Tip-Off Offer: $17.50 with code TIPOFF30 — 30% off the $24.99 price, before any applicable tax. Code valid only through Monday, November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Central. Apply TIPOFF30.
One-time digital download. No membership required.
Walk into your first practice with a plan.
The First 30 helps basketball coaches turn preseason decisions into a clear order of work: identify the gaps, align the staff, define roster roles and map the first 10 practices to Game One.
Start with the six-page Quickstart. Then use the audit and working pages to address your next coaching decision. You do not need to read all 100 pages before you begin.
See the tools you will use
These are actual pages from the included manual. Each image opens at full size. The key examples are also written out below for easy reading on a phone.
1. Find the gaps before they cost practice time
The readiness audit has five domains, each scored out of 20. This sample checks whether your staff has defined its standards, shared language and responsibilities.
Open the complete audit sample at full size
Three checks from this page:
- Name three to five observable behaviors that prove the identity.
- Assign clear practice-floor responsibilities.
- Assign an owner for film, scouting, statistics, or video.
What you leave with: unchecked items to address, a staff responsibility to assign and evidence to verify.
2. Give each early practice a purpose
The first-10-practice blueprint connects offense, defense, decisions, competition and a transfer standard. Choose drills that fit your team and the outcome you need.
Open the complete practice sample at full size
Practice 1 example: Identity + Floor Habits
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Offense: spacing landmarks, jump stops, pass-and-fill support.
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Defense: stance, talk before the catch, sprint-back lanes.
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Competitive finish: 3v3 paint-touch game; 2 points for paint-to-pass and 2 for a stop plus rebound.
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Transfer standard: players can name and demonstrate the three program behaviors.
Example: turn two preseason gaps into next steps
Illustrative scenario with a fictional coaching staff.
Game One is two weeks away. The staff has not assigned film responsibilities, and its coaches use different language for the same actions.
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Diagnose: leave those audit items unchecked until the decisions and evidence exist.
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Assign: use the Staff Role + Ownership Matrix to name a primary film owner, a backup and a deliverable. Agree on the shared coaching cues.
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Plan: use the Practice 1 blueprint to select activities that teach the agreed floor habits and three program behaviors.
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Review: record whether the outcome transferred and the next fix in the included First 10 Practices Tracker (print pack, page 17).
The tools connect the staff decision to the practice plan and the review that follows.
Three PDFs. 100 pages. One preseason roadmap.
70-page implementation manual
The 100-point readiness audit, flexible 30-day countdown, 90-minute staff alignment retreat, three-day tryout framework, roster and role tools, first-10-practice blueprint, 90- and 120-minute practice architectures, Game One preparation and review.
24-page reusable print pack
Ink-friendly working pages for audits, staff responsibilities, tryouts, roster roles, practice tracking and reviews. Print the pages you need for your team's staff and binder.
6-page Quickstart field guide
A shorter path into the system so you can begin with the next decision your staff needs to make.
One-time purchase. See the current price and offer above. One digital ZIP containing all three PDFs. No membership required. No physical product ships.
Before you buy
Who is The First 30 for?
Junior-high, middle-school, JV, varsity, club and travel basketball coaches who need a connected preseason roadmap. It is designed for both new head coaches and experienced staffs.
Does it include ten fully scripted practices?
The practice component is a blueprint and planning framework. It gives each practice a focus, offensive and defensive connections, a decision lens, a competitive finish and a transfer standard. You select and adapt drills for your team.
What if I have fewer than 30 days?
The manual includes a 14-day compressed path and a 90-minute starting route. Anchor the work to your first-game date and preserve the order: diagnose, align, select and build, pressure-test, then stabilize.
How do I access and print it?
Download the ZIP after checkout, extract it and open the three letter-size PDFs with a PDF reader. The manual uses CSM color design; the reusable print pack is ink-friendly. The single-team license permits printed working copies for your team and on-court staff. Contact CSM if you need help accessing your files.
Is this a subscription?
This standalone purchase is a one-time payment and does not enroll you in a membership.
Considering Coaches Room membership?
The current CSM Coaches Room offer includes The First 30 with your first paid $9.99/month membership order, plus the issue designated current when you join. Membership renews monthly until canceled, plus applicable tax. Earlier members keep bonuses promised with their original orders.
Looking for fully timed youth practices instead?
The separate CSM Practice Engine ($14.99 one-time) contains 16 fully timed youth practices with 60-, 75- and 90-minute options for ages 9-14.
Back to The First 30 purchase options
