Relationships - Pt. II

I talked about the importance of building relationships to team success in my first post and I want to expand upon that.  I was watching ESPN's all access coverage of Urban Meyer's football practice, and noticed how much emphasis he puts on the team coming together, or building relationships.  He had them taking naps together in the middle of the day, special activities on off days, and many other things that are meant to build relationships.  I know many coaches do this with their teams.  The question is, how do we know and what do we look for in our teams that can assure us that our teams are truly building relationships?  It is the coaches job to plant the right seeds.

I have noticed 3 things from my most successful teams.

1.  Teams that know each other, have intelligent conversations.  Yes, there will always be a little locker room humor present on any team, but listen to what your team is talking about.  The more they know each other, the more in depth conversations you will hear.  At Calvin, we have the privileged to talk and share our faith which is not easy to do.  When I hear the level of conversation go up, I know I am planting the right seeds and we are going in the right direction.

2.  Good relationships can withstand getting on each others nerves and holding teammates accountable.  It is one thing to see an athlete not holding up their end of the bargain, but to see their teammates not care and not say anything is even worse.  I smile when we can have a little conflict during a workout, and someone will call another out.  That is when I know that we are starting to care about our behaviors.  Don't think that a little conflict in the lane is bad, it usually is the start of something good.

3.  Teams that have strong relationships don't need alcohol to have a good time.  Pay attention to what your team is doing on the weekends.  If everything involves alcohol, your team is not going down the right path.  Alcohol gets abused by way too many teams with the hopes it is going to get them closer.  Alcohol is a privilege and should not be brought into the equation when building relationships.