Open Gym Play Sessions – Get the Most From Open Gyms

Open gym play sessions are one of the easiest ways to get game speed practice without it really feeling like practice. Players love these sessions because they get to really go out there and just try stuff out and be competitive without there being any pressure and without having coaches being overly involved. As a coach you still want your players to get some value of the time you’re putting in to having the gym open so it’s good to put some guidelines in place to keep things moving along. Some of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had as coach involved me opening the gym for an planned 90 minute session only to have about 20 minutes of basketball get played and the rest be goofing off. In order to make sure the time is properly utilized and that your players get maximum benefit I’ve created this short list of suggestions for your sessions.

Organize for Competitiveness and Fun

Sometimes it feels like as a coach that you really want to turn the players loose and just let them decide. But, to be honest, most of the time they don’t really understand what makes a game competitive or fun – or more importantly what ruins that. If, for example, somehow the two best players on the team end up together then it’s often not competitive or fun for anyone else. Handling that is easy is you take some time and preorganize.

1. Pre-Organize the teams rather than letting players select their own
   1. Try to keep them relatively even in skill levels per team
   2. Do it without them looking – just write them down and read them out (eg. “Team 1: Betty, Sally, Lex, Bailey. Team 2: Brooklyn, Molly, Tensley, Emily”, etc)
   3. Consider 3 or 4 player teams rather than 5 as this increases the likelihood that players get touches and chances to work with some open space
2. Layout rules that will keep things moving. Some example follow.
   1. Offense call your own fouls
   2. Limit fouls per possession before a free point is awarded
   3. Short Shot clock 12-15 seconds
3. Define winning criteria so teams don’t have to sit for too long after losing the court
   1. Example: Make games be 5 or 7 point games scoring by 1s and 2s (as opposed to 10 or 15 points)

Specialty Rules For Variety and Skill Enforcement

Keep in mind that you can reward certain behaviors as part of the rules. Here are some examples:

1. Require a team to make a free throw to win (if you hit a shot that would have been the winner then a freethrow has to cap it. Otherwise game continues.)
2. Choose an MVP on each team – that player earns double points or extra points for a given action
   1. If they score, add a point
   2. If they catch the ball wide open – automatic point
   3. Limit to X times per possession or Y times per game

Wrap Up

Play sessions can be a lot of fun and crazy valuable if done right. In the past I’ve just invited a bunch of players and let them self organize and said “go play”. The problem with this is that if the players are not all really focused and interested (or just aren’t quite strategic” enough) then it can very quickly devolve into goofing off and become boring. Being intentional about not letting that happen goes a long way towards avoid that situation and having some great sessions. I hope you’ve found these ideas useful! Feel free to add your own ideas in the comments below. Also, please take a moment and sign up for our basketball coaching development newsletter to get more ideas about how to help your team improve by improving your coaching skills.