The roar of the arena was a physical thing, a wall of sound that vibrated through the soles of my sneakers as I trudged off the court. Sweat stung my eyes, and my lungs burned. We were down by 12 points. Just moments before, I’d watched a player—let’s call her Elena—sink a ridiculous three-pointer at the buzzer, her 15th point of the quarter, and the crowd had erupted. It felt like a gut punch. That’s the thing about basketball; momentum is a fickle beast. You can be flying high one second, and the next, you’re staring at a double-digit deficit, wondering where it all went wrong. It was in moments like these, in the chaotic, emotionally charged tunnel leading to the locker room, that I truly learned the answer to the question, what happens during half time in basketball games and why it matters.
I remember one game in particular, a semi-final that felt like it carried the weight of the world. The first half had been a disaster. Our offense was stagnant, our defense was a step slow, and the other team was feeding off our mistakes. The specific memory that flashes in my mind isn't from my own playing days, but from watching a professional game recently. I saw Kat Tolentino, returning to action for Choco Mucho, put on an absolute clinic. She dropped 15 points in a spectacular outing, but here’s the kicker—and this is the part that haunts players—it all went for naught. Her team still lost. Her individual brilliance was swallowed by the collective struggle. That’s the perfect, painful metaphor for a bad first half. One player can be on fire, scoring at will, but if the team system is broken, those points are just numbers on a stat sheet. They don't translate to a win.
So, what actually happens when those locker room doors swing shut? It’s not what most people think. It’s not always a scene from a movie with a coach screaming and throwing chairs, though I’ve seen that too. The first two minutes are pure, unadulterated chaos. Players grabbing water, towels, some just leaning over, hands on knees, trying to catch their breath. The sound is a jumble of heavy breathing, the clatter of bottles, and the low murmur of frustration. Then, the coaching staff gathers us. This is where the real work begins. It’s a surgical breakdown. They’ll pull up clips on a tablet—and this is where the game has changed so much. When I first started, it was just a whiteboard and a marker. Now, they have real-time analytics. "They shot 58% from the corner in the second quarter," an assistant coach would say, pointing at the screen. "We're getting beat on the weak-side rebound. We've given up 8 second-chance points. That’s the ball game right there."
The head coach’s job is to hit the reset button. And I mean a hard reset. It’s about stripping away the emotion, the anger, the fatigue, and installing a new, simplified game plan for the next 20 minutes of play. It’s about psychology as much as it is about strategy. I had a coach who would sometimes say nothing for the first three minutes, just letting the silence hang in the room, forcing us to sit with our own mistakes. It was brutal, but it worked. It made us accountable. Other times, the message was loud and direct. The key is adaptation. The game plan you had for the first half is often useless now. You have to adjust. If they’re double-teaming your star player, you need to find the open man. If they’re killing you in transition, you need two players back on every shot. It’s a whirlwind of information, delivered in a frantic, pressurized 15-minute window.
And then there’s the physical part. Oh man, the physical part. You’re dehydrated. Your muscles are screaming. The trainers are everywhere, stretching hamstrings, taping ankles, handing out electrolyte gels. We’d have specific hydration protocols—drinking exactly 16 ounces of a custom sports drink mix, no more, no less. You’re trying to refuel your body, but your mind is racing, trying to process all the new instructions. It’s a bizarre dissonance. You’re physically trying to recover, while mentally, you’re being prepped for war again. I’d often just close my eyes for 60 seconds, block it all out, and just focus on my breathing. In. Out. Let the first half go.
The final few minutes before we head back out are the most tense. The coaches deliver the final pep talk. It’s less about X's and O's now and more about heart. It’s about belief. We’d put our hands in the middle and shout "Family!" or "Finish!"—something cheesy but, in the moment, incredibly powerful. That’s the "why it matters" part, right there. Halftime is the fulcrum of the entire game. It’s the pivot point. A good halftime can turn a 12-point deficit into a 5-point lead by the end of the third quarter. A bad halftime, one where the message is wrong or the players check out, can lead to a blowout. It’s where championships are won and lost just as much as on the court. You walk out of that locker room a different team. The team that walked in was defeated, frustrated. The team that walks out has a plan, a renewed sense of purpose, and one last shot to prove that the first half doesn't define you. It’s a second chance, a clean slate, and in a game of inches and seconds, that’s everything.
People in Motion (PiM) is our employee advocacy and improvement program. These cross-functional groups are comprised of employees, with an executive sponsor, who contribute ideas and drive action towards focused areas of improvement across the employee experience. The groups include: Kyruus Kontext & Business Readiness; Community, Connectivity, & Engagement; System, Tools, & Productivity; IDEA [Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility].
As a remote-first company, we are invested in employees creating a work setup that allows them to do their best work. In addition to a laptop, we also provide you with $750 to get the additional equipment you need and add an ongoing amount of $1,200 to your salary to cover remote work costs.
We value ownership at Kyruus Health, not only in the work you do but in the shared financial success from our growth. Employees will have the opportunity to grow their equity ownership throughout their tenure.
We care about creating the time you need to bond for any team members at Kyruus Health growing their families. We offer 8 weeks of fully paid leave to all parents. Birthing parents are also eligible for additional time and coverage through our Short-Term Disability plan.
We encourage all employees to save for retirement through our 401(K) plan. Employees have the option to begin contributing to their accounts on their first day of employment and we offer an employer match of up to $1,500 per calendar year for all employees who enroll.
We offer employees a lifestyle stipend of $2,000 per year to help them be well. This is designed for Kyruus Health to offset the cost for items, experiences, or home expenses that enhance team members’ well-being
We want to provide employees and families with health insurance offerings to support them getting the care they need. Our health, dental, and vision plans are desiged to allow employees the opportunity to choose options that work best for themselves and their families.
We are committed to flexibility and empowering employees to do work that matters in a way that works for them. Our unlimited PTO policy is anchored on that flexibility – encouraging employees to take time off for what’s important to them, in addition to the many company holidays we celebrate. To highlight our commitment to a healthy work-life balance, we provide a specific stipend each quarter for employees to use on a recharge day.
