Sports Team Building

Team building in sports develops behaviors and skills that increase team functioning. One of the fundamental strategies is to emphasize team identity. This can be done by instilling a sense of shared destiny.

Core components for building a successful sports team:

• The coach communicates the goals and objectives to the team, defining roles and group norms.
• Team members should know what is expected from them. Mission statements can encourage the team to support each in achieving the goals.
• Team members should be trained that the team comes first and that each member is accountable for individual action and the actions of the team as a whole.
• “Team culture refers to the psychosocial leadership within the team, team motives, team identity, team sport and collective efficacy”. The coach builds a positive culture. This can be done during recruiting for team-oriented athletes.
• Instil a sense of pride in group membership. Team identity can be created by motivating team members commit to team goals and have pride in performance.
• Open and honest communication process can bring the team together. This includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. Trust, honesty, mutual sharing and understanding should be emphasized. The team members should be encouraged and given the chance to speak during debriefing sessions.
• Teammates help each other before, after and during games.