It's the first day of practice and the faces are all familiar to you, but you know that like every year, the dynamics of this team will be different and unique to any team that you have coached before. That is the nature of what we do. It doesn't matter if there are only two new players or twenty. The culture of the team is going to be different and you need to find a way to blend everyone into a cohesive group ready to attack the new season.
It is natural for athletes to hang around other players that they are friends with. That is common for all people, including us coaches. The problem arises when these groups are defined by ability, socio-economics, or any other element that makes the individual groups stand out from one another. In these cases, measures must be taken to eliminate the boundaries that are quickly being drawn on your team. Each day, that a clique is allowed to survive, it becomes harder and harder to create the cohesive unit that you need.
This brings us to two questions.
- Do you have cliques on your team?
- How do you fix it?
The best way that I have found to determine if cliques do exist on your team is to do a small activity called “Vacation.” You give each of your athletes a blank sheet of paper and ask them to write their name at the top. You then tell them that you are sending them on vacation to a spot of their choice. It can be Disney World, the Caribbean, Europe, or any other place that they would like. Have them write the location on the paper. Having them write and think about the destination deflects from the real purpose of the activity. Finally, tell them that they can bring three teammates on the trip with them. Have them write those names on the paper and ensure them that no one other than you will ever see the papers.
Your players will want to know why they are doing this activity. DO NOT tell them until after you have collected them. It is alright for them to know that you are concerned about cliques because it shows that you care about them and the team. You should keep this information from them until the exercise is over, so that it doesn't impact their honesty when filling out their Vacation form.
In Part 2 of “Cliques can destroy your team”, I will discuss how to analyze the data that you collect from the Vacation activity.
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