Is Your Team Prepared For The Playoffs? Here Are 4 Tips For A Deep Run

As winter quickly turns into spring, it’s the time of year where many sports — particularly basketball and hockey — are about to enter their postseasons.

With the playoff push coming up, it’s time to step back and assess your team. What do you need to be prepared for the playoffs? Are there ways to help get your players in the best position possible to make a deep postseason run?

Here are four simple keys to preparing for the playoffs:

1. Acquire Needs

If your team has needs and you’re still in a situation to pick up players — or even add an experienced voice to the coaching staff — the playoff push is the time to fill those needs.

While you may not have any glaring holes, you may be in need of an extra rebounder off the bench or a penalty-killing specialist. Maybe your team needs veteran leadership or you need a coach with a championship pedigree to bounce ideas off of and discuss strategy.

If you’re past the point of being able to acquire additional players and need to address your team’s weaknesses, start to single out players on your team that may be able to fill those voids. Devote some extra time to working with them and prepare them to play specific roles once the second season begins.

2. Fix Problems

Of course, while you want to fill holes with new acquisitions, you want to make sure you’re fixing your problems, not creating new ones.

If you need a secondary scorer or an offensive facilitator, make sure that player fits in with your team’s chemistry. You don’t want to sacrifice your team’s defense for a slight upgrade on offense.

Try plugging smaller holes during the season. Don’t try to solve your team’s major flaw with a late season Band-Aid.

3. Work Together

Watch most successful playoff teams closely and you’ll notice two characteristics: the team believes they are going to win and they are going to win it together.

That’s the frame of mind that your team needs to adopt. Take last season’s Chicago Cubs for example: their players only locker room gathering during the Game 7 rain delay helped spark them to the franchise’s first championship in more than 100 years.

Believing is the first key, but it’s the tight camaraderie and ability of teammates to rely on each other that takes teams over the top. There’s a reason teammates run to embrace each other after the final win and don’t just run immediately to the trophy. Those teams never stopped believing in their ability to come together and overcome adversity, especially with their backs against the wall.

Maybe schedule some extra team time together, away from the field, pitch, court or ice. You don’t need to force cheesy team building exercises, but just have organic moments together.

4. Rest Up

The season is long. And then come the playoffs.

While some NBA teams are currently under fire for resting their best players ahead of the playoffs, it’s important to have your best players reaching their peak performance when it’s time for the biggest stage.

If you’re still pushing for a spot in the post season, you may not be able to afford to rest players, but you may want to add in more time in the training room rather than the practice facility. Taking days off of physical practice is a great way to teach your players through chalk talk and video time.

Whether you’re making that final playoff push or just ready for the postseason to begin, make sure your team is well rested, well rounded and working together. When you have all the pieces you need and they believe they’re able to win, you have the right ingredients for a deep postseason run.

Make Sure Your Players Are Prepared

Author Bio

Travis Armideo, marketing manager at Gladiator Custom Mouthguards, is a lifelong ice hockey player. He began playing for various clubs at a young age and continued onto junior teams, while also playing lacrosse at the collegiate level. Travis is still heavily involved in athletics, coaching high school and youth ice hockey athletes, as well as playing men’s league ice hockey on a regular basis.