Teamwork & Team Cohesion Peak Performance Sports

"The tough part is getting everyone to accept that each role as important. Everyone needs to feel needed, that they are important.” - John Wooden

Team cohesion and teamwork are critical to developing a championship team. Team cohesion is the ability of the team members to stick together in times of adversity. The players on the team as a whole are in harmony as opposed to in conflict and all players accept their role on the team. Here are some characteristics of a cohesive team:

• Cohesive teams have open communication among the members and coaching staff. An open-door policy.
• The team has well-defined roles and norms. Everyone on the team including the coaching staff have well-defined roles. Every player knows what is expected of him or herself. Even the second string athletes understand their roles on the team.
• The team members are fully committed to the team’s goals. Individual players make the goals of the team more important than personal goals.
• The team is able to form a positive team identity in which the team has a high level of self-confidence. Team members take pride in being part of the team.
• Each member of the team has a high level of trust in the other members of the team.

Great coaches know how to communicate with their team members and have a great amount of respect for the team. They work at developing teamwork because they know how important it is to get the players working as one unit.

“Individualism will only win trophy’s and plaques and honors, but teamwork will win championships.” – Tommy Lasorda

How can you enhance teamwork and communication? The first step might be to schedule periodic team meetings. The coach can ask for input and players can discuss concerns for the team or issues about leadership. The purpose is to check in the with team members and see that their needs are being meet and to set the expectations for the team atmosphere. You will want to establish team goals and encourage the members to take on the team goal over individual goals. Make sure that the players partake in setting the goals do they can feel part of the direction of the team.

Every team member from starters to bench warmers need to feel like an importance part of the team. Each team participant needs to have a role or perform a task to feel like they can contribute something important. It may be that some of the players who are not starters do their best to help get the starters ready for game day by playing their best against the starters in practice.

Editors Note: Dr. Patrick J. Cohn is an author, professional speaker, and renowned mental game expert. He works with athletes and teams in all sports. For more information contact Dr. Cohn at: PatrickCohn@peaksports.com or visit www.peaksports.com.