The 7 Coaching Tools You’re Not Using Yet (But Should Be)

Coach,  

Have you ever heard the story of the firefighters who died holding onto their gear?

They didn’t drop their chainsaws or axes—even when it meant they couldn’t outrun the flames.

Why? Because they trusted their tools. They were attached to them. And it cost them everything.

As coaches, we’re often the same. When things get tough, we go back to what’s comfortable. Our go-to drills. The same leadership tactics. The feedback style we always use.

But sometimes, those “trusted tools” are what’s holding us back.

In last week’s call inside SAVI Basketball, we talked about what it takes to build a better coaching toolbox—and the 7 tools most coaches aren’t using enough.

Here’s your cheat sheet:

1. PRIME (Encode Success Early)
Start your practice by walking your team through perfect reps of the problem you’re trying to fix.

Instead of waiting for mistakes, encode the solution before live play begins.

2. The SKINNY (Small-Space, High-Rep Drill)
Interrupt your game or drill to do a 60–90 second rapid-fire rep session in a tight space.

More reps. Faster communication. Higher focus.

3. NAME IT (Own Your Language)
Rename common concepts using your own terms. Make them sticky, specific, and actionable.

“Hedge” becomes “Stab.” “Point guard” becomes “Racker.” When you change the name, you change the frame.

4. MAKE FEEDBACK CAUSAL
Avoid giving real-time “joystick” feedback—it breaks flow.

Instead, prep them before the moment or reflect after. Forward-focused, not tension-triggering.

5. USE REDO
Blow the whistle. Say “Redo.”

Let athletes fix it themselves. Don’t explain it yet—give them a second (and third) shot to solve the problem.

6. SHORTEN THE FEEDBACK LOOP
Don’t wait 45 minutes to show film. Show the clip. Fix the moment.

The shorter the time between mistake and feedback implementation, the more effective the learning.

7. CELEBRATIONS (End Practice With Wins)
End every practice or training with player-to-player and coach-to-player shoutouts.

When they know celebrations are coming, they start looking for what’s going right.

If you want to watch the full session, I recorded a quick Loom walking through each tool in more detail:

👉 Watch the video here

But even if you don’t hit play—take 60 seconds right now to pick one of these tools. Write it down.

Commit to trying it this week.

Because great coaches don’t just collect tools.

They use them.

Stay SAVI,

—Tyler & the SAVI Basketball Team

P.S. We are PUMPED (pun intended) to announce a special guest with SAVI Basketball all month long…

Strength and conditioning is a vital part of what we do, and having an expert who can answer our questions and help us build better plans is an absolute game-changer for our programs.

If you’d like to get your questions answered, join SAVI Basketball now: