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Re: team unity
Submitted by Ty Farris <ty.farris@cityofpanamacity.com> on 29/May/2007 in reply to team unity posted by shannon on 08/Jan/2007
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Message:
Before the season even started, I had an overnight "Lock-In" in the gym and had the kids play a series of silly team-building games I found on the internet which brought them together as a "group" without involving basketball. By the second game, they were having a blast and ended up learning more about each other than they would have just being teammates.
I also require the team to wear the same shirts for every practice (I had some made up for about $120). It forces them to "look" the same which helps build the "team" mentality.
Once the season starts, we overly reward/congratulate unselfish play by having a player of the game based on unselfish play (great screens, taking charges, assists, etc.), things that every player is capable of doing - not just scoring. As a matter of fact, when we discuss stats after a game, we purposely avoid how many points a player scored and we emphasize the "other" stats that helped to win the game. We make a big deal out of assists.
We also started something last season that was HUGELY successful in team unity and defense, we called it our "Club 30". We try to keep as many teams as we can from scoring 30 or more points on us and the kids absolutely love it. They will even forget about offense near the end of a game and focus all of their energy on defense to ensure they hold the other team under 30. (the bench starts yelling out "Club 30" as a reminder to those on the floor after they give up an easy basket - added bonus!) We put up a poster on the bulletin board with the names of all the teams we hold under 30 points and that is a source of pride for them.
And in my view, most importnatly, I also give the kids the power to decide among themselves regarding team decisions such as which shoes the team will purchase, what color socks they want to wear, etc. Not only does it create a sense of equality & community among them, it also develops their leadership skills.
Good Luck!
Ty
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