2022 Naismith College Coach of the Year;
2022 Sweet Sixteen (lost to 2022 NCAA Champion Kansas);
2022 NABC District 5 Coach of the Year;
2022 Big East Coach of the Year;
2022 Big East Regular Season Champions;
2014 Big East Tournament Champions;
Fairfield University Head Coach from 2006 to 2011;
2011 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Coach of the Year;
2011 MAAC Regular Season Champions;
2010 Ben Jobe National Coach of the YearPractice makes perfect. There is a reason you have more practices in a season than you do games. Practices are where your players build the skills they’ll need to help your team become successful. Practice is where you work on your team’s offense and defense. Practice is where you put everything together to be ready and fully prepared for your next opponent.
In 2022, Providence won the Big East Conference for only the 3rd time in school history. Ed Cooley stated that, at its core, Providence’s dramatic improvement began with his daily use of practice drills and a dedication to their skill-development program.
In this fantastic video presentation, Coach Cooley demonstrates some of his most useful practice drills that allow his teams to compete with consistency and precision in one of the toughest college basketball conferences in the country!
Practices & The Daily Essentials for Basketball Success
Coach Cooley begins by stressing the importance of having a direction and specific vision for your practices. Cooley explains that designing the right drills to push your players to be their best, is not only critical, but also a coaching art form.
Coach Cooley begins by outlining the four offensive skills that players must work on every day in practice: Running, Passing, Catching and Shooting.The coach explains that these four essential elements will build a solid foundation in your players and help them to become confident in their skill.
On the defensive side of the ball, Coach Cooley unveils how he builds up his Pack Line Defense with 3 important principles: Ball, Gap, and Help.
Daily Practice Drills: Post Player Drills, Shell Drills & Shooting Drills
Coach Cooley shows off his favorite practice drills that must be done on a daily basis. He begins with a great offensive and defensive drill that helps both post-players and guards alike, by helping your guards build their post-passing skills, while also improving their ability to get open on the wing and relocate to draw defenders away.
Doing this post-player drill every day, Coach Cooley says, will help guards to feel more confident in delivering a great pass to your post players -- while your post players learn how to move and gain position within a crowded area in the paint. With this post-player drill you can also build in any specific actions to simulate your offense, along with simulating any defensive action your opponents may try to throw at you.
Next up, Coach Cooley demonstrates his version of a shell drill he uses every day to build a more ferocious defense. It’s also at this point in the session, where he stresses that coaches must learn how to ‘think with the end in mind.’He explains this ‘think-with-the-end-in-mind’ concept by using the example with his own team and the fact that most Big East Conference games are decided by a few points. As such, Coach Cooley and his staff prepare their players for winning end-of-the-game situations with their defense – which is done in their daily defensive shell drill work.While showcasing the ins and outs of the shell drill, Coach Cooley provides highly valuable coaching points of emphasis, such as how going up-and-under to switch helps to prevent easy and uncontested 3-point shots.
Coach Cooley also shares important shooting drills that he utilizes every day in practice. He showcases shooting drills such as, the ‘Ball-Screen-Lift-and-Shooting Drill,’ in which players work on coming off hard hedge screens and look to attack with a throwback shot, post slip, or pull-up jumper. The reps in this drill help your players get great looks – especially within the context of a 4-Out Offense.
Next, he unveils the ‘Cutter-Drop-Slip-and-Elbow Drill’ whereplayers work on getting different shots coming off various screens or various cutting actions. Coach Cooley explains that players will use different techniques to get open and work for a game-like shot and this is an excellent drill you can use to work on game shots within your offense.
Having practice drills that challenge your players will help you prepare them for game-like situations. Coach Cooley has spent years pushing his players to be the best through his daily practice drills. In this video, you will see the offensive and defensive practice drills that you can use to push your players hard, while staying within the context of your team’s philosophy.
This is an essential, valuable instructional coaching video for basketball coaches at all levels!
Coach Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.Coach Ed Cooley does a great job of explaining his practice philosophy and drills. These are excellent drills – and I can use the basic context and coaching points he provides to build into my daily practices!’
71 minutes. 2023.