The width of a player’s feet plays an important role in stopping Negative Energy and maintaining balance. When a player is moving on the floor to get open, they almost always create Negative Energy by moving in a direction away from the target. While this movement is necessary to get open, the shooter must stop (or at least greatly reduce) that energy before shooting, or it will be transferred to the ball, potentially causing the shot to miss off line.

For example, if a player is moving to their right and does not stop the energy, the ball will also travel right unless the player compensates with another Negative Energy move, making the shot more complicated. A wider stance provides extra stability, helping the player stop this Negative Energy. However, a wide stance is not very powerful when jumping or pushing off the floor. On the other hand, a narrow stance allows for more power but less stability.

To balance these two needs, I recommend players adopt a hip-width stance, where the feet are positioned outside the width of the hips. This provides a balance between power and stability, helping stop Negative Energy while also allowing for energy generation during the shot.

It’s important to recognize that the ideal foot width is a sliding scale. When a player is stationary, they don’t need wide feet to stop energy, as the energy is already stopped. However, when a player is moving quickly or being bumped by defenders, balance becomes more critical, and the width of the feet plays a larger role in managing the energy.

We must also understand the trade-off in stability and power. A wider stance will be more stable, but will be less powerful as it continues to get wider. A more narrow stance will be more powerful but not as stable. Which element (power or stability) is prioritized will vary from shot to shot, and players need to be able to adapt to the changing environments of games.

All too often players practice in highly controlled or less challenging environments where balance and stability isn't as important, then struggle with those habits when they play in challenging games.