Inside Columbia Women’s Basketball’s Approach to In-Season Load Management

“Practice hard so the game feels easy” is a familiar phrase across basketball. But during the season, the challenge is not simply pushing players harder. It is knowing which athletes need more work, which players need recovery, and how daily practice plans should change based on the game schedule. 

Not every athlete accumulates the same workload. Starters and high-minute players may receive a large portion of their weekly load during games. Role players and scout team athletes may need more practice reps or additional skill work to stay prepared. Return-to-play athletes may need modified participation based on readiness, soreness, or recent workload trends. 

That is where performance tracking technology gives basketball coaches more context. 

Explore the full the use case featuring Yuki Miyazawa, Associate Director of Sports Performance with Columbia University Men’s and Women’s Basketball, and learn how he uses KINEXON PERFORM IMU metrics to individualize weekly load targets, monitor daily trends, and help the coaching staff make more informed decisions.

Load monitoring becomes more effective when coaches focus on a few practical metrics that connect directly to basketball demands. 

• Accumulated Acceleration Load (AAL) measures the total mechanical stress placed on the body through accelerations and decelerations. 
• AAL/​min helps normalize that stress over time, allowing coaches to compare intensity across athletes with different roles or practice participation. 
• Exertions provide context around high-intensity efforts, helping coaches understand whether athletes are being exposed to game-like demands. 
• Total Distance gives coaches a reliable view of overall training volume and helps identify potential workload spikes. 
• High vs. Low Intensity Distribution shows whether athletes are receiving the right balance of game-like intensity and controlled recovery work. 

Together, these metrics help coaches move beyond labeling a practice as ​“hard” or ​“easy.” Instead, they can see how each session affects each athlete and whether the workload supports the weekly plan.

One of the biggest challenges during the season is adjusting workloads around different game schedules. 

During a one-game week, coaches may have more flexibility to expose players to higher practice loads. High-minute players can participate in more drills to maintain game-like demands, while role players and scout team athletes can use practice or extra skill sessions to reach their weekly targets. 

During a two-game week, the approach changes. Starters are expected to accumulate more load over the course of a game, so their practice workload must be managed more intentionally. For lower-minute players, practice becomes the main opportunity to close the workload gap and maintain readiness. 

By monitoring daily AAL, Total Distance, and intensity distribution, coaches can adjust practice in real time. That may mean reducing reps for high-minute players, increasing drill exposure for role players, or modifying participation for athletes returning from injury.

Practice length alone does not define session difficulty. 

A 90-minute practice can be low-intensity, high-intensity, or somewhere in between, depending on the drill structure. By categorizing drills by intensity, coaches can better understand how much load players are expected to absorb during a session. 

The use case highlights how tools like the Phase Index help coaches evaluate which drills create the most stress and how to distribute those drills across practice. This helps the staff expose athletes to game-like intensity without stacking too many high-load drills in the same window. 

For performance coaches, this creates a stronger communication bridge with the coaching staff. Instead of simply recommending ​“less work” or ​“more work,” they can explain which drills to adjust, which athletes need more exposure, and how the session aligns with the weekly target.

Miyazawa’s workflow continues after every game and practice. By reviewing workload distribution, comparing player outputs to weekly targets, and evaluating the number of preparation days before the next matchup, the performance staff can help coaches decide how to structure the next session. 

That daily process helps the staff identify which athletes need recovery, which players need additional game-speed exposure, and whether the next practice should emphasize intensity, volume, or controlled preparation. 

For high-minute players, that may mean reducing reps, limiting high-load drills, or adjusting participation to maintain readiness. For role players and scout team athletes, it may mean adding extra drill exposure, skill sessions, or competitive segments to close the workload gap. 

Instead of waiting until fatigue shows up in performance, coaches can use daily monitoring to make proactive adjustments. Live practice data, historical trends, and readiness information give the staff a clearer view of how each athlete is responding, helping them keep the weekly plan aligned with game demands.

For more information about how KINEXON data can fit within your team’s daily workflow, book a demo with an expert.