Basketball Perspective:
4 LEVELS OF INTENSITY
(1) active, (2) reactive, (3) proactive, and (4) interactive
Basketball has four distinct levels of play which tend to reveal how advanced your game is at any given moment. These four levels of activity on the court can be identified as:
(1) Active, (2) Reactive, (3) Proactive, and (4) Interactive
Active Play– Good things happen when you run! An active player is essential to transitioning from defense to offense as well as from offense to defense. Basketball is typically a fast game which has many, many changes of possession during the course of a single game. This type of game favors more active players over less active individuals. As you can imagine, active players can disrupt their opponent’s timing and ability to make good decisions because they are always hustling.
Although hustle is a positive characteristic to possess, knowing where to direct that energy is priceless. Basketball is a dynamic game with many variables to account for on each possession. As your opponent adapts to your strategies, you will need more than hustle to counter your opponents’ efforts.
Reactive Play– Reacting quickly and efficiently to context cues as well as your opponent’s movements gives you an edge over other players. Through repetition and refinement of skills you can improve your reaction time and thus your performance.
While reactive players are often successful at matching or exceeding the intensity of their opponents, they are still limited by their physical constraints. Reactive players always start off a split second behind your opponent, leaving you to play “catch-up”. The workaround for having to play “catch-up” on defense is to use anticipation to guide your actions, but this leaves more room for error.
Proactive Play– Proactive players don’t wait for their opponents to dictate the tempo or strategy of the game but prefer to place their mark on every possession. Proactive play is a multidimensional approach and requires accessing and utilizing knowledge of the opponent’s thought and behavior processes. This shifts the game in favor of the proactive player and tests the capabilities and flexibility of their opponents.
Proactive play is a powerful tool which can provide an advantage over your opponent, but it takes a relatively high level of basketball IQ to know when and where to apply these techniques. It also takes a dedication to learning and adjusting to your behavioral responses.
Interactive Play– Interactive play is a combination of active, reactive & proactive play employed at the appropriate times. When people refer to “a high basketball IQ” they are generally talking about the ability to identify combinations of skills that work in a particular context and against specific player styles and skills. An Interactive Player is able to accomplish this via an honest and accurate understanding of the capabilities and behavioral tendencies of the players and coaches on both sides of the court. Players who master Interactive Play will always make their teammates better and challenge everyone around them to follow suit.
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