Team Culture

Team culture basically describes how a team plays and behaves.

These behaviours come about through the attitude and expectations of the coach no matter what the level the players are at.

It is so important that coaches are positive and caring and work really hard to understand the individual players and the reasons they are who they are and why they act as they do.

One of the best books I have read has been “LEGACY” by James Kerr which details what the All Blacks can teach us all about life. It is a simple read with important messages.

The first chapter is about “Character” and is a lesson about dignity and personal discipline and tells the story about two very senior All Blacks staying behind in the shed to sweep it out after the others had left.

The message was about not expecting others to do your job. This is a perfect way to start with your team. The very backbone of a positive team culture is creating an environment where the players are responsible for many of the activities on the fringe of the game itself.

Leaving the changing rooms tidy is a starter. Putting the flags out and getting them in, making sure the jerseys are collected and turned in the correct way, bringing all the gear in after training and stacking it away, are just a few things that need to be automatic within the team.

The disciplines off the field including being on time and treating people with respect lead in to positive attitudes at training and in games. A happy and disciplined group will play with a positive and disciplined attitude on the field.

It is all about taking responsibility for their own actions both on and off the field so that they grow in to fine young people and better players. As a coach, you are the role model and the guiding hand. It is about being consistent in your dealings with all the individuals, setting a standard that you are all happy with, and as much as possible getting the players to be the instigators of all that is good.

Get them together and ask them what they think ‘team culture’ means. What sort of culture do they want in this group? Set a few ideas in place and make sure they monitor their own actions. A few whispers in ears will be required from the coach and manager along the way but eventually the players will take responsibility.

These will be the first steps in developing a positive culture.

There are some great sayings in this book. “The first stage of learning is silence; the second stage is listening”.
“Our values decide our character. Our character decides our values”.
“No Dickheads”, are but a few.

Once you have discussed the strengths and weaknesses ‘on’ and ‘off’ the field with your players, and these might be just a couple of things for the younger teams, draw up a chart outlining where the players want to head to and how they plan on getting there.

It could be a good idea to have a small card printed out that players can carry with them. This card could act as a contract until as such time as it is not required.

Remember, every team has a culture of some sort. You just want yours to be a happy and disciplined environment so it is most likely going to take leadership and direction from you, the coach.