Team Building

I had a great weekend in case any of you were wondering! I was very lucky to be able to be in one of my friends weddings. I flew out late Friday night and was in Columbus for less than 24 hours but I made the trip because as busy as things are here I know very well that he would do anything he could to be at my wedding and that is something that none of us should take for granted.
It was also an interesting event because I had the chance to spend some time catching up with some of my old teammates. These are guys that I spent hours and hours traveling around the country on a bus with and guys that I learned so much from. As a coach one of the things that I hope to achieve with our guys is that they are passionate about what we are doing. This passion means that they need to be passionate about the team and working with each other towards the team’s goals.
I know this is wrestling and you can never take a back seat to anyone and that is not what I am talking about. I want my guys to enjoy the wrestling experience so much that they find themselves coming into the wrestling room and hanging out.
I will be honest so much of what I have learned about wrestling comes from being a mat rat and just going to as many open mats as I could find. It was never easy to go alone or to call the coach and ask if I could come but having friends there always made it easier.
I really hope that over time I am helping the guys become better wrestlers but more importantly I hope they are becoming better men and building relationships that will serve them in the future.
So with that said... Here are five team building tips.

1. Set goals – The head coach is the one steering the team and almost always should be but letting the team have the chance to add or help shape the teams goals is a great way to get a buy in from many of your athletes.
If the head coach decides he wants the wrestlers to do 10 hours of community service as a team then letting the guys decide what charity to work with is a great way to allow them to express their interests and pick something that they will enjoy, not just go with the flow.

2. Goof off at the right time! - If you go over to the FlowCast site you can see a video of the Missouri wrestlers warming up. They are dancing and laughing and acting fairly goofy some coaches would not like this but if you ever are around the Mizzou guys they are very tight and being free to be themselves around each other is part of that. As soon as warm ups are over the guys are ready for business and get after it.

3. Include everyone – You are always going to have a number of personality types. Some will be extraverted, some introverted, and some will be different every five minutes. Don’t let your team develop outcasts. As a coach watch and when you see someone who is withdrawn find a way for the entire team to reach out to them. They may be doing a move particularly well or they may be great at something that you notice that no one else has. Whatever it is… Make sure they are sharing it.

4. Encourage Communications – This is a big one and good or bad communications can make or break a team. Make sure your guys have the ability to communicate with each other and you. Make sure they are not afraid to come and talk to you. If you put yourself up on such a pedestal that you cannot be reached then how will you know that one of your wrestlers is falling behind in school as his parents go through a divorce? If you are there to reach out to him and the team is there to support him you can be a steadying force in turbulence. But, you have to be able to communicate.

5. Encourage support – You should use your wrestlers as a resource off the mat. If one of your wrestlers is struggling in class and another is doing well in the same subject hook them up together and let them work together. This will foster mentorship and also keep grades up. I am a big fan of killing two birds with one stone.