This article originally published on Bridge Athletic. Coaches often find themselves lost working to find the right words to encourage their athletes to develop a productive mindset. A lot of coaches will find themselves labeling their talented yet disconnected athletes as “challenged” or “in need of mental focus”. Part of the coach’s struggle can be supported by understanding how to help their athletes develop as people and athletes through a set of proven qualities they buil

This article was originally published on Bridge Athletic. Looking back at the last article describing the Performing stage of team development, a few themes emerge. Results are a main emphasis as well as the right amount of focus on efficiencies in technique and tactics. Coaches do not need to put as much energy into helping the athletes find motivation. They are self (intrinsically) motivated in this stage. The athletes are a tight cohesive unit performing consistently at th

This article was originally published on BridgeAthletic In the last article, we reviewed a very important stage of team development called the norming stage. This stage can often be overlooked as not essential to the success of the team but usually helps a coach create structure around how the team members are expected to operate. Creating norms of behavior is not an easy task because it requires input from many people and some norms can take a while to develop or reveal them

Building a Successful Team Every team has an opportunity to solidify their mark on the legacy of their program. It’s important to establish a unique identity through the mission and team values they deem most important to their own success for the upcoming season. The team’s success each year largely depends on the roles and norms that the coaches set for the team, empowering athletes to find their place within the culture that has been established. The coaches also need to l