May/June 2019 - 18

THE VALUE OF
OFFSEASON SCHEDULES
By Kevin Weigand, contributing writer
The long season has come to an
end. While all of us need a break, we
understand that now is the time to
plan for the future.
There are a lot of events taking place
between now and tipoff of next season.
Among these are club basketball,
summer leagues, coaching clinics and
conditioning sessions. We also must
consider that our athletes have other
responsibilities outside of basketball,
such as work and family obligations.
Therefore, it's important to set up a
long-term schedule that identifies your
team's goals from the end of the season
to the start of next season.
Here is what advanced scheduling
does for your program and your staff.
1
It communicates commitment.
When current and future players
see what's taking place throughout
the year, it shows the coaches'
commitment to excellence. When
players see this vision for excellence, it
can be an added source of motivation.
Administrators see the same level
of commitment if they are given
the schedule with details on how it
improves the program. Also, if the
administration knows that you have
activities planned, they can make sure
the building is available. If it's not, it
gives you enough time to find other
accommodations or change your plans.
2
It helps assistant coaches stay
organized. When coaches know
what's taking place ahead of time, it
helps them plan not just for basketball
responsibilities but for personal
events, like family vacations.
Last summer, we had a very
busy June. I was able to adjust my
work schedule so I could make our
weekend tournaments in June. I also
was able to schedule a trip to visit
my family in July. This was because
I created our offseason schedule well
in advance. Furthermore, as strength
and conditioning coach for our team,
I knew when we would lift and was
able to schedule workouts to meet
what our team needed at certain
points during the offseason.
18 MAY/JUNE 2019
3
It helps with parent
relationships/scheduling.
Parents are invested in their children's
activities. Having a schedule ahead of
time is a courtesy they will appreciate.
In turn, they can schedule events
around basketball activities if given
advanced notice. With our program,
we had parents help out as chaperones
for our travel ball tournaments. They
knew well in advance where and when
different tournaments would take place.
4
5
It creates flexibility. There are
situations that are out of our
control. If there is a schedule in place,
adjustments can be made for both
players and coaches. For example, if
the players know there is open gym
every Tuesday in June, but on one
specific Tuesday several of them can't
make it, open gym could be moved to
a different day that week.
It creates buy-in. By creating
an offseason calendar,
especially for new coaches, they
have a blueprint for your program's
improvement. As they plan for future
offseason events, they can suggest
modifications or additions that can
help coaches and players. This also
can increase staff buy-in by allowing
assistant coaches to offer input.
6
It helps with recruiting. If a
coach has his offseason program
in place, particularly with club and
other tournaments highlighted, they
can share it with college coaches. This
can be helpful to the college coach who
wants to see a prospect live, but may
not be able to do so during the regular
season due to their busy schedule.
If you haven't already, take time to
sit down with your staff and build an
offseason schedule for you program.
It takes little time, and the return on
investment is well worth it.
Kevin Weigand is the assistant girls
basketball coach at Cape Coral High
School in Florida.
May/June 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of May/June 2019
