Slices of the Game: How coaches are using research to develop better players — practical experiments in skill development.

Why do players look great in practice and disappear in games?

Coach Drew spent years asking this question. The drills were clean. The players were working. But when the lights came on, the gap between practice performance and game performance kept showing up.

Slices of the Game is his answer.

With a foreword by Rob Gray, one of the leading voices in skill acquisition and sports science, this book bridges the gap between cutting-edge research and what actually happens in the gym. As Dr. Gray writes:

Slices of the Game hits a real sweet spot—conveying the key ideas of Ecological Dynamics and the Constraints Led Approach without using many big words... If you are interested in trying this approach to coaching, this book can help you find a way—not the way.

That distinction matters. This is not a system you must adopt. It's a flexible framework built from years of real-world experimentation that plugs into your philosophy, your players, and your program.

At its core is the REPS Framework for designing better learning environments:

Representative — Does practice reflect the real game's pressures and information? Emergent — Are players solving problems, or just following instructions? Perceptual — Are players learning to search, make decisions, and react to relevant information? Self-Organizing — Are players discovering solutions for themselves? One of the book's unique features is the Research into REPS sections, which translate modern skill acquisition research into practical coaching ideas you can immediately apply. Developed with valuable contributions from Chris McCosker, these sections bridge the gap between academic research and everyday coaching, helping you understand not just what the research says, but how to use it in your own practices.

Inside, you'll find:

Practical principles you can apply to practice design immediately Constraint-based tools that work in any workout or team setting Research into REPS sections that connect modern research to practical coaching applications Real basketball examples connecting research directly to coaching decisions A modern player development framework—without the academic jargon Ideas for building practices that prepare players for pressure, chaos, and competition The next edge in coaching isn't finding better talent.

It's designing better practice.

Take what fits. Test it. Adapt it. Make it your own.