By giving the players a say in how their team is to run is one of the greatest ways to establish team spirit, team bonding and a sense of control for them. They will love doing this!
I have used this technique with great success in developing team spirit and bonding, and it also gives everyone a tangible reference to call on
Step 1
The first step is by handing out (or using email) a sheet that the player should fill in. The sheet contains only two questions and each question could have many answers
1. What do you want to achieve as a player and as a team this season?
2. What do we need to do to achieve these things?
Step 2
The second step is an informal discussion that is lead by you, the coach to discuss the answers from the players and will result in a list of objectives and a commitment that each player will give to try and achieve the teams objectives. Of course parents may ask questions of you, the coach, but ideally the objectives for the team and the actions needed to meet the objectives should come from the players themselves.
There may well be conflict in what players objectives are or what a player sees as important to the team. Some players may not agree with the goals of other players, but the important part is that all of the players acknowledge that they will have to participate and agree to help each other as a TEAM to reach their individual goals and the goals of the team for the season.
You should get all of the players to sign the objectives, and make copies to give to everyone ( I usually laminate the copies so that they will last for a season)
Sample Team Objectives
To download a Word copy of the Team Objectives, Click Here
