Low Energy

You hear it a lot from the losing coach. “I didn’t like our energy tonight.” Losing teams often lament being “low energy.” We’ve all said it usually after our team struggled. But I’m not sure if it’s actually the cause of the problem, or the result.

If low energy is the cause of why many teams don’t play well and lose, then why don’t we know how to correct it? Why can’t we fix it ahead of time? We are with our teams every day and the energy we bring is important to our success. I can’t say we should expect an elite level of energy and intensity every single day, but how often should we expect low energy? If we can’t get our teams to bring the right amount of energy on the 30 nights each year we get to play games, we have to be missing something.

I’m not sure low energy is the cause of the problem. The problem is we aren’t playing well and the other team is beating us. Low energy might just be a comfortable blanket we use to cover our issues when things aren’t going well. When you really think about it, how does low energy make any sense on game night? Sure, you are going to get outplayed. And some nights you might not be mentally as focused or ready to play as you are on others. We are all human. But to go through a game with low energy and get beat doesn’t really co-exist with the way we train to compete every day.

I think “low energy” is a label we use as coaches to remain comfortable. It points the blame at the players - they are the ones who didn’t bring the energy - and simplifies the team issue. If the guys didn’t play hard enough what was I supposed to do? Of course coaches are going to try and figure out different ways to get their teams “ready to play,” but the low energy label shields the coaching from the criticism for the most part.

I think the main problem when you hear low energy is you are getting outplayed. The other team is better. They are crisper, they are more focused, they are moving the ball better - they are doing the basketball things that are important to winning better than you. Low energy is the result - not the cause - of one team getting outplayed by the other. Their game plan was better, their approach was better, their players were better. When one team is playing well, they appear to have a lot more energy, but the execution comes first.

Most teams come out of the gates ready to compete, playing hard. The skill and ability in the game starts to take over, and one team gets the better of the other. But I don’t really see too many teams who, three minutes into a game, look like “well, we just don’t have a lot of energy tonight.”

The team that gets outplayed usually looks like they don’t have a lot of energy. Prepare your team to play the game, compete hard every day, and the energy in your games will not be a problem. When things don’t work out, look to fix the basketball issues, not the energy.