Pro Tips for Building Legendary Teams
While talent is definitely important to be successful, the most talented team on paper does not always win the tournament or championship.
Legendary Boston Celtics basketball Coach Red Auerbach once remarked:
“Some people believe you win with the five best players, but I found out that you win with the five who fit together best.”
So let’s find out how to create a DreamTeam from the legendary coaches in traditional sports. Let’s dip into the well of wisdom and experience and check out the main principles of team building from the best coaches on the planet, who lead their teams to the top.
- Teamwork: Players need to be unselfish.
John Wooden (1910–2010) is indisputably one of the greatest sports coaches that ever lived. He is most widely recognised for his work as head coach of UCLA’s basketball team where he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period, including a record seven in a row.
“Unselfishness is a trait I always insisted upon. I believed that every basketball team is a unit, and I didn’t separate my players as to starters and subs. I tried to make it clear that every man plays a role, including the coach, assistants, the trainer and the managers.”
2. Enjoyment: Basketball is a game, it should be fun.
“One of my constant reminders was, “End practice on a happy note.” I wanted the boys to want come out to practice, and I wanted them to get a certain amount of pleasure out of basketball. It’s a game. It should be fun.”
For Wooden, the principles of hard work and enjoyment went hand in hand. To want to work hard at something you need to really enjoy it and he made sure that practices incorporated this principle.
”A big part of the reason Andy Murray keeps signing up is because, in his own words, he loves the team and that is testament to the athletes and staff for creating that kind of fun environment.”
3. Motivate the whole team, not just the stars.
John Wooden used to start his press conferences mentioning his bench players. Sometimes these players never left the bench, but Coach Wooden always mentioned their preparation and hard work. Word got back to them. Being complimented by the coach meant a lot.
4. Constructive criticism.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the legendary coach of the Manchester United football — team, sat down with Harvard Business School professor Anita Elberse to reveal his coaching secrets. And he had some interesting thoughts on criticism:
“Few people get better with criticism; most respond to encouragement instead. So I tried to give encouragement when I could. For a player — for any human being — there is nothing better than hearing ‘Well done.’ Those are the two best words ever invented. You don’t need to use superlatives.”
But if someone has failed to meet expectations, don’t wait to correct them:
“I would do it right after the game. I wouldn’t wait until Monday. I’d do it, and it was finished. I was on to the next match.”
5. Let everyone stick to their usual habits and routines
After guiding the Great Britain tennis squad to their first Davis Cup triumph, team captain Leon Smith told Mark Bailey the secrets to building and managing a successful team unit:
“We have a nutritionist on site and every player has an individualised food and hydration plan from what they drink when they get up to what protein shake they have after training. But at our team dinners on the night before a match players will order something they enjoy eating. They might be nervous or stressed but they need to get the calories in before their match so having something they are familiar with really helps. Usually it is grilled fish, grilled meat, vegetables and some pasta or potatoes: very basic food which is easy to digest and normal to them.”
About DreamTeam:
DreamTeam is the ultimate teambuilding and skill-growing platform that solves problems for hundreds of millions of gamers who want to find teammates, improve skills, manage teams, and earn money.
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Sources:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/leon-smith-eight-team-building-secrets-from-great-britains-davis/
https://hbr.org/2015/02/how-to-coach-according-to-5-great-sports-coaches
http://www.5-a-side.com/profiles/coach-john-wooden-methods-and-philosophy-of-a-legend/
https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/3-motivation-techniques-for-coaches-from-coaches/
https://www.championshipcoachesnetwork.com/public/333.cfm
