Right Way Basketball
  • About Us
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Team
    • Blog
    • Player Evaluation
    • Join Our Team
    • FAQ
  • Services
    • Players >
      • Shooters Collective
      • Online Shooting Course
      • Shooting Analysis
    • Coaches >
      • Practice Support
      • Team Training Camp
    • Clubs >
      • Program Support
      • Shooting Clinics
      • Coaching Clinics
      • Junior Referee Course
    • Schools >
      • School Clinics
  • Summer Camps 2025
    • Foundations
    • Super Skills
    • True Competitor
  • Summer 2025
    • Take CHARDG Summer Memberships
    • Summer 3on3 Leagues
  • Contact

RIGHT WAY BLOG

A Connected Team

12/14/2019

8 Comments

 
Practical Ways to Build Team Cohesion
​

“A positive, united team is a powerful team. It does not happen by accident.” - Jon Gordon
​
One of my favourite Theodore Roosevelt quotes is, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Simply put, when it comes to coaching: connect before you correct. Whether your players listen to you consistently or not, whether they have bought into your culture and systems or not, whether they are super talented or not - I can almost guarantee that you will get more from your current players if you invest some time outside of practice getting to know who they are as people. Your team will not develop superior trust, communication, teamwork, resilience, vulnerability, and grit by accident. To go from a team that just shows up when necessary, to a team that can count on each other on and off the court is a special transformation that can work wonders.


Team bonding does not have to be expensive, time consuming or stressful. Here are a few options to think about:
  1. Fundraise - help your team in more ways than one by planning an event that gets players involved in their own success (ex: bingo, karaoke, trivia night, bake sale, bottle drive)
  2. Volunteer - get your team thinking about more than just themselves by making them aware of how others lives (ex: collect canned goods, serve a meal at a shelter, hand out care packages to the homeless, spend time at an old age home)
  3. Be in nature - leave the craziness of life behind and enjoy some fresh air, beautiful scenery and alternative exercise (ex: hike, ski, snowshoe, toboggan, swim, walk)
  4. Try a different sport - get a great workout in and keep up the competitive spirit, but leave the basketballs out it (ex: soccer, football, frisbee, baseball, dodgeball, volleyball)
  5. Share a meal - nothing brings people together like food (ex: order in, eat out, have it potluck style or rotate between hosts
  6. Study Hall - everyone has some sort of work to do throughout the season, why not do it together (ex: homework groups, cafe meet ups, peer tutoring)
  7. Get outside everyone’s comfort zone - try a completely new activity (ex: yoga, dance class, paintball, painting, art gallery tour)
  8. Build something together - feel the accomplishment of making something from scratch (ex: talent show, poem, pottery, custom water bottles, team awards, baking)
  9. Team building day - use several of the internet’s innumerable bonding activities to encourage an open, honest, deep, respectful culture (ex: get to know you games, physical challenges, questionnaires, reflection and goal setting activities)
  10. Ask your players - what kind of time would they like to spend together (ex: movie night, sleepover, board game tournament, museum tour, mini putt)

I’ve won games, tournaments and championships, but some of my fondest memories as an athlete have nothing to with those. The teammates and coaches that have meant the most to me are the ones that showed me I was more than just a basketball player to them. As coaches we are not only developing athletes, but developing the next generation of leaders. And don’t fool yourself into thinking that team building is a waste of valuable on court basketball time...to leave you with another Jon Gordon quote, “Team beats talent when talent isn’t a team.”

​This post was written by Right Way coach, Clare Murphy, who is currently completing her Bachelor of Education degree at the University of Ottawa while also serving as an assistant coach the Women's Varsity Basketball Team.
8 Comments
Kelly Jones link
1/27/2020 06:17:26 am

Great article! Particularly liked the quote and what you’ve mentioned about the team being able to count on each other on and off the court. The coach needs to work particularly hard to lay the foundation of such a culture. I find planning events like going on a hike or to the movies together helps team bonding.

Reply
Clare Murphy link
2/2/2020 11:49:00 pm

Hi Kelly, thank you for the comment! It is great to know we have coaches out there like you who are committed to putting that effort in. The extra time spent hiking or going to a movie is definitely worth it and can help towards building something special.

Reply
pro Basketball Troops link
5/3/2020 11:21:20 pm

Niche article mate! you mention awesome tips for building mentally strong basketball team. And its true powerful team does not happen by accident, Ever success behind the lot of hard work.

Reply
Mike
7/28/2020 11:08:58 pm

You're exactly right! Teams aren't built by accident. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Reply
Waqas Ahmad link
7/28/2020 09:54:52 am

The quote mention is so adorable by "Jon Gordon".
I have read the article and tip no 5 is most favorite for me .

Reply
Mike
7/28/2020 11:07:52 pm

Thanks for the comment, Waqas. Great choice - sharing a meal together can go a long way to building stronger team bonds.

Reply
Basketball Guard link
11/19/2020 04:15:35 pm

Awesome helpful tips. Cheers!

Reply
Trina link
7/24/2023 07:10:39 pm

Great reading yyour blog post

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2024
    June 2024
    May 2023
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    February 2018
    November 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

About Right Way

Our Philosophy
​Our Coaches
Blog​

​SERVICES

​Players
Coaches
Clubs
Schools




Support

[email protected]

© COPYRIGHT 2025.
​ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About Us
    • Our Philosophy
    • Our Team
    • Blog
    • Player Evaluation
    • Join Our Team
    • FAQ
  • Services
    • Players >
      • Shooters Collective
      • Online Shooting Course
      • Shooting Analysis
    • Coaches >
      • Practice Support
      • Team Training Camp
    • Clubs >
      • Program Support
      • Shooting Clinics
      • Coaching Clinics
      • Junior Referee Course
    • Schools >
      • School Clinics
  • Summer Camps 2025
    • Foundations
    • Super Skills
    • True Competitor
  • Summer 2025
    • Take CHARDG Summer Memberships
    • Summer 3on3 Leagues
  • Contact