Hi everyone,

I'm looking for various ideas on structuring offseason open gyms. We've used a couple different formats in the past, such as splitting the courts into an under and upper class, winner stays on, etc. We are averaging around 30 participants. I'm really interested in hearing what some of the seasoned coaches out there have done with their formats.

Thanks in advance.

I have seen some coaches play short games... first to 5 wins. Winner stays, loser runs sprints or does 20 burpees. This makes the games more intense and a little less sloppy.

Another idea is play 3v3... organize a bunch of half court games. Maybe make it a tournament format.

In any case, it can be better than 5v5 because players get more touches and I have seen countless open gyms where the play is very sloppy on the offensive and defensive end.

This summer in our open gyms was obviously different. We weren't allowed to play up-and-down until after July 1st. The month of June was a dream for me because we got to do some individual skill work, get guys shooting on the gun, and show them that playing games all summer without working on skill isn't enough to truly improve. The problem was, I only had about 4-5 kids show up on a consistent basis. (I'm a Junior High coach) We're expecting 25-30 players to come out this winter, and of the 20-25 that weren't there on a consistent basis, maybe 10 of them would have a legitimate reason to not be there. Some can't drive and live out of town, some had baseball, etc. However, there were plenty of kids that lived a few blocks from the gym and just flat out didn't come. We had double the numbers initially, before baseball got started. Then once the guys noticed we couldn't just play games the whole time, the numbers dwindled.

The 4-5 that were there 90% of the time this summer got so much better it was surprising to me. We used Don Kelbick's Attack & Counter system as the baseline for our development. After showing the three base pivots close to the basket and explaining that you'll use these anywhere on the floor, the light bulb turned on for a few of them. I really liked the extended drop step drill for our guards. Most of them never realized these basic movements are used in any situation and that helped me emphasize how important it is to be excellent at them.

What would be a good way to encourage those that can show up, to show up? Tough love? What's appropriate at that age? I don't want to scare them off into thinking if they don't come to open gym that they shouldn't come out, or anything like that. My first idea was to highlight the ones that did come and allow them to demonstrate for me during our first couple practices when the rest of them are doing these base movements for the first time. I just don't want to create a rift in the locker room between those players,, the ones who skipped, and the ones who were busy doing other sports or weren't able to come due to Covid-19 or family trips in the summer.

Would love to open up a discussion and hear what has worked or hasn't worked. Our junior high hasn't had an open gym time just for them in the past, so this was brand new this summer. I would like it to become a known thing that the parents and players can look forward to every year.