“The strength of the team is each individual member … the strength of each member is the team!” (Phil Jackson, coach, Chicago Bulls)
For a sports team to exist, you need a group of talented athletes, working together to achieve the common goal of winning the match. There are 4 characteristics that individual members and the team as a whole need to be successful. These can be described by the acronym:
T – Trust
E – enthusiasm
A – Ambition
M – Motivation
Trust allows team members to depend on each other, and good teamwork is built on trust. In team sports, players must depend on each other. When trust is lacking, members play as individuals, weakening the entire team unit. Trust is built when team members know each other and know their skills and commitment. It grows as the team practices together until the developed team has an almost instinctive feeling for each other. In an effective sports team, there must be trust between teammates, trust between coach and players, and individual athletes must trust themselves and their own abilities. If an athlete is not confident in himself or his abilities, it is often expressed as fear of failure.
Enthusiasm is the glue that holds the team together. Most people play sports for fun and enjoy the game. If the game is fun, you will be excited to train and play. The entire sports team needs to share an illusion that is born from the desire to be part of the team. Each member of the team should take pride in the team, as this creates social cohesion.
Ambition gives the team direction. Individual team members and the team as a whole must have ambition to achieve the goal of winning ethically. When a team is united in pursuit of a common goal or ambition, it has good task cohesion.
Each member needs to know the goals and ambitions of the team and be committed to achieving them. Individuals need ambition to attend training sessions and focus on improving their skills for the benefit of themselves and the team. Most of the players aim to be recognized as outstanding players. To be recognized, they must play well during a series of matches. Therefore, the overall goal of the individual player is determined by the performance of the team in matches and thus the goals of each individual player are integrated with the goal of the team.
Motivation is what drives the team to achieve it. Individual players need good motivation before they can develop their potential. Motivation comes from having a challenge that the player believes he is capable of. Teams are also challenged when they believe they are capable of winning the match. Even the underdog can, at times, beat the big favorite. In fact, the favorite may underperform because players “follow the moves” without motivation, while the underdog is challenged and motivated to do so. When all team members believe that the team can overcome obstacles on the way to achieving the goal, we say that the team has good group effectiveness.
A single arrow breaks easily, but not ten in a pack.