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Teamwork is important in most sports and is essential to ensure successful teams going forward. Football, hockey, swimming and gymnastics are amongst some of these sports as they require abilities such as passing and sharing pitch space to coordinating and synchronising routines.
Teaching teamwork at a young age, in a fun and enjoyable way, sets children up with skills that they’ll make use of for a lifetime. As a coach, building a strong team within your youth club can be challenging but equally rewarding.
Below are a few ideas to assist you on your way to creating a well-bonded team you’ll be proud to coach.
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Communication is Key
Create a culture of strong communication. Make your team consistently aware of things like practice times, team strategies and competitions and tournaments. Take some time out after practice to answer questions or listen to concerns.
A coach that listens to and considers the feelings of others shows that they have their best interest at heart. See to it that your members learn how to express themselves which fosters an environment where members can speak up without judgment.
No one likes to be the bearer of bad news, but constructive criticism can bring about benefits. Don’t call anyone out, rather talk to them on a 1-1 basis and offer suggestions for how they can fix criticism that you’ve pointed out.
Visualise Progress with Goal Setting
Setting both individual and team goals are an effective way of getting your team to work together. When everyone works hard to meet these objectives, it helps to reach the overall goal of winning.
Goals should be reviewed often, especially after important events to encourage ongoing, further improvement. It develops confidence in your teams’ ability when they can see what they’re learning and how they’re improving.
Cooperation – There’s no “I” in Team
One of the best things you can teach youngsters is to play for each other, not just for themselves. You need a “we” team to win games, not a “me” team. Remember, team sports can’t be won individually.
Make Everyone Responsible
Dedicate specific roles to specific individuals but with open discussions – offer your team members to explain why they want to take on a certain role.
Making everyone accountable helps them to understand how their position fits into the bigger picture. This encourages them to work as a team as they quickly realise that they can’t win without working collectively.
Promote Positivity, Praise, and Recognition
It’s inevitable. When your team wins a competition or tournament, they’re upbeat, happy and celebratory. But when they lose, they’re down in the dumps and probably experiencing a loss in motivation. Teach your team to remain positive regardless of the outcome. Keep encouraging them to do well, because there’ll always be a next time.
As a coach, be generous with your praise. Publicly appreciate each member, either verbally or with gestures. A simple hi 5, thumbs up or “great work” can go a long way in building confidence.
When you call out moments of great work, it makes others recognise the importance of working in a team and may inspire them to try and seek similar praise from you.
Dress the Part
You don’t want your team turning up to practice or competitions wearing random clothes with no connection. Having a customised uniform creates a sense of identity and belonging to the same team. It also differentiates your team from the opposing team when you have bespoke and unique t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, and water bottles.
New Members
Be sure to look out for new joiners or assign a mentor to them so they can learn the ropes quickly without feeling isolated or excluded. The quicker they gel with the team, the quicker their confidence and athletic ability is boosted.
In general, you should check in with all team members regularly. The moment someone is getting singled out is when they’re likely to lose their team spirit.
Work Hard, Play Hard
It’s not always just about winning and losing or training for competitions. Sometimes it’s playing for leisure, fitness, and wellbeing. When your team is under consistent pressure to just perform and not enjoy themselves, it creates a negative and unpleasant experience. You don’t want your team dreading to turn up to practice every week.
A happy team performs better and keeps coming back for more. They may even get their friends involved or continue playing the sport into their adult years.
Consider Team-building Exercises
If you want your team to gel outside the usual sports activity that they practice, plan some team-building exercises. Team building is a great way for everyone to spend more time getting to know each other, build trust and friendships.
If possible, with parental consent, consider planning a retreat. You can go to a local camping site or spend the weekend in a cabin, which provides plenty of time for team building and an environment which is completely different from what they’re used to at practice. You may see a whole new side to them!
