Lesson Planning Tips

These tips were shared by your fellow coaches. Remember there isn't one way to plan a great lesson, but you might want to keep some of these suggestions in mind!

• My tip is to make sure everyone is involved in the drill at all times. Making kids wait in lines for long times will result in distractions.

• Be prepared to not follow your lesson plan, it may be that your campers aren't as good at a certain sport as you would have hoped or they just don't enjoy it and then the plan has to adapt to their abilities/wants

• The plan will never go 100% as you thought.

• plan for 1 additional activity (even if its a quite/sit down game) 

• Sometimes a plan will not go as plan because kids may not enjoy it, or enjoy something so much that they don't want to move on. That's alright, the goal is for them to have fun so allow yourself the flexibility of the lesson plan 

• Create a list of must-do activities before starting on the schedule -- this helps a lot with organization and ensures that important exercises/activities aren't missed.

• Having possible back up plans for lessons incase of unforeseen hiccups due to either facility scheduling conflicts or weather. Leave extra time if you have to move locations 

• Keep your audience in mind. Not all drills work for all age groups.

• Use a variety of drills and games that require different muscles and challenge the kids so they their days are more complex and different every time. 

• When making a lesson plan it can be useful to add in notes on how you'd like to explain certain concept, like specific analogies to use or notes on form.

• Make sure that the game is inclusive to all 

• Leave room for camper feedback so that there is the ability for them to control the camp in their own way. Also don't get worried if you're unable to complete the plan, sometimes certain games are enjoyed more than others. 

• When creating a lesson plan, make sure to have possible adaptations if the activity proves to be too difficult or too easy for the group you are coaching. As well as leaving ways to shorten or lengthen if necessary within the provided time.

• have a job for every coach to do 

• Especially for sports specific drills, always make sure that there is an application to the sport, and that the skills they are working on in the drills directly correlate to the sport 

• When making a lesson plan, I believe working amongst your peers is very crucial. Getting and bouncing feedback from one another allows greater creativity and constructive criticism leading to better overall play 

• Be ready to adjust some drills based on how challenging it is and also incorporate a drill that can "test out" the level of the players 

• Include a few focus words/objectives of what you as a coach want your campers to get out of each activity to create some intentionality.

• One tip I have found that has helped is to be as descriptive and transparent as possible! It sometimes feels a little excessive but I have found in the past it has really helped stay organized 

• Make sure the explanation for the drill is as short and clear as possible.

• When creating lessons plans, keep in mind how you will accommodate for diverse learning styles

• Have backup plans in case you don't have the equipment you need. 

• Have simple go to games as I have learned not all games are a "hit". it really depends on your group of campers.

• ensure to be creative in the lesson planning. If you use the same game each week, try and throw in some different ideas to keep it interesting for yourself and other coaches so that it's not always the same game. 

• steal ideas from other coaches, never be afraid to ask for help and collaborate

• Always make sure you have backups, especially if the forecast isn't looking the best and you're scheduled to be outdoors. 

• Leave buffer time for explaining rules/traveling/bathroom breaks

• Remember you need activities that will be tiring and some less tiring activities! Find a balance! 

• Remember to be flexible and revise your lesson plan as you go. During a block, campers may love an activity and wish to play it longer than you had allocated. It's okay to let a game go longer if that's what the campers love. Alternatively, if the camper's aren't understanding a planned activity, move onto the next (even if it's earlier than anticipated). Make changes to your lesson plan as things change throughout the block. 

• One tip for making a lesson plan is to engage the kids in a variety of ways through agility, quiet and speed and run games. Doing the same kind of activities all day can lead to issues, boredom or burn out. Keep things fun and different can cater to kids of all skill levels and interests! 

• When making a lesson plan try to plan activites that require similar/the same equipment closer together. This allows for less set-up time in between blocks.

• use the games inventory!!!

• Make sure you all campers are able to play at once, no one should be standing around. 

• I like to over plan with younger groups, as their attention span is short and I often need to keep switching activities faster than expected. I also like to pick two warm up games and let the kids choose.