Pillar 1: Energy

In expanding our conversation on the 5 Pillars of Process, we are starting with Pillar 1 which is Energy.  As mentioned earlier, energy can be useful and it could be dangerous.  Energy can be used effectively or it can sap strength from a team.  With this post we will discuss all of this and how to nurture and make energy the tool it needs to be on your team.

The first thing we need to understand is what do we mean by "bringing positive energy to the game."  Some of the questions I might ask are:

• Are we diving for loose balls?
• Are we fighting for rebounds?
• Are we moving our feet when playing on ball defense or looking to switch everything?
• Are we pushing the ball up the floor or walking it up?
• Are we getting beat down the floor during defensive transition?
• Are we sprinting to the bench during timeouts?
• Are we sprinting down the floor during a change in possession?
  

There are keys I look at in practice also:

• Are we doing the drills hard?
• Are we hustling getting from one drill to the next?
• Are we focussing on drills?
• Do we hustle from water breaks or are we the last ones back?
• What are scrimmages showing you?
• Are they played at the speed that games will?
• Is there hustle and good engagement by everybody?
• Remind everyone that we play the way we practice.
  

Answers to the above questions will tell you what the energy levels are like in the team.  If the levels are low then it's fine for a coach to push the team.  I'm constantly reminding the team to "push the ball" or to "sprint to the next drill."  What you hope is that the team starts doing it on their own as the season goes on.

The next thing we need to discuss is the whole idea of positive versus negative energy.  Positive energy comes from the coach and then expands to the rest of the team.  This type of energy begins manifesting itself in practice and covers all areas of the team if handled correctly.  Positive energy is infectious and can force the team to follow the few.  Those few need to be leaders and these leaders need to care about working hard. If they work hard then the rest of the team will work hard.  It's as simple as that.  As a coach you need to identify who the leaders of the team are and you have to nurture them into believing in your process.  Once you do that then these leaders will make your job easier.

Just as positive energy can work wonders for your team, negative energy can work against your team.  Negative energy can seep into a team very quickly.  It can appear in the form of an emotionless practice or as negativity against players or coaches.  It can be a negative comment or action against a player by a coach or player looking to sabotage team spirit in order to promote his own self interests.  A negative attitude has been witnessed in the pros right before coaches have been fired.  When things are going bad the team will tune the coach out making his exit inevitable. 

There are 3 types of negative energy.  The first is defeatist energy.  Nothing is more defeating to a coach than hearing his players be negative.  Hearing players talking about a tough game in a negative fashion hurts a team.  We try to explain to our team that having a defeatist attitude requires as much energy as positive energy but it provides negative results.  The same thing happens with overconfidence, which is another negative energy which damages the team by having them overlook the opposition and not giving them enough respect.  Laziness, is the 3rd type of negative energy and allows bad habits to form in a team and can affect both practice and games.

Another point that needs to be addressed is whether the team is able to play with positive energy for the complete game.  Playing with energy means playing fast and playing hard.  To play fast and hard your team needs to be able to be in great shape and needs to be able to play with a determination that most teams aren't used to playing against.  Playing with positive energy requires both metal and physical preparation and it all starts in practice.  Your team needs to play hard nosed defense for the whole game.  In addition the team needs to push the ball up the floor and force the other team to get back quickly.  In order to do this, practices need to be fast paced and there needs to be a lot of running and conditioning involved.  Have the team run with the ball and run without it.  Have the team run full court drills as opposed to half court and don't be afraid to have them do some conditioning without the ball at the end of practice.  If you do this, you assure that your team will bring the effort for a full game, because they will not know any other way and they will play this way for the full game because you have physically and mentally prepared them to do so.

In summary, the first pillar of process is effort and a team that plays with good effort has an edge against opponents.  Beware that there are 2 types of energy, both positive and negative.  It is positive energy that we are striving for.  We also need to make sure that our team is mentally and physically prepared to play with energy