Practice

I have become obsessed with practice. What is a good practice? What is an ineffective practice? What are you doing in practice? Do you know why? How much of your practice is composed of unrelated drills? How do you teach new skill? Are the practices appropriate for the people you are coaching? Are you paying homage to the gods of your sport? Obviously, the cornerstone for effective athlete development is practice, but too often it is just about putting in the time. Now with the 10,000 hour figure looming out there everyone is even more concerned with putting in the time. It is not the time in practice, it what you put into the time. Practice must be deliberate, focused and connected to the desired end result ? performance in competition.