Challenge Yourself: A Year of Weekly and Monthly Coaching Missions

One of the great things that has come out of our Community Coach Mentoring sessions has been a striving from our participants to be challenged and be comfortable getting out of their comfort zone in a safe environment. In one of the groups the mentors and mentees brainstormed different ways they could both challenge themselves but develop their athletes and their program at the same time and we took that and turned it into this article to give everyone some ideas to challenge their style of coaching!

🏁 Weekly Challenges

Stage 1: Foundation & Connection

Focus: Building rapport, setting team culture, and teaching basic skills

At the start of the year, the goal is to create a strong foundation—building relationships, setting expectations, and helping players feel like they belong.

• Introduce yourself to every player individually.
• Run a warm-up with no basketballs.
• Film your own drill and reflect on it.
• Coach a 1-on-1 session.
• Use a new small-sided game.
• Ask another coach for feedback.

Stage 2: Skill Development & Team Identity

Focus: Reinforcing habits, game understanding, and shaping team identity

Now that your team is up and running, it's time to go deeper. Emphasise how and why you teach, while empowering players to take greater ownership.

• Teach a skill in a game-based way.
• Use video to teach one concept.
• Let the players run part of training.
• Coach without using a whistle.
• Help another coach plan a session.

Stage 3: Tactics, Growth, and Reflection

Focus: Mid-season adjustments, deeper learning, and resilience

This is where good teams become great ones. Focus on tweaks, leadership, and building mental flexibility.

• Try a new defence (e.g. switching, pack line, press).
• Use freeze coaching in a scrimmage.
• Give your least confident player a leadership role.
• Set a team goal and review it weekly.

📆 Monthly Challenges

Take on one bigger challenge each month—great for deeper reflection, creative ideas, or personal growth. These can be done anytime within the month and are perfect for coaches looking to go the extra mile.

• January: Plan your coaching year (values, focus areas, calendar).
• February: Attend or watch a coaching webinar or clinic.
• March: Try a practice using only constraints (no direct instructions).
• April: Host a parent/player Q&A.
• May: Read one coaching book or article and share a takeaway.
• June: Run a themed practice (e.g. Defence Day, NBA Week).
• July: Interview a player about what they enjoy in training.
• August: Use a completely silent warm-up or drill.
• September: Try a new form of feedback (e.g. video, journaling, player-led reviews).
• October: Invite a guest coach or player to share a skill.
• November: Do a community service project with your team.
• December: Reflect and journal your top three coaching lessons from the year.

 Why It Works

This system introduces structured experimentation into your coaching journey. By shifting your focus each term and mixing in bigger monthly tasks, you stay fresh, curious, and connected—three key traits of effective coaches.

Whether you coach juniors or seniors, these missions are designed to fit into real-world schedules while still driving growth. Add your own twist: track your progress on a team board, or challenge fellow coaches in your club.

You don’t need to overhaul your coaching to improve. You just need to keep challenging yourself—one week at a time.