A note from Coach Farrar

Hey Coach,

It’s that time of year. Gyms are getting loud again, tryout lists are going up, and every coach I know is running on coffee and practice plans.

This is my 12th year coaching. I started at 18, fresh out of high school, as a freshman assistant. I spent 11 years at that school working my way through freshman, JV, and eventually running the freshman program. This year I’m an assistant at a new school, a program that’s hungry for direction. Starting over somewhere new has reminded me how much the first few weeks of a season set the tone for everything after.

So that’s what this quarter’s newsletter is about. Getting the start right, building a team that defends, and keeping your head on straight once the games pile up in December.

Let’s get to work.

Coach’s Corner: 3 things to lock in before your first game

1. Set your parent rules now, not after the first blowup. My rule is simple. If a parent has a concern after a game, they wait 24 hours before we talk about it. Nobody is at their best right after a tough loss, me included. That cooling-off period has protected me more than once, kept parents from saying things they’d regret, and almost always led to a better conversation for both of us. Put it in your parent meeting and in writing so it’s not a surprise in January.

2. Don’t let the weight room disappear once games start. A lot of programs lift hard in the offseason and then quietly stop in November. Keep lifting on practice days during the season. And get in there with your players. When the coach lifts alongside the team instead of standing on the side with a clipboard, it changes the whole room. Your involvement is the message.

3. Write down your non-negotiables and say them out loud. Attitude and effort. Respect and listening. Being on time. Team first. Leave things better than you found them. Whatever yours are, your players should be able to recite them by the end of week one. Standards only work when everybody knows exactly what they are, and when you hold them with love and consistency.

Coming to the blog this quarter

In case you missed it

Last quarter we covered program building in July, preseason practice planning in August, and offensive identity in September. If you’re still settling on what your offense looks like this year, start with these four.

• How to Build an Offense Around Your Personnel: stop forcing your roster into somebody else’s system and build around the players you actually have.
• Offensive Concepts Every Team Should Master: spacing, shot selection, and the drills to teach them on day one.
• Teaching Pace and Poise on Offense: for teams that play fast and rushed, or slow and stuck.
• Teaching Players to Play Off Two Feet: jump stops, two-foot gathers, and four drills that clean up wild drives.

Tools to make your season easier

Underdog Hoops Play Lab. Draw your plays, animate them, and build a playbook you can actually share with your team. It’s simple on purpose. No learning curve, just a clean play maker built for coaches. There’s a free version, and Play Lab Pro unlocks the full toolkit. Try Play Lab

Note for Coach Farrar: confirm Pro pricing ($9/month or $67/year) and sign-in are live before sending. Delete this note.

Out-of-bounds play pack, $5. Baseline out-of-bounds is one of the easiest places to steal points, and most teams waste it. This pack gives you sets you can install in one practice. Grab the pack

Underdog Hoops University. If you want everything in one place, this is it. Coaching courses, resources, and Play Lab Pro is included with your membership. Join the University

On the way. I’m also building an Underdog Hoops practice planner and a live stat tracker for coaches. If you want early access when they’re ready, reply with “early access” and I’ll put you on the list.

Optional: cut the “On the way” paragraph if you’re not ready to announce these yet.