What makes a productive practice

Haven't read the book but for me, its similar to teaching, I would start with the objectives I would like to have achieved by the end of that practice. At the end of practice, I would decide how close we got to our objectives or if we exceeded our objectives (which is rare). Then I would reflect and see how we can get better and what direction to go from there.

Objectives would be multiple and include things such as

1. Fundamentals
2. Techniques
3. Conditioning
4. Scheme install (O, D, & ST)
5. Sufficient & Quality Reps
etc.

I would also take a look in the stickied thread called "Best Practice Ideas"

1. Progressive teaching --> Did your drills build on each other? Did Indy translate to group, did group translate to team? IE: If you work combo blocks in Indy, did you work combo blocks during group, then run plays with combo blocks during team. It doesn't make any sense to run Pass Pro indy, sweep plays during group and then trap and IZ during team.

2. Season long progression --> Have your drills progressed in complexity from Day 1? If day 1 is bird-dogging on garbage cans... you shouldn't really have to run that drill (for that same play) on Day 10. If you teach tackling with a 3 step whistle progression on a tackling dummy, at some point you should be able to run the drill without the whistle, against live opponents, going at tempo (even if not full speed).

3. Limited "dead time" for players. During indy and group sessions, are kids involved in 1-2 reps per minute (or more)? During team time, are kids rotating in and out at an effective interval to keep them engaged. Tough to expect a kid to stand around for 10 minutes during team and not become distracted.

4. Practice tempo - practicing in short / intermediate chunks. Not many adults have attention spans over 10-15 minutes for a given topic. Practice needs to be paced with changes so that it doesn't become 5 periods of drudgery.

5. Situational awareness - effectively covering every aspect of the game. Goalline, 4 minute, 2 minute, special teams, hail mary, onside kick, last play, Situational football (3rd down and ______) ect...

6. Kids have to communicate - an effective practice is an talking practice - are they making their checks? Are they cheering for teammates? Confident kids communicate.

7. Constant coaching - are kids being coached on every rep? Not every coach needs to say something every play - BUT kids should be getting coaching every play [by more then just the HC or coordinator]

8. Enthusiasm - Does your practice have a positive vibe - or are kids just being cut down? Is there excitement for "good plays?" If a play is ran correctly, or a defense fits up a run or somebody gets a turnover -- there should be some level of celebration.