In 2010, LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers in order to go play for the Miami Heat. A majority of sports writers, NBA fans and coaches believed the move would be disastrous. The overall belief was there would be too many stars playing for the Heat.

However, head coach Erik Spoelstra was able to pull the team together and they went on to win two NBA titles.

As an existing coach or inspiring coach you may be wondering; how can I duplicate what coach Spoelstra’s achieved?

The following article provides a few theories, perspectives and presents a model for basketball coaches at all levels for building team cohesiveness. It suggests a set of questions to evaluate your current team while offering an example of how to set goals for the team.

The article discusses the importance of communicating goals and talks about the significance of having a team identity, developing collaboration, creativity and the consequences of individualism.

Coaches Team Unity Assessment

Coaches can start by addressing the following questions concerning team unity.

1. What is the overall goal of the basketball team this year?
2. What is the level of my players?
3. What is the role of each coach, captain and player?
4. Who are we accountable to? (Coaches, fans, donors, alumni etc.)
5. How do we handle adversity?
6. What else does the team need to be successful?
7. How does each player contribute to the team?
8. Do players have the freedom to contribute to team rules and strategy?

By assessing your responses to the above questions, you can determine the cohesiveness of your team.

For example, your players’ skill level may determine if you can win the league championship. Develop a realistic set of goals for your team. If you finished the season with more losses than wins, a realistic team goal might be to end the new season with a winning record.

Head coaches should set goals prior to the season. Make sure you first set goals for yourself, then your assistant coaches, captains and players.

Hall (2007) citing Cox (2007) explains, setting team goals helps develop team unity, which eventually leads to individuals players and coaches working together to achieve a specific and identifiable goal.

Setting Goals for Your Team

It is recommended, after setting your team’s goals, to communicate them to your assistant coaches, team captains and players. The key is not to overstate team’s or individual goals.

Objectives have to be balanced to reduce anxiety and difficulty to succeed.

Furthermore, encourage your players to aim for new heights but do not push them beyond their limits too fast. Celebrating their successes even when losing will help them grow and become better players.

For instance, if your team loses a game, do not blame an individual player. Don’t do something noble such as taking individual responsibility for the loss as a coach. Use the word “we” addressing the lost as the entire team’s loss and not one coach or player.

After the game, celebrate the achievement of individual goals and team goals and then outline where improvements have to be made. Focus on the positive.

Communication

Studies have demonstrated the difficulty of developing good team dynamics in sports is the lack of a coach’s ability to communicate his/her vision or goals for the team. This leads to a lack of the team members understanding their individual goals.

Chen (2010) suggested in his study that the most significant part of creating team dynamics was coaching as well as the coaches’ interaction with players. Basketball coaches today, whether at youth or professional level, must be good communicators. Clear cut communication also has to occur among team members.

Team Strategy

Next, coaches have to develop a team strategy.

To illustrate, your current team may have two great shooters, and one good rebounder. As a result, the remaining players on the team look to those three players for team success. As a coach, you will have to change the team strategy to increase the chance of a better outcome.

Try increasing the role of the remaining players on the team by giving them more responsibility. For example, a coach can improve the offensive strategy by instructing each player to increase the number of shots they take per game. On the defensive side of the game, coaches can emphasize causing more turnovers and securing more defensive rebounds.

Team History

Another aspect of building good team unity is to teach new players as well as old players the team’s history. For example, talk about traditions of the team, show pictures of pasted achievements, have trophies on display and ask former players to return and talk about what it meant for them to be a part of the team.

During the 2013 NCAA season, the University of Arkansas honored the 1994 National Championship team. They had head coach Nolan Richards and all the players on the team return, along with President Bill Clinton for a halftime ceremony where they hung a banner in the field house and allowed former players to speak to the fans.

These types of events can help fire up a team and assist in building team unity.

Collaboration

Team unity requires team collaboration. Hall (2007) theorizes team cooperation as team climate. In essences, it is a paradigm, which allows players to make value judgments about themselves and the team.

Team socialization or culture has a great effect on a player’s aspiration to be a part of the team. However, coaches must take into consideration that team members will want a certain amount of autonomy; therefore, they will not expect or desire the coach to make every decision for them. Therefore, coaches have to be willing to collaborate with players and be agreeable to empower them in certain situations.

Also, team members want emotional support from coaches and their fellow teammates. By empowering assistant coaches and players, coaches can build winning programs that achieve specific objectives.

Creativity

When developing team continuity, it helps to allow for individual creativity. For example, if you coach a youth team you may not allow your players to take unnecessary risk during games (like making no look passes).

One way to develop team unity is to have a period in the game to allow players to demonstrate their natural or learned talent. Give it a name such as “Showtime” and allow your players to have fun on the court. This can energize the crowd, your players and give the team a commonality.

Avoid Individuality

Individuality will destroy team unity.

A coach must be willing at all cost to avoid showing favoritism towards one player. In addition, he/she should not allow an individual to take on the role as the star of the team.

Individuality can be avoided by ensuring each player commits to the success of the team and not have their personal agendas. Many people questioned the University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari’s model of taking on players who committed to the team for one year (one & done). That being said, he has been very successful with the model.

A successful coach will have clear cut objectives for each individual on the team. It is vital to make sure each player understands his/her personal role and the responsibility of each of his or her teammates.

Each player has to be willing to perform in their position and functions in a way that aids the overall success of team goals (Hall, 2007). Don’t be mistaken by this model, individual performance is important to team’s success.

As a coach you have to be willing to help each team member know their individual talent while teaching them how to use their skills to improve overall team performance and increase team synergy.

Coming Together as a Team

The aforementioned demonstrates the importance of team unity and how to achieve it by setting individual as well as team goals and then communicating them to assistant coaches, captains and players.

In youth programs, it may be important to address team goals with parents. Celebrate group failure as well as success in a positive manner. Avoid individuality and award team responsibility. Help team members to understand they will have to make individual sacrifices for the team.

Sacrifices begin with coaching. According to Ruggieri and Abbate (2013), coaches must be willing to make sacrifices for the good of the team. Doing so will increase team identification. Team members must be willing to support each other in their individual and team goals and objectives.

Also, they have to be willing to assist their teammates reach their goals and at the same time rely on one another for help (Eys, 2006).

Jarvis (2006) writing from a psychological point of view explained, there are four (4) factors which affect team unity:

• a clear role for each team member
• eagerness to forgo ones personal desires for the team
• the quality of communication between team members
• common goals for the players

The above is not a clear cut methodology of success but it can help coaches develop a personal model for how to increase team unity.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Redd says: 1/17/2017 at 8:52:17 PM Really? I bet Bill Clinton showing up during half time at a U of A game in 2013 really lit a fire under the team. Lol that's best example you have when it comes to teaching your team about the history of their program? Did Bill Clinton play basketball at Arkansas? No. Like     login   register Dale Hartzler says: 2/6/2015 at 9:59:15 AM This is a very useful article that I will use to help me work at building team unity going forward. However, you cite several sources by name and date, but don't provide a bibliography. Can you include the full information for the publications you cited? Like   1 reply   login   register John Anderson says: 2/6/2015 at 2:59:46 PM Coach Hartzler, Thank you for responding to my article. I will gladly provide you with the information concerning the research I conducted. J. Anderson Like     login   register

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