Why do Basketball Practices Fail?

I know I have hopped in my car after a basketball practice and thought "well that didn't go as I had planned" or "that wasn't a good basketball practice today. Why does a basketball practice fail?

I know I have hopped in my car after a basketball practice and thought "well that didn't go as I had planned" or "that wasn't a good basketball practice today.  So why does a basketball practice fail and how can we have better basketball practices?

Basketball practices fail to improve player’s skills because there is the absence of a specific goal, immediate feedback and/or player concentration. Practice is about repetition and attacking a single goal.  We coaches rely on drills.  If players need to improve their basketball ballhandling then we do more ballhandling drills, which works to a degree, as some is better than none.   But basketball drills are tools.  Good coaches do not rely on just the drills to do the teaching; they instruct and offer feedback to the players.

For a basketball drill to have its intended effect, the goal of the specific drill must be quite clear.  Try to alert players of the goal in each specific drill.  Without a goal, drills will maintain skills and improve them slightly, they do not train for large improvements. Basketball players must concentrate on the goal. If minds wander, the attention is lacking necessary to concentrate on the specific goal.  Without concentration, the player is just going through the motions and maintaining the same flaw the basketball drill is attempting to fix or improve.  We must provide feedback so players feel the difference between a correct repetition and an incorrect repetition.  They must learn the difference so they can correct and provide their own immediate feedback.

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