Drew Dunlop

Train for the game, not the drill. I help basketball programs design REPS into practice that transfers.

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

The best coaches I know stopped asking “what drill should I run?”

They started asking “what does the environment need to teach today?”

Years of building REPS in the gym. The 4 questions I run every practice through 🧵

[Philip O'Callaghan 🎾 @Mr_Tennis_Coach]

One of the biggest mistakes coaches make when simplifying a practice task is removing the very skill or decision they want players to develop.

When we simplify a game, our goal isn't just to make it easier.

It's to keep the DNA of the game alive while reducing the complexity of the challenge.

Every game tells a story.There is an objective players are working towards. There are opponents trying to make that objective harder to achieve and teammates helping create solutions. Players must pick up information from the environment, make decisions based on that information and act to achieve an outcome. These elements form the DNA of most team and interactive sports. The challenge for coaches is preserving as much of this DNA as possible when scaling a task.

For example, a well-designed 2v1 can still contain many of the key ingredients of the full game. There is direction, opposition, information to pick up, decisions to make and a problem to solve. The task is simpler, but the story remains the same.

If we remove too many of these elements, we risk changing the problem players are trying to solve and ultimately what they learn.

The "DNA of the game" is my own way of thinking about some of the ideas behind the Foundation for Task Design model developed by Mark O'Sullivan and colleagues.

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

The more ways a player can control, manipulate, and transport the ball under varying conditions, the more solutions they have available when pressure arrives.

We have built out a range of examples inside The Practice Lab.

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

Ballhandling isn’t just a collection of moves.

It’s control under pressure.
Changing speeds and rhythms.
Solving the next problem the game presents.

This week’s Practice Lab section looks at designing environments that connect the dribble to information, decisions, and adaptability.

🗞https://t.co/0DVgbtKtG1

[Isaiah Thomas @isaiahthomas]

Jalen Brunson thank you!!! Don’t run away from “small” guards! You can win with them too. Just gotta believe and give em a real opportunity

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

@Roy_Rana Big time! Congrats.

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

What’s a great conversation! So many notes and takeaways on a topic that I am trying to understand better in this business.

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

How much money does it take to build a Final Four roster?

What does that mean for Europe, transfers, & the global market?

Kevin Sweeney explains college basketball’s new NIL economy & why its impact now reaches far beyond the NCAA.

🎧https://t.co/x7sAz5ULCV

@CBB_Central

[Rob Gray ⚾️👁 @ShakeyWaits]

NEW Webinar: Creating a Basketball Shooting Development Program from an Ecological Dynamics Perspective: From Attractors to Synchrony-Breaking Offense
Saturday, August 8, 2026, 3-5 PM

Register ($): https://t.co/OlGRfINM8r

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

🚨 SG Deep Dive!

Tomorrow Kevin Sweeney of @SINow sits down with @EricFawcett_ to unpack NIL and its impact on the global game.

Follow here...https://t.co/MXSm98N7LT

@CBB_Central

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

@shootxp With a ton of help from experts like you!

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

Scaling up the decision density is an easy way to shift the demands with in your training design.

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

More reps does not always mean more learning.

Inside the Practice Lab, we highlight Decision Density — the number of meaningful decisions embedded inside a training environment.

Instead of only asking, “How many shots did we get?” we can ask:

“How many situations did we solve?”

The goal isn’t to eliminate reps. It’s to enrich them.

https://t.co/EDbNisS9As

[Rob Gray ⚾️👁 @ShakeyWaits]

A preview of some exciting new research I will be presenting at #ICPA26 in a couple of weeks. Early detection of susceptibility to injury in baseball pitchers through analysis of coordination changes. https://t.co/5tqS5JeOIs
**Please reach out if you would like more details :)

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

☕️ Sunday Mornin' Newsletter!

⛹️‍♂️ Transition Blur Screens
🧪 The Practice Lab: Decision Density
🎧 Cognitive Skill & Fit
🏀 Post Offense
and more!

🗞https://t.co/niJoJ6Qgzx

[Drew Dunlop @CoachDrewD]

Something that helped me understand the value of adaptability was with me every single day.

It was my iPhone.

Face ID doesn’t rely on one perfect image of your face.

It works in bad lighting.
Different angles.
While moving.
With a mask on.

And being skillful is repeating the process of finding a solution by adapting your technique to meet the demands of changing conditions & varying constraints.

The best players can adapt to whatever problems the game presents.

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

Tomorrow Scott Wylie of S2 Cognition returns for Part 2.

🔍 How athletes process information
🔌 Why not every player’s brain fits every system
⛹️‍♂️ How coaches can better train improvisation, & adaptability.

A conversation on the hidden layer behind development.

@S2Cognition

[Rob Gray ⚾️👁 @ShakeyWaits]

P&A Podcast #574 – Reflections from the Road: Questions to Ask When Trying to Design a Good Constraint https://t.co/stvA7rGZCm

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

Inside this week’s newsletter, we highlight The Practice Lab’s Variable Shooting filter.

The idea: move beyond blocked reps and build shot makers who can recalibrate across changing distances, angles, footwork, fatigue, defenders, and decisions.

🗞https://t.co/fGlcHXIbB1

[Jamie Shaw @JamieShaw5]

Zavier Zens (@Zavier44)
On the 3rd-Team of my @NaismithTrophy All-American ballot.

6-7 wing averaged 23.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.5 steals for @WiscoBB.

30-0 State Champion.

@IllinoisRivals
https://t.co/DikqM26dQC

[Kristian Hudson @4khudson]

Players relationship with their environment (teammates, defenders, other space).. constant dance of shape & reshape.. invasion games.. maintain space for advantages for better & more quality shots..

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

🚨 In tomorrow's Sunday Mornin' Newsletter!

🏄🏻‍♂️ Attacking the "Hedge & Plug"
🤔 What is Variable Shooting?
🎧 Risk/Reward Tradeoffs
🏀 Cross Screening
and more!

https://t.co/M3jdPJO6HN

[Mark Miller @WisBBYearbook]

Wisconsin stars shine for ElevateUAA https://t.co/clX6s2HcmI

@mikeweinstein55
@ElevateUAA

[Slappin' Glass @SlappinGlass]

New pod is live with Cluj-Napoca HC Mihai Silvășan!

A sharp conversation on:

🧱 Building competitive practices
⚠️ Managing risk
🪤 1-2-1-1 Traps
and more!

🎧https://t.co/0l4GbdqZXS