This review is beyond late. Sorry for the length of this review, there are simply too many…read morewonderful things about Energy and I wanted to share in detail for those trying to navigate proper basketball training for their daughter in the San Bruno, Millbrae, Burlingame, Hillsborough, San Mateo, San Carlos, Belmont & surrounding cities.
It is hard to describe the "energy" the coaches bring to this team of girls. Coach Dave, founder of Energy, is the heart & soul of this wonderful organization. His coaching staff and everyone who knows him raves about his character and work ethic. He's the type of person who will go out of his way to help those around him, even if his own plate is overflowing.
Energy basketball is an all girls training league for 3rd-12th grade. The grades are split up 3rd-5th & 6th-12th. We call the 3rd-5th group the "younger side". The coaches are split up strategically to help balance the energy & needs on the different sides. The coaches on the younger side are a bit more gentle and they encourage the girls softly (but still with just the right amount of toughness) because 3rd grade is young and the fun aspect still needs to be very much present for them to be engaged.
Then, you have the coaches on the "older side" (6th-12th), like Coach Brittany, Coach Sam, & Coach Anthony who are perfect for the older, more experienced girls who take the game a bit more seriously. However, don't get me wrong.. there are definitely younger players who take training seriously and sail past their peers with regards to skills and talent. The coaches at Energy see this potential and determination in players and will move girls up, as needed, to ensure they are always "training up" & being challenged appropriately.
My daughters have been training with Energy basketball for a little over a year. Both of them went from not enjoying basketball to looking forward to their bi-weekly training sessions with Energy.
Each training session starts with a quick dynamic warm up where the girls will chat with a friend while going back and forth on the court to stretch, in order to prevent injury & to help the girls get ready for training. Next, they run different drills & work on skills, ball handling, etc. throughout the season and end each session with a scrimmage. The last thing they do is gather in a circle and award one player on the younger side, one player on the older side, and a coach as the night's "Energy giver", the person who radiated positive energy towards themselves and others by giving high fives or saying encouraging things. Energy basketball has a motto: Attitude & Effort (being two things you can control on the court)
There is a ridiculously fantastic coach to player ratio. There are some nights where there are 4 players per coach. The girls get a ton of individual attention which is great for their development because coaches are able to correct things on the spot or add a layer of difficulty for a particular player who seems to have mastered the current drill. If a player is really struggling to keep up or learn something, a coach will pull that one player aside and teach them separately turning the group session into a 1:1.
The icing on the cake: Energy trains at Crystal in Belmont & Hillsborough. Both locations are clean, brightly lit, with bathrooms nearby, seating for parents to stay and watch, and my son's favorite part is that he never has to clean his shoes at the Hillsborough location because the court is simply that clean.
One of my personal favorite things about Energy is they always play music. Statistics have shown music will push a player beyond their usual limits by giving them a boost in energy, pun intended. Doesn't hurt that I like their music selection and chosen level, not too loud but just loud enough.
Another really amazing thing is that I've never seen a coach on their phone unless they are at the bench purposefully taking a break from interacting with kids. Unlike the summer camp with Warriors, Esface, or the casual games through Next Level. I've seen coaches eating while reffing and being on their phone within a span of 10 minutes with Next Level at Hillsdale high school. The director of the Capuchino all girls location is actually quite good and I would recommend that location to girls.
Parents of girls: It's always nice to have girls train with boys because boys are (usually) naturally stronger, bigger & faster so they will be training up. However, our girls barely get touches on the ball during scrimmages so it's wonderful to have this all girl league where they are guaranteed tons of touches as well as constantly training up.
To be fair, Energy is not for everyone. My daughter has a few friends who did not enjoy it because they are super competitive and want to play as many games as possible. Energy recently added Saturday recreational games for players so they get to play in a game, in addition to the scrimmages during training sessions.