An Easy Way to Gauge What Your Players are Retaining

This concept I am about to introduce was actually taught to me in my MSEd program. Since I learned about it I have used it with my Varsity team and it has proven its effectiveness every time.

They're called EXIT CARDS and I give them out to my players once practice is over right before they go home.
Here is the process of making, distributed, and using the Exit Cards:
1) After looking over my practice plan for the day I review what ideas/skills/plays we are going over
2) From there I consider what I want my team to take away from the day's practice
3) Next I develop a question, based on the most important theme from our practice, that requires a thoughtful response
4) I write the question out on 10 index cards (1 for each player). On the front of the card I label the date and practice # and write the question. The back is where they provide their answer
5) At the end of practice I give them each a pen and their card and have them write their name on it. I reiterate that the response should be thoughtful.
6) After they finish I collect the cards and file them in each girl's section of the index card box.
7) When I go to plan my next practice I review the thoughts they wrote down on their index cards. I am then able to gauge where they stand on certain ideas, and how deep their understanding really is.
8) Finally, I plan my next practice according to their level of understanding of what we reviewed yesterday.

What the Exit Cards are good for:

• a quick assessment of how much players understood from the practice session
• how much focus they had during the session
• they reinforce important ideas by having the player rethink about what they just learned

Other uses for Exit Cards:

Not every Exit Card has a question specific to something we just covered in practice. Sometimes the questions/topics are:

• Specific Individual Goals
• Team Goals
• Something you want to work on 
• A class you need help in
• Ways we can improve as a team
• etc

You can use the Exit Card idea in any way you'd like. It can even be distributed to your players before a classroom/video session to sort of see where there minds are coming into a session. I've found the Exit Cards to be a good tool for our program. 

Til next time

thirteen.