"The SPARTANS are the equal of any men when they FIGHT as individuals... fighting TOGETHER as a collective, they surpass ALL men."
- Damaratus
Character is best defined when an individual suffers through pain and hardship. With that in mind, building an elite sports program and/or team is built around the amount of difficulty someone endures. Not every person of the team will come from difficult situations and/or hard times so it is vital for the leader/coach to artificially create hard times. There are two very vital points that must be addressed in order to build a bullet proof team.
1. Build a foundation…
This depends on the coaches / leader’s ability to focus on details. No detail is too small. Every detail is the most important detail. Here are a few starting points:
- Uniform Up… everyone dresses the same, no individualism
- Promptness… if training starts at 6:00am, then you are prepared and ready at 5:55am
- Compete Daily… whether it is load bearing or intellectual bearing, compete daily
- Technique Matters… being technically sound with all your training and sport specific technique is the most important thing
As simple as this sounds it is the most difficult thing to accomplish with any program. During times of fatigue and exhaustion the last thing anyone wants to focus on, leaders and teammates alike, is small details. It is easy to forgo them and that is where the first mistake is made. Once you let one detail go, one time, you will eventually lose all details.
2. Goals need direction…
“The process is more important than the end goal.” Setting team and individual goals is important but it is more important to focus on what it is going to take to get there. Learn to focus on the process. In order to attain any goal, there needs to be the following:
- Daily work
- Disciplined plan
- Desire
The team should set an overall goal (be sure it is attainable) with a definitive plan of action that can be checked off along the way. Individually, each member of the team needs to set standards for themselves that is equal to or greater than the goal of the team. After all, you will never find a strong team without strong individuals.
For me, how I choose to develop teams, can be summed up in one line…
“Softness is a condition that can only be cured through hard work and discipline.”
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