Best Practices in Practices?

The best way to do anything hasn't been invented yet.
Posted by At Home On The Court on Sunday, January 3, 2016

I saw this on Facebook yesterday, and I started trying to figure out if I agree with it or not. In some ways I agree, and in others I disagree. Agreeing with it seems to suggest that there aren't any established methods or procedures that work in the most efficient way. Reality suggests it is still going to take getting your players the reps they need to develop the skills, have the opportunity to demonstrate their ability, and to put them in game like situations so there is optimal transfer from practice to competition. That part of me says we still need to put in the work and effort with the right feedback and the proper training protocol, and the results will be the best possible results.

That said, do we know that the procedures we use are the best way to do things? With that in mind (and right after reading Lebedew's Facebook post), this part of the movie Alice in Wonderland happened to be playing on TV. How often do we keep using some training protocol when we don't know how effective it is? Do we do something just because that is what our coach did when we were on the high school team? college team? A quick survey of women's teams in the America suggests there are a whole lot of players coming through systems that vary widely. Some teams swing block, others do not. Some have back row players close to the base line, others closer to the middle of the back row. While some of these might reflect players on the roster and their individual strengths and weaknesses, there are enough divergent philosophies and approaches to the team strategy that I don't think  this is the case.

How do we know if what we are doing is the best for the team? I think it starts with measuring the right things. Side out percentage by rotation is a good starting point. Looking at how various stats correlate with winning suggests passing stats, kills, and efficiency. Measure the right things, and track those measures. That will give some idea of if what we are doing is good or working. Beyond that I think we need to evaluate teaching methods. Take the time to learn what are the most effective training protocols per motor learning research. That body of knowledge is growing and evolving. We should be doing the same as coaches, or we run the risk of becoming the dinosaur of a coach teaching something that might not have ever been effective, or if it was, it isn't nearly as applicable in today's game.