Team Unity

 

At this time of the year there are many tournaments begin played, some recreational and others more competitive including provincial lacrosse, softball, baseball and soccer championships, the Canada Cup, and the recent European Soccer Championship. Many teams and athletes compete to ultimately win the tournament; however, there is only ever one outright winner.

 

Though we teach young athletes not to focus score line and to concentrate more on individual and team development, inevitably as the tournament/season progresses the focus shifts to winning as game-day emotions start to factor in to the decision making of the players and coaching staff.

 

There are many factors that influence the eventual winner, but there is one consistent factor that is always evident with winning teams – team unity. Teams that ultimately gain success over the course of a season or tournament have possess this attribute They are all working towards a common goal, previously set by the players and coaching staff earlier in the year.

 

Team unity is more than picking a team of individual players, it takes a long time to build and fine-tune. To have good team unity, first and foremost the players have to respect themselves, their teammates, and the coaching staff. Everyone involved with the team needs to help set team goals and ultimately commit to these goals. Setting goals is the easy part, committing to them through all the adversity a team will face is the hard part.

 

Commitment comes in various shapes and forms, including attendance at practice/games (even when injured), prioritizing your schedule (the team comes first!), performing extracurricular training, team bonding (spending time together) etc… Most teams lack team unity, because they do not commit to the team goals. Remember hard work (commitment) always beats talent hardly working.

 

Craig Dalrymple is a Sport Consultant for PURSUIT Training and Rehabilitation, providing complete sport conditioning and rehabilitation services (physiotherapy). Contact Craig for more information on the summer conditioning programs (youth and adult) 604-574-2895 or pursuittraining@telus.net.

Craig Dalrymple

Training Tip Archives...