Teamwork Development

Part of creating a star team is to head off teamwork problems before they begin. This is easiest to do when forming new team, of course. Setting the ground rules from the get-go gives both team members and coaches a blueprint for building cooperative relationships within the team.

It's a bit harder to rework interpersonal interactions in an established team. Here is a common difficulty coaches have shared with me (I applaud coaches for voicing their frustration about how it can take only one team member to disrupt the whole team and who look for innovative ways to handle the problem):

Q: We have a student that disrupted our team last season. We do not have a process or policy in place to alter team membership status. How can we "uninvite" a student from our team?

A: Many coaches feel powerless to make changes to team membership, especially when the team has been through at least one season together. No one really thinks that there will be a disruptive student on the team until it happens. Here are a few ways to handle this situation:

1. Now: Implement the Teamwork Pledge right away, even though we're in the off-season. If you have students who did not follow the spirit of good teamwork during the last season, ask for a meeting with the student and his/her parent to review the pledge and to set expectations, now, in the off-season.

2. Post the Teamwork Pledge prominently in your meeting space. Get kids and coaches in the habit of referring to the pledge both to recognize good teamwork skills and to redirect less than stellar team behavior at every meeting.

3. During the season:

• As stated above, provide ongoing, timely feedback to team member about any problem behavior.
• Ask the parent to attend regular team meetings and redirect his/her child when needed
• Use the Mid-Season Teamwork Skills Review form, correction, and peer influence to try to redirect the child's behavior during the season. (coaches should feel free to use the Teamwork Skills Review Session Outline  to guide a mid-season skills review).  Ask the child's parent to attend the Mid-Season Teamwork Skills Review session with coaches and the child. Ask for a renewed commitment to expected behavior.