Some thoughts on summer individual development workouts
Keep the workouts short and intense. A 40 minute workout with the player going all out every day for 5 days a week, is more beneficial than a 2 hour workout once a week. The longer the workout gets, it is usually being filled with unproductive minutes.
Make every drill competitive against an established standard. Even for form shooting, establish a standard such as all swishes, 10 in a row, or whatever fits your philosophy and objectives. By making the drills competitive, it makes it more enjoyable for your players and they are more likely to work hard during the workout session and to want to come every day.
If the player reaches the standard, it is one win. If not, one loss. Keep track of the players win/loss record for the whole workout. If he does 15 drills, then the win/loss record should total 15-example 10 wins, 5 losses or 12 wins, 3 losses, etc…
To make ballhandling or dribbling drills competitive, establish a certain number of reps and time them.
Establish a higher standard for better players. So your levels might be I, II, III, IV, and V with I being the most demanding level. So on a drill where the player is shooting 10 3 point shots off a kick out pass from the post, you might make the scoring this to win for level I, you must make 7 out of 10, level II 6 out of 10, level III 5 out of 10, Level IV 4 out of 10, level V 3 out of 10. That way you can use the same drills for middle school players as well as varsity starters. The key is that each player be assigned a level prior to the start of this workout program. They can move up a level during the summer, but not down. It is good for a player who might have been a JV player last year who experienced a lot of success,
Emphasize and record makes and shooting percentages rather than just getting off a certain number of shots in a drill. That way you are emphasizing the need to get a lot of shots off in a drill, and the need to make them.
Include teaching and technique drills in the workout.
Shoot a one and one free throw in between each drill to simulate being winded when shooting free throws in a game. Regardless of the level the player is working on, he or she must make both ends to get a “win” for the one and one. Count the free throws in the win-loss record and give the player an overall free throw percentage at the end of the workout.
Give players a choice of the drills they want to do. For example, to work on 3 point shooting, have 3 or 4 drills to choose from that emphasize that skill.
To end the workout, have a one and done “state tournament.” In Indiana, it takes 6 or 7 games to win the state championship depending on how the tournament draw goes. So, the player must win 7 games in a row at Level I to end the workout to be a state champion. It is difficult, but adds another level of competition to the workout.
Teach your players how to work out on their own so that they can when you are not around, or during times of the year when you are not allowed to have contact.
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