20 October 2026
Ep 2048 What Is Your Bench Doing When It Is Not Playing?
Basketball Coach Unplugged (A Basketball Coaching Podcast)
About
https://teachhoops.com/
Keeping the eighth through twelfth players locked in, ready, and part of the team, not a row of spectators in warmups.
Picture the third quarter of a close game. Your starters are grinding, and down the bench one kid is retying a shoe that does not need it, two are whispering, and your twelfth man is staring at the scoreboard. Then a starter turns an ankle and you have to call one of them in. Coach Steve Collins opens this episode with the moment every coach dreads, and the early career loss that taught him a bench player who has been watching like a fan is not ready to play.
In this two part deep dive, Steve walks through how to keep your eighth through twelfth players locked in during opening week and all season long. Every player gets a real job, the bench learns how to sit like it belongs in the game, and the cold check in becomes something you practice instead of something you hope for. And because some of these kids will not play much, Steve explains why their role in practice, in the locker room, and in your attention matters more than their minutes.
Part 1: Engaged, Not Spectating
The foul trouble loss where a sub checked in without knowing the score, the defense, or his man
Why "be ready" means nothing, and the specific bench jobs that do: tracking their best scorer, calling the defense, counting deflections, watching box outs, and scouting the other bench
Pulling a bench player aside at a timeout and getting a real answer
Writing bench jobs on the pregame board right under the starting lineup, same size letters
Teaching your bench how to sit like a drill: posture, eyes on the ball, standing for charges and extra passes, meeting every teammate who comes out
Why warmup tops come off in the second half
The junior who barely played but changed the temperature of the gym every night
Part 2: Ready to Go In, Part of the Team
Why we ask bench players to go from cold to perfect, and never practice it
The weekly scrimmage where a sitting group gets dropped into a late game situation with no warning
The five thing check in routine: score, time, fouls, who am I guarding, what are we in
Giving your bench its own coach, so nobody gets called in cold
Why practice reps matter more than game minutes for players at the end of the bench
Naming one bench player, out loud and specific, in the locker room after every win
Why a deflection from your eleventh man should get the loudest cheer of the night
Being honest about where a player stands, and what would earn more minutes
Why the kids at the end of the bench are the ones who come back years later
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:16 Opening hook: what your bench is really doing
00:52 Welcome from the Fifth Quarter Studios
01:20 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com bench role sheets and culture tools
01:41 The sub who watched the game like a fan
02:34 Takeaway 1: Every player gets a job
03:56 Takeaway 2: Teach them how to sit
05:56 Picking back up
06:13 Takeaway 3: Practice the cold check in
08:17 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com late game scrimmage formats
08:42 Takeaway 4: Small minutes, real role
10:50 The challenge
11:01 Post roll
This week's challenge: Before your first game, give every player on your bench one written job, and check it at your first timeout.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Bench role sheets, late game scrimmage plans, substitution routines, practice plans, and culture tools at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Keeping the eighth through twelfth players locked in, ready, and part of the team, not a row of spectators in warmups.
Picture the third quarter of a close game. Your starters are grinding, and down the bench one kid is retying a shoe that does not need it, two are whispering, and your twelfth man is staring at the scoreboard. Then a starter turns an ankle and you have to call one of them in. Coach Steve Collins opens this episode with the moment every coach dreads, and the early career loss that taught him a bench player who has been watching like a fan is not ready to play.
In this two part deep dive, Steve walks through how to keep your eighth through twelfth players locked in during opening week and all season long. Every player gets a real job, the bench learns how to sit like it belongs in the game, and the cold check in becomes something you practice instead of something you hope for. And because some of these kids will not play much, Steve explains why their role in practice, in the locker room, and in your attention matters more than their minutes.
Part 1: Engaged, Not Spectating
The foul trouble loss where a sub checked in without knowing the score, the defense, or his man
Why "be ready" means nothing, and the specific bench jobs that do: tracking their best scorer, calling the defense, counting deflections, watching box outs, and scouting the other bench
Pulling a bench player aside at a timeout and getting a real answer
Writing bench jobs on the pregame board right under the starting lineup, same size letters
Teaching your bench how to sit like a drill: posture, eyes on the ball, standing for charges and extra passes, meeting every teammate who comes out
Why warmup tops come off in the second half
The junior who barely played but changed the temperature of the gym every night
Part 2: Ready to Go In, Part of the Team
Why we ask bench players to go from cold to perfect, and never practice it
The weekly scrimmage where a sitting group gets dropped into a late game situation with no warning
The five thing check in routine: score, time, fouls, who am I guarding, what are we in
Giving your bench its own coach, so nobody gets called in cold
Why practice reps matter more than game minutes for players at the end of the bench
Naming one bench player, out loud and specific, in the locker room after every win
Why a deflection from your eleventh man should get the loudest cheer of the night
Being honest about where a player stands, and what would earn more minutes
Why the kids at the end of the bench are the ones who come back years later
Chapters
00:00 Coach Unplugged intro
00:16 Opening hook: what your bench is really doing
00:52 Welcome from the Fifth Quarter Studios
01:20 Pre roll: TeachHoops.com bench role sheets and culture tools
01:41 The sub who watched the game like a fan
02:34 Takeaway 1: Every player gets a job
03:56 Takeaway 2: Teach them how to sit
05:56 Picking back up
06:13 Takeaway 3: Practice the cold check in
08:17 Mid roll: TeachHoops.com late game scrimmage formats
08:42 Takeaway 4: Small minutes, real role
10:50 The challenge
11:01 Post roll
This week's challenge: Before your first game, give every player on your bench one written job, and check it at your first timeout.
Format: Deep Dive, two parts.
Resources: Bench role sheets, late game scrimmage plans, substitution routines, practice plans, and culture tools at https://teachhoops.com/
Recorded at the Fifth Quarter Studios in Madison, Wisconsin.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices