User Guide

Hoops Playbook for iPhone and iPad. This guide describes version 1.1.

Written for volunteer coaches. Each section is a short list of steps. Where iPhone and iPad differ, both are shown. Questions? See Support. Your data stays yours: see the Privacy Policy.

Your first play in a minute

This is the same walk-through the app gives you. It takes about a minute.

1. On the library screen, tap New Play (the orange plus at the top right). Your new play starts with five players already on the court.
2. You are in the editor, looking at the Setup, where everyone starts. Drag any player to move them. The ball starts with player 1.
3. Tap Add Step. On iPhone this is the plus chip at the end of the step strip. On iPad it is the Add Step button in the Steps list. Each step is one thing that happens.
4. In the tool bar under the court, pick Move. On iPhone the tool bar scrolls sideways if you cannot see it.
5. Drag a player to where they should run. The arrow is their path. Let go to keep it.
6. Double-tap the teammate who should get the ball. The player with the ball passes to them. No tool needed.
7. Double-tap the hoop and whoever has the ball shoots. Close to the rim it is a layup. Touch and hold the hoop to pick Shot, Layup or Drive and layup.
8. Tap Play (left of the timeline) to watch your play. Drag the timeline to check any moment.
9. To show it at practice, open Present. On iPhone, tap More (the ellipsis at the top right), then Present. On iPad, tap Present in the top bar. It goes full screen with big buttons.
10. At the bottom, Next plays one step and waits. Play runs the whole play. You can also swipe the court for Next and Back.
11. Tap Close (the X at the top left) when you are done.

What a play is

A play is a Setup plus numbered steps. The Setup shows where everyone starts. Each step is one thing that happens, such as a cut, a pass or a shot. Several players can move in the same step.

Every step can have a coach note, a line of text that explains what the players should do. The timeline under the court lets you play the whole thing or drag to any moment.

On iPad the steps are listed in the sidebar. On iPhone they are chips in a strip under the court.

The tools

The tool bar sits under the court.

See Shortcuts for the quickest way to pass and shoot.

Shortcuts

• Double-tap a teammate: the player with the ball passes to them.
• Double-tap the hoop: the player with the ball shoots. Close to the rim it is a layup.
• Touch and hold the hoop: pick Shot, Layup or Drive and layup.
• Touch and hold a player: swap two players, or change a name or color.
• Touch and hold a step: duplicate it, or add steps from there with AI Chat or Record Steps.
• Swipe in Present: swipe the court left or right for Next and Back.

Presenting at practice

Open a play and choose Present (see the first section). Then:

1. Next plays one step and waits. Play runs the whole play. Swipe the court for Next and Back.
2. At a decision step the play pauses and shows the choices as big buttons. Ask your players who is open, then tap what they say. Continue (default) plays the default option.
3. Speed slows the play down or speeds it up.
4. Sides mirrors the play or turns the hoop to the other end. On iPhone in portrait it sits in the corner of the court.
5. The pencil button lets you draw on the court with your finger. The ink is temporary. Clear ink removes it.
6. The speaker button next to the pencil mutes or unmutes narration.
7. Tap Close to leave.

Sample plays

Five plays come with the app, in the Samples folder.

• Give and Go: pass, cut to the basket, get it back.
• Pick and Roll: a screen and a roll to the basket.
• Inbound Box: a set for taking the ball out of bounds.
• Beat the No-Press Line: a play on a league court with a no-press line drawn on it.
• Pass Options 3-Way: pauses at a decision so your players pick where the pass goes.

1. Tap Samples. On iPhone it is a folder row. On iPad it is in the sidebar.
2. Tap a play to edit it. Touch and hold for Open, Present, Rename, Share Video and more. On iPhone you can also swipe right on a play for Present.

Teams and names

Add your kids once. New plays then show their names and numbers instead of 1 to 5.

1. On iPhone, tap More, then Teams. On iPad, tap Teams in the toolbar.
2. Tap New Team (or Create Team if you have none), and name it.
3. Tap Add Kid for each player and give each a jersey number. The first five fill the court on every new play.
4. Tap the star next to the team name to make it the default. The default team fills new plays.

Plays you already made can pick up a team too. When you add a team, the app asks “Use (team name) on your plays?” You can also use Players in the editor.

Play from AI Chat

Describe a play to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini using a ready-made prompt, paste the answer back, and get a play. It works on any iPhone or iPad. The app itself sends nothing anywhere.

1. On iPhone, tap More, then Play from AI Chat. On iPad, tap the New folder or import menu, then Play from AI Chat.
2. Tap Copy Prompt. It puts everything the AI needs on your clipboard, including your players' numbers. Share sends it straight to another app.
3. Turn on Include defense if your play depends on what the defense does. The AI can then move X1 to X5.
4. In the AI chat, describe your play in plain words. Copy its whole answer, come back and tap Paste.
5. Tap Build Play and check the steps.

To add steps to a play you already have, open it in the editor and choose Steps from AI Chat (Share on iPad, More on iPhone).

Privacy: your players' names and numbers are part of the prompt. If you paste it into an AI chat, they go to the AI service you use. Leave names out of your team if you do not want that.

Record a Play and the whiteboard

Move the players by hand and talk. The app records it and can turn it into a play with steps.

1. On iPhone, tap More, then Record a Play. On iPad, tap Record a Play in the toolbar. You get a whiteboard and a microphone.
2. Drag the players into place, then tap Record. Drag a player to run, double-tap a player to pass, double-tap the hoop to shoot, draw with a finger, and say what you want your players to hear.
3. Tap Stop when you are done. Save walkthrough keeps it as a walkthrough. Turn into a Play builds steps from it.

Saved walkthroughs appear on a play card in the library. The app asks for microphone access the first time you record. The camera bubble is optional and is off by default for Record a Play.

Share with Coaches

Two or more coaches work on the same plays through one shared iCloud Drive folder. This is the recommended way to share a playbook. Files and videos you send are copies.

Find it in the library menu (iPad: the New folder or import menu; iPhone: More), in Teams, and under Settings, Storage.

1. Open Files. In Files, make a folder in iCloud Drive and share it with the other coaches with Can make changes. Open Files takes you there.
2. Choose Shared Folder. Each coach taps Choose Shared Folder and picks the same folder. The first coach moves their plays in; the others start with the folder's plays.
3. Detailed steps. The Detailed steps row opens the full instructions, repeated below.

The detailed steps

1. Create the folder. In Files, open iCloud Drive, tap the More button, choose New Folder and name it Hoops Team.
2. Share it. Touch and hold the folder, choose Share, then Share Folder. Set Only people you invite and Can make changes, and send the invitation to the other Apple ID.
3. Accept on the other device. Open the invitation. The folder appears in Files under Shared.
4. Pick it in Hoops Playbook. On both devices: open Share with Coaches (library menu or Teams), tap Choose Shared Folder, then pick Hoops Team. On the first device choose Copy my plays here to start the team off with your plays. On the others choose Start with the folder's plays only. Each shared folder becomes a playbook: tap the library title to switch between My Plays and each team.
5. Keep going. Plays, folders, teams, court templates and recordings now live in that folder. Both devices need to be online for changes to arrive; pull down on the library to refresh. People with View Only access can present and export but not edit.

If two people edit the same play at once, the most recent save wins.

Share .playbook File, Share Video and the Messages app send a copy. Changes to a copy do not come back. Use the folder when you want one playbook.

Sending to players and parents

You can send a play as a video, as a .playbook file for another Hoops Playbook user, or as an interactive card in Messages. These are all copies.

1. Open a play. On iPhone, tap More, then Share Video. On iPad, tap Share, then Video. Parents do not need the app to watch a video.
2. Tap Export. It makes a video with a title card and captions. Narration is included when it is on. Then choose Share Video or Save to Photos.
3. To send a play from Messages, tap the apps button in a conversation, pick Hoops Playbook and tap a play. The other person can step through it and save it to their own playbook.

You can also touch and hold a play in the library for Share Video and Share .playbook File without opening it. A .playbook file opens in Hoops Playbook and lands in the Imported folder.

Narration

Plays can read each step aloud when you present them and in videos.

1. Open a play and pick a step. Each step has a coach note, and it is read aloud unless you give the step its own words.
2. In the Narration section, type the words to read, or tap Record and say it yourself. A recording plays instead of the text.

Settings has a Narration section where you pick the voice and the speaking rate.

Decisions

A decision gives a step two or more options. When you present, the play pauses there and shows the options as big buttons. Pass Options 3-Way is a sample that uses one.

1. On iPad, tap Decision next to Add Step. On iPhone, touch and hold the plus chip and pick Add Decision.
2. Tap Add option and give each option a label.
3. Tap Edit branch on an option and draw what happens if that option is picked. Tap Done with branch when finished.

Court markings and templates, switch sides, folders and storage

Court markings and templates

The Court tool, last in the tool bar, draws lines, zones and labels such as a no-press line. You can save them as a template that every new play starts with. Beat the No-Press Line is a sample that uses one.

Switch sides

Sides mirrors a play left to right or turns the hoop to the other end. You find it in the editor top bar on iPad, in More on iPhone, and while presenting. Duplicate Mirrored makes a flipped copy of a play.

Folders and storage

Folders keep plays tidy. Settings, Storage chooses this device, your iCloud, or a shared folder.

Describe a Play (Beta)

Say the play out loud and get steps to review. It needs a device with Apple Intelligence (iOS 26) and only appears when your device supports it.

1. On iPhone, tap More, then Describe a Play (Beta). On iPad, tap the microphone in the toolbar.
2. Say something like “1 passes to 2 on the wing, 1 cuts to the basket, 2 passes back for the layup.” You can type instead.
3. Check the steps before you save. It is a beta, so it can get things wrong.

More help

Email [email protected] or visit Support. For privacy details, see the Privacy Policy.

For a guided tour, open Settings > Quick Start in the app.