Creating Competitive Practices: Adding Competition to Drills to Push Energy & Effort to the Next Level

with Kyle Rechlicz,
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Head Women's Coach;
2021 Horizon League Regular Season Champions;
2016 Horizon League Coach of the Year;
University of Wisconsin Assistant Coach from 2011 to 2012;
Dayton Associate Head Coach from 2007 to 2011;
Cleveland State Assistant Coach from 2003 to 2007;
played for Wisconsin from 1998 to 2002

Milwaukee’s Kyle Rechlicz is a big believer in achieving success through the atmosphere and culture you cultivate within your entire program. Rechlicz says that the key to building a winning culture is derived from two essential components – maintaining a positive atmosphere in all aspects of the team and by inserting as much competition into your team’s daily practices as possible.

In this highly valuable coaching video, Rechlicz shows you a wide variety of drills that she uses to create high-level, competitive practices and also emphasizes the secrets you need to know that will help bring positive energy into your practices and help players consistently enjoy the process of learning the game.  

Plus, you’ll also receive drills that focus on improving critically important fundamental skills such as working on closeouts, shooting, communication and maintaining a high-degree of energy.

Coach Rechlicz does a terrific job of providing real tools to help players improve their in-game production. 

Structuring Practices & Using Skill-Building, Competitive Drills

The video begins with a great breakdown from Coach Rechlicz about knowing and developing your ‘points of emphasis’ for your team and how to stress each of them consistently during your practices throughout the year.

Rechlicz speaks about the value of positivity in practice, as well as the need to generate an ‘environment of energy’ in everything you do. While these may seem like simple concepts on the surface, they are essential tenets – things that are at the core of who she is as a basketball coach and credits them as one of the main reasons her team consistently has success.  

Jumping next into a segment on her favorite practice drills to use on a daily basis, Rechlicz begins by demonstrating her ‘Cutthroat Drill’ and the teaching concepts it reinforces. She maintains that this drill directly relates to skills previously taught and is great to use as a reinforcer of critical fundamental skills.

Coaching points for the ‘Cutthroat Drill’ include skills she’s previously emphasized and holding players to a high-degree of accountability in knowing and executing those concepts.

The ‘Benergy System,’ Passing Drill & Sideline Out-of-Bounds Plays

Coach Rechlicz discusses the importance of a positive atmosphere and why it’s critical to maintain a high-degree of energy in every aspect of a teams’ daily work – which culminates in an explanation of what she calls the ‘Benergy System’ – as a term she’s uses to label ‘bench energy.’  

Outlining the ‘Benergy System,’ Rechlicz details how groups of players can earn extra-credit or ‘team points’ for demonstrating positive attitudes and by exuding involved energy from the sidelines, which is an innovative method for teaching and encouraging bench energy in your daily practices. 

Coach Rechlicz then points out that passing is an under-taught, under-practiced concept in most basketball programs today.  She then demonstrates a favorite passing drill she uses called the ‘Game-Day Passing Drill,’ where players continuously work on their passing skills and do so in game-like situations commonly seen and used during games. 

This passing drill seamlessly flows from one important pass to another while almost all players are moving, communicating and passing at the same time.  

Coach Rechlicz also shares two quick-hitting, sideline out-of-bounds plays designed to get your team essential buckets late in the game. 

In total, Coach Rechlicz covers 12 excellent practice drills in her presentation, including a useful and highly competitive defensive drill she calls, the ‘Memphis Close-Out Drill,’ which is a challenging drill that’s designed to improve on your team’s long close-outs on shooters, as well as teaching players how to communicate in help or scramble situations. 

It’s a must that coaches incorporate competitive drills into practices, not only to help players learn, but as a means to place them in fun, challenging game-like situations.

In this must-own, must-watch video, Coach Rechlicz provides terrific drills and coaching advice that you’ll be able to immediately add into your own practices. Her positive and energetic vibe is contagious and will keep you engaged and watching for the entire video.  

Customer Review: 5 Out of 5 Stars. ‘I’ve been coaching for over 20 years, and any time I can get one or two drills or usable coaching ideas from a video, it makes me a happy coach. In this video, I found myself  continuously pausing it to draw up multiple drills and write down the new ideas generated from this video. Coach Rechlicz gave me some great things to add to my upcoming practices and I am grateful for it!’

48 minutes. 2023.