Team Building
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Team building is an ongoing, important activity. Some days may focus on teamwork whereas others may focus on skill development. Teams need both to win and to improve themselves. Family and a supportive environment, leadership development, work ethic, and responsibility are traits that I want the teams I coach to possess. We (players, coaches, supporters) are there for each other 24/7. The ultimate goal is to become better student-athletes, together. Coaches are also mentoring young people as they grow up. Teaching basketball is only part of my job description. I feel that leadership, work ethic, and responsibility help student-athletes succeed on and off the court. Team Building PhilosophyIdeally, basketball is a vehicle to assist players to grow individually and as a team. As a coach at the University of Toronto Schools, I was fortunate to be part of an internationally respected academic tradition. Throughout the season, I try to impart lessons that will help the players develop the skills a U.T.S. graduate should possess. These lessons could be a simple quote on the practice plan, part of an individual or team meeting, or a more organized activity.
Building and Maintaining TeamsEveryone is responsible for keeping the team together, coaches and players. The group should have value for every team member, who should all contribute to its continuing success. Coaches focus on building the team early in the season but may neglect maintaining the squad throughout the year and for subsequent seasons. How Coaches Can Improve TeamworkOver the years, many different teams have succeeded. Some have been more talented than others, others have become greater than the sum of their parts. Consistent characteristics among all winners are the ability to play hard, play smart, and play together and the ability to handle conflict and use its energy productively. Coach Bourgase has written this essay, "A Brief History of Teams", to illustrate his ideas with examples from across the basketball spectrum. Commitment to the TeamRecently, the question of how much time I expect a player to devote to basketball arose. There is no easy answer and it varies. Questions that the coach and student-athlete should ask themselves include: "how good do I want to be?" and "how much time do I need to reach that level of performance?" Once the player reaches their goal, the intrinsic motivation to do "that little bit extra" often dissipates.
What Did You Do for the Team Today?Ship, Service, Self is a traditional navy motto. The idea is that individuals are loyal to their team before themselves and everyone is responsible for the collective outcome. Players should feel likewise about their team and coaches should engender that reaction. A device that can make players feel more accountable to the team is this log which asks what they did to help the team today. Since we believe in self-actualization, positive contributions to the team are similar self-improvement. Each player can sign the chart in order to be honest with themselves and the team. Since we are endeavouring to develop the complete student athlete, the log keeps track of aerobic and anaerobic training, strength training, skill building, and studying. We also want players to think about how they can improve themselves, by setting meaningful goals that can be achieved with focus. Setting weekly and monthly goals can help a student-athlete improve in school and beyond. Player DisciplineRecently, the question of how much time I expect a player to devote to basketball arose. There is no easy answer and it varies. Questions that the coach and student-athlete should ask themselves include: "how good do I want to be?" and "how much time do I need to reach that level of performance?" Once the player reaches their goal, the intrinsic motivation to do "that little bit extra" often dissipates.
Substitution StrategiesCoaches can give out rewards to players in three ways: positive feedback, minutes, and touches. Effective substitution improves mental training (self-efficacy, cognitive anxiety, and experience) and performance among both individual players and the entire team. Coaches must find players who can play well and combinations that play well together to maximize team success.
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Player Chemistry and StatisticsDiligent observation reveals good and bad player combinations. The box doesn’t distinguish between the steal caused by a double teaming and the one caused by tough on-ball defence. Isolating each player’s contributions to the offensive and defensive end permits a team to field the line-up with the best synergy and best performance.
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