Readying for the attack

This is an exciting time of year. The NBA is underway. The NCAA has started practice and will start playing games in a few weeks and most high schools will start practice in the next two weeks with games less than a month away.

After watching some college practices this week it brought to mind a dilemma that all high school coaches face. Many states limit the amount of work you can do in the off-season, unlike college where the coaches get a mandated number of hours during the week. Watching the first week of practice many college programs were already well into installing and running sets with the fundamentals established and rehearsed in the fall during those individual workouts.

What's the right approach in getting ready for the season for a high school program? Many states face a crunch of 12 or 13 practices before you start playing games. How much time do you spend on fundamentals vs. installing offenses, defenses, ob's, etc.

There are many variables to consider when starting a season:
Do you have a veteran team that knows your sets and only needs to be reintroduced to them?
Do you have a young team that needs to learn your sets?
Are you a new coach to your school or are you established and have been running your system throughout the summer and previous years?
Are you a surprise and change coach and need to have more plays and defenses in your arsenal?
Are you a simplicity and execution coach who relies less on plays and more on the fundamentals?
Do you do your players a disservice by focusing on plays and neglecting their fundamental development?

Unlike college and the NBA, high school coaches have a finite amount of time to prepare for the season, using it wisely is of the utmost importance. The answer lies within you and your philosophy.