need to shorten practice or take an extra day off. I think this has paid dividends in the past as we have always been fresh mentally and physically late in the season. Normally this is something we are primarily concerned about in February but this year we are concerned about it even for the pre-season. We are one of the conferences playing games in December and we began practice on October 15th. Seven weeks of practice is a long time. One of the things we did was take an extra day off each week for the first three weeks. Another practice idea we have done in the past that we will do again this year is a “Run-n-Shoot” practice. An example of this is on the next page. Run-n-Shoot practice parameters:
One hour long
No contact
Skill work, input new plays
Conditioning (full court shooting drills)
