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Playbook & diagrammer guide

Your first playbook in Ball Coach

Add plays. Make them yours. Teach them on the floor.

Coach, start with one play you already teach. Get it into Team Playbook, check the drawing, and make a small practice packet. You can build out the rest of your book from there.

Use a computer or tablet for drawing and detailed edits. On a phone, you can browse the Playbank and view saved plays. Assistant Coach drawing is currently unavailable; the workflows below use the Playbank, photo import, and manual drawing.

1. Get a play into Team Playbook

Open Playbook and check that the correct team is selected. Choose Add play, then pick the route that matches what you have.

Start with a library play

  1. Choose From the Playbank, or open the Playbank tab. Search by play name; open Filters to narrow the formation, defense, or concept.
  2. Review the play’s drawing and choose Add to playbook. In the dialog, choose a Destination book and optional Destination section, or leave Team Playbook — no book selected.
  3. Choose Add to playbook inside the dialog. Wait for the success message. You stay in the library so you can keep browsing.
  4. Choose Edit now in the success message, or return to Team Playbook and open the new copy. Rename or edit it for your team. Your edits do not change the Playbank original.

Bring in a diagram you already have

  1. In Team Playbook, choose Add play → Import a photo. Select a clear image of a binder page, whiteboard diagram, or exported drawing. The picker accepts images; use an image of the relevant page if your source is a PDF.
  2. Use a straight, well-lit image with readable player numbers and complete routes. Crop out unrelated material while keeping the whole play visible.
  3. Wait for the import. A successful conversion saves the play and opens it in the diagrammer. If the import reports an error, follow the message or try a clearer image.
  4. Check every frame: player positions, ball, cuts, passes, screens, and notes. Correct anything the conversion missed and choose Save. Image conversion can make mistakes.

Draw your own

  1. Choose Add play → Draw it. This opens a blank court. Follow the drawing steps in section 3, then choose Save to playbook.

For a first session, add one library play or import one familiar diagram. Check it before bringing in the rest of your system.

2. Organize plays so you can find them

Team Playbook is your saved-play library. A book is a collection inside it, such as Varsity offense. Sections organize a book into groups such as Man, Zone, BLOB, and SLOB.

Build a small book

  1. Open Books from Playbook and create a book with a name your staff will recognize.
  2. Return to Team Playbook. Select plays using the check control on each card, then choose Add to book and select the destination. Clear the selection when you want card clicks to open plays again.
  3. Open the book. Choose Add section to create your groups, then use each play’s section selector to place it. Use Move up and Move down to set the teaching order; an unsectioned book also supports dragging to reorder in its All view.

Keep your working set clear

  1. Use Search plays and the book, team, season, and status filters to find what you need. If a play seems missing, clear filters and check the selected team.
  2. Open a play card’s actions menu to set New, Installing, Game ready, or Retired. These labels help you choose practice and game packets.
  3. Use Teams & seasons in the actions menu when a play needs different team or season tags. Open the play itself to change its name, drawing, or frame notes.

A simple starting structure is one offensive book with Man, Zone, BLOB, and SLOB sections. Use the names your players already hear in practice.

3. Draw and edit in the diagrammer

Open a saved play to edit it, or choose Draw it for a blank court. A frame is one stage of the action. Keep each frame focused on what you want a player to see next.

Set the floor

  1. Enter a recognizable Play name and choose half or full court. Use full court for actions that need the whole floor.
  2. Choose Add all five for the offensive players, or drag a player chip onto the court. On a tablet, tap the chip, then tap its spot. X1–X5 are defenders.
  3. Choose Select and drag the player dots to your starting positions. Choose Ball, then click or tap the player who starts with it. The editor returns to Select after the ball is assigned.

Draw the action

  1. Choose Draw and drag from the player toward the destination. When you release, choose Cut, Screen, Pass, or Dribble. Start the route at its player so the action belongs to the right person.
  2. For a more controlled route, choose Place, click anywhere to start, then click the destination and choose the action type. The new line is selected automatically; drag its control dot to adjust the curve.
  3. To fix a line, choose Select and click it. Change Action to Cut, Screen, Pass, or Dribble without redrawing the line; you can also change its player or screen type in the same panel. Use Erase to remove a player, route, or hand-off marker.
  4. Use Undo if you make a mistake. Avoid Clear unless you intend to clear the entire play: it removes every frame, player, route, ball assignment, and hand-off marker after confirmation.

The four action types are Cut (solid arrow), Pass (dashed arrow), Dribble (wavy line), and Screen (line ending in a bar). Check the line type before building the next frame.

4. Build the sequence and save it

Draw the next teaching point in a new frame instead of putting the whole possession into one crowded picture.

Advance or duplicate

  1. Choose Fast Build or the plus button, Add next frame, to create the next frame from the current routes. Players move toward their route ends and the ball follows supported passes and hand-offs. Review the result and correct positions or possession as needed.
  2. Use Duplicate this frame when you want an exact copy of the current setup and routes. This is different from advancing the action.
  3. Select frame thumbnails to review the sequence. Add frame coaching notes that tell players what to read or do. Keep the wording short enough to use on the floor.

Save and check

  1. For a new drawing, choose Save to playbook. For a play already saved, choose Save. Wait for the saved confirmation before navigating away; drawing edits are not autosaved.
  2. Return to Team Playbook and reopen the play. Check its name, frames, notes, and starting ball position.
  3. If Save is unavailable on a new play, put at least one player on the court. On an existing play, Save may be unavailable because nothing has changed.

Useful keyboard controls

  1. Outside text fields: Ctrl/Cmd+Z undoes, Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z or Ctrl/Cmd+Y redoes, and Ctrl/Cmd+S saves. Escape clears the current selection or armed player chip.

Try one simple pass-and-cut first: place five players, assign the ball, draw a pass and a cut, then use Fast Build. Check where the players and ball land before adding another action.

5. Use the playbook with your team

Turn the saved drawings into a short teaching packet or a bench reference.

Print or download a packet

  1. In Team Playbook, filter or select the plays you want, then choose Print packet. Confirm the scope and eligible play count in the dialog.
  2. Choose Full playbook for all plays in scope; Game packet for Game ready plays; Install packet for New and Installing plays; or Scout packet for a compact, logo-free layout.
  3. Choose Preview & print to inspect the pages, or Download PDF to save a file you can send. Check the count: a status filter can leave a packet empty. Saved series print separately using Print this series.

Prepare your bench and share a play

  1. From a play card’s actions menu, choose Add to call sheet. Its next action moves it to Special situations; the following action removes it from the call sheet.
  2. Open Gameday → Call sheet, choose the opponent, and review your pinned plays, defensive calls, and available scout reminders before printing.
  3. To share one play, choose Share this play from its actions menu and follow the dialog. Review the audience and link settings before sending it. For a group of plays, a PDF packet is a straightforward way to send what you intend.

If something does not look right

  1. Missing play: confirm the team and clear search, book, season, or status filters. A Playbank preview is not in Team Playbook until Add to playbook succeeds.
  2. Players did not move in Fast Build: check that each route starts at the correct player and has the right Route owner. Check pass direction and ball possession too.
  3. Drawing controls missing on a phone: use a tablet or computer. A phone is useful for reading saved plays.
  4. For help, open Help → Playbook & diagrammer guide or replay the diagrammer lesson. Use Send feedback with the play name and the step that went wrong.

Before practice: open the packet, read each frame in order, and confirm that another coach could teach it without you standing beside them.