Momentum…what is it…can you stop it…can you regain it?

Hard to define, elusive, yet you know when you have it, and you know when you don’t. Momentum.  Change is one way to define it – changes in physical effort, emotional levels, positive and negative thinking.   Each one impacts the other and comes together to forge momentum.

Momentum is all about psychology. The mental approach dictates how your players perceive what is going on around them, and triggers emotional responses that can impede physical performance, even well rehearsed (practiced) performance.  Coaches can manage psychology by understanding how each player responds to certain changes or cues given by the coach.

The Maryland men’s basketball came from 21 points down at the half to beat NC State in the ACC quarterfinals. That win propelled them to an improbable ACC tournament championship (2004) and an automatic bid (their only hope) in the NCAA tournament. 

Clearly Maryland had no momentum early in the NC State game, and just as clearly they gained it and carried it to the end of the tournament. What happened? Maybe it was that NC State had an at large bid locked up and Maryland was desperate.  Desperation can do strange things.  To me, NC State will not go far in the tourney, as the ones who do move on always play with desperation.

Editorial aside, there are valuable lessons on both sides of the ball.

When you are down and out and momentum seems far away, coaches need to focus their players on the following:

1.Trust the game plan – the other team is bound to fall to earth and things will average out.  But only if
your players stick to your game plan. Manage the game accordingly but enforce
your plan!

2. Effort – they have to keep hustling, eventually a break will come their way that might turn the tide. Act on the
slightest sign of diminished effort, and re-establish expectations.

3. Don’t be afraid to substitute for a player who looks beaten, is not executing the game plan or is not showing
max effort. Wholesale substitutions might trigger a change in energy on the floor and give the starters a chance to re-group.

4. Break the comeback down into small goals. “We want to be within 15 by the 10 minute mark, 9 by the
7, etc”  Then make a performance goal – “We can’t afford given up one more
second chance basket the entire game – achieve that and we will get back into
this.”  Single minded focus.

The Opposite End…When you are way up but notice a lapse in concentration, effort, execution or judgment.  You know the situation, up by 19, a few sloppy turnovers and it is a 13 point lead with the opponent thinking “One 3 pointer and we are only down 10…lets go D”  You have that uncomfortable feeling in your gut that the players are not too worried…take action fast!

1. Call time out immediately and set things straight – remind them of games like NC State vs. Maryland. Comebacks start one basket at a time. Challenge them to match the intensity of their opponent.

2. Substitute to set an example – yank the player that does not turn things around, demand maniac effort from the sub.

3. Stick with the game plan. Other than usual adjustments to counter the opposition, stick with what got where you are. Remind them of the game plan.

What if none of this works, the lid goes on your basket, the opponent is shooting into an ocean, you are clanking free throws, the lead has been cut from 25 to 9 with no end in site, the players are tight as drums…what do you do?

1. Get your best player into his/her best spot to score from with a set play.  Take the focus off the score and put it on executing a perfect play in the offense.

2. Set them free – change the defense if it suits your personal. Half court man not working? Pick up full court and raise the energy level? Try an unconventional zone?  Do something to get the players to change their mindset.

3. Put your second five on the court and give them one minute to prove they belong for two. See what happens to the energy level. Tell them what will earn the second minute – cause a turnover, force a bad shot, no second shots allowed, etc.  The starters get a message, and when you send them back in, they understand what it takes to stay out there.