Every player develops in different ways. The best way to develop a player is determined by many different factors such as current skill level, age, and where the player wants to end up. The way one player develops, may look very different from the way another player develops. But no matter who you are working with, these are 4 must-haves for successful player development.

Clarity

All growth and improvement begins with clarity. If a player does not have clarity on how they can better, then they will simply not get better. It is impossible to fix something, if you either don’t even know why it needs to be fixed, or what specifically needs to be fixed. Each player must have clear and easily understood goals to get better. Every single player needs to clearly understand where they are, where they are headed, where they want to be, where the coach wants them to be, and how they can get there. Eliminate all ambiguity.

Challenging

Providing challenges: If the players are not being pushed and challenged in ways that they haven’t been before, they are not getting better. Especially in personal development, an individual cannot grow unless they are brought out of their comfort zone. There is no growth inside the comfort zone. Players should not ever feel too comfortable or know exactly what to expect. When players are facing new circumstances, they are forced to think in a different way. This not only stimulates growth but also increases preparedness. The more unexpected and challenging things are, the more fear diminishes. Lack of preparation is one of the greatest inhibitors to a player or team not fulfilling their expectations or highest potential. The best players want to be challenged, so it’s the coach’s responsibility to make sure their players are constantly being challenged to get better.

Standards

One of the only ways to sustain excellence is by establishing and reinforcing a standard of excellence. Once the standard is set, all players and coaches have to not only uphold the standard but try and raise the standard little by little. The standard should never be compromised under any reasonable circumstance. Be careful about anyone negatively affecting the standard. If one player or coach compromises the standard, then others will soon follow. The standard should not be lowered just because somebody cannot meet it. They have to learn to either adapt or find somewhere else. The leaders of the team/program have to consistently exemplify the standard and make sure that everyone meets it.

Accountability

Once a player has clarity on who they are and how they can get better, they can then start to hold themselves accountable. If a player is not accountable for their own player development, then they will not care about what is best for the team. Players have to be disciplined but they also must be able to trust themselves. No coach is going to be able to do everything for them. Players have to be fully bought in to their own development. Players need to feel in charge of their own life and progression. Accountability is the only way to make players feel in charge

Practice

Many practices I have seen are about running through plays and putting in different offensive and defensive sets. Practice is mostly designed to keep players at the same level they are currently at. There isn’t much done to help players elevate their game and become more skilled. Every practice should include drill work that focuses on the fundamentals and allows players to increase their skill level. Ball handling drills, shooting drills, footwork drills, passing and cutting drills, positioning drills etc. Especially at the youth level, players will benefit more from taking time to develop their skill then they will from learning a new set play.

Every practice should include skill work, competition, and teaching. – Porter Moser

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