Sign of a Strong Team Culture
You set up your team code, now what happens if somebody breaks it?
Simple. Call it! If you someone breaks the code, it up to someone on the team or the whole team to pull that person aside and say, “We agreed on X. I’m calling you on it right now. We are not going to do that here.”
The Code is useless unless folks are willing to “Call It”.
In a strong team culture, “stuff” gets handled informally – by the players. It is not the coaches responsibility to “call it” on folks. It is up to the players to call it.
How to Call It:
- Pick the appropriate time and place to do it. In private if possible.
- If it’s difficult for you to do this, acknowledge your feelings about it. Let them know you are uncomfortable.
- Ask permission. Is it ok to talk about it right now? If they so no, honor it and ask them when would be a good time to talk.
- Talk about and correct the behavior not the person. Depersonalize it – talk about the behavior. “This (x) is the behavior we agreed to…”
- State specifically and succinctly what didn’t work – avoid the whole story! Then offer a solution. “We have an agreement to be on time. You were 10 minutes late. If you need some support or need to be reminded let me know and I will call you.”
- Remind them of the benefits for them and the team when we follow the code.
- Remind them of the line of the code.
- Allow them to respond. Listen. Thank them for listening to you.
If and when you see them correct the behavior – acknowledge it.
Teach this process to your athletes. The pay off is huge – fewer “problems” come your way!
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Coach Toon–this is great! Thank you for sharing this gift! As a Jr/Sr high school AD and coach, I find that specific and measureable indications such as these are the most valuable for youth sport coaches and this one is much needed. I find that many coaches view code breaking as a problem to be avoided and thus handle them with punitive and negative measures. The result is an athlete who’se code violation is a symptom of a deeper unmet need, is not supported in meeting that need. As an alternative, coaches must view code violations as opportunities and “teachable moments” and handle them as such. This is where the real work is done! This is where the life lessons can be taught. Your tips are phenomenal for instructing coaches how to do this. Thanks, again!