Building True Team Spirit For Peak Performance in Sports - Part 1

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In one of my earlier articles, I have expounded on the need to build true and effective team spirit within a sports team for peak performance in sports. It is critical that this aspect of coaching is imparted to your team if you want peak performance in sports subsequently. Without true team spirit, no matter how much talent and fitness your team possesses, it will never be able to overcome another very cohesive team who members are willing to play for each other 메이저놀이터. In this series on team building, I would like to explore 3 simple but effective strategies that will really build up team spirit and subsequently peak performance in sports.

1. Setting Common Team Targets- A team is made up of individuals with common goals. Without these common goals or objectives, team spirit is very hard to generate. As a coach for peak performance in sports, you must be able to find the cement that will gel individuals together for common purposes. Very often, the secret to great team spirit in a team is setting common goals and targets for the team. It is very easy to set targets for a team. The manager or coach or captain can come forward and just tell the lads that 'look, this year our team target is to reach the playoffs of the nationals'. Getting the members to believe and own these targets is the secret to great team spirit. When setting targets for the team, you must get everyone to be involved in it. Hold team meetings, generate debates, conduct post-mortems for the past season with the team, get everyone to write down their views on what is success and failure as a team, force the team captains to think and generate debates. The idea is that everyone in the team must own the targets. These ownership will ensure that everyone believe in the targets set. It is critically important to have this sorted out right at the start of the season. If you cannot decide on team targets, than go back to the drawing board. But once these goals are set and everyone buys into them, they must sleep, breathe, eat, and believe in these goals. Only when this form of true team building targets is set will team spirit come naturally at a later stage.

2. Camps/Expeditions/Overseas Tours- Some special types of activities that can be conducted to build true team spirits very often does not have anything to do with playing the game or learning the sports skills for peak performance in sports. A team is like a family. Members in the team will fight for each other just like how parents will defend their kids when threatened. Coaches must build these kinds of bonds for true team spirit to flourish subsequently. Training camps, trips, overseas tours, expeditions are very effective ways to build team spirit. There is no short cut to build team spirit and building bonds. Members must be given the time to interact with each other. Activities mentioned here bring team members together for an extended period of time. During this time, they have no way out but to learn more about others, tolerate other members' nonsense, appreciate other members' strengths, and very importantly forge that unique identity of the team. Camps and trips need not be sports related. I have brought teams out on expeditions to climb tough mountains, and believe me, this review a lot about the character of members and also lead to team spirit. When put in uncomfortable positions, different people react differently, and the individual character will show up. Members will also find out who the reliable people are within the team and start gravitating towards them after the trip or camp. So be sure to include these activities, lengthy ones if possible, to let your players build their unique team spirit.

3. Play, Eat and Sleep Together- Just like camps, trips and tours, situations that force the team members to play, eat, sleep together as often as possible will also contribute to great team spirit building. These can include pre-practice gatherings, post-training meals together, sharing of hotel rooms before match days, etc. The idea is basically to create situation where members get to interact in a non-sports setting. Once these opportunities are created or forced upon, team spirit will improve with time. During such occasions, members very commonly talk about their exploits in games, trainings, their families, their dreams, targets and so forth. This form of conversations will allow team members to really interact well. The end result is team spirit of the highest caliber. Peak performance in sports will follow naturally. A good coach is not only technically and tactically sound, but he also possesses the elements of team spirit building. That is why successful coaches the world over, have teams that will be willing to play and fight for each other, starting with their very own bosses.

In part 2 of this series, we will look at another 3 more effective strategies to build true team spirit. Stay tuned!

Jimmy Tong has been a Physical Educator for 13 Years in Singapore, with degree in sports science and physical education from Loughborough University in UK. He has extensive coaching experience in soccer, floorball and rugby teams in Singapore Schools.He is currently a sports development officer in Singapore schools as well as an active contributor of sports training articles to improve sports performance in athletes. He hopes to enable people's success to come by inspiring them with true sports motivational and inspirational stories.