Pre-season homework - team building

You have prepared your club and staff for the upcoming season and now it’s time to get your athletes slowly back into the training cycle.

This week we will discuss five topics you can cover with your athletes that will help them hit the ground running when they are back to full training.

Today we will cover some team building tactics that will have your athletes fly into a new season.

Team building

Having a lot of athletes is one thing. Having a group of people that push each other and each others back is a whole different story.

After being absent for a while from training it’s always good to have some team building events and exercises that will tighten bonds of old members and welcome newcomers to the club.

Team events

Nothing beats a little friendly competition. Organize team events in your venues but don’t make it too much about your sport. Have your athletes compete in events they usually don’t participate in to level out the playing field, don’t be as intimidating to new members, and have fun while everyone is figuring out what to do.

It can be as simple as an obstacle run where they have to carry a ball in a specific way, run in pairs while one person is blindfolded, or have a relay with a stuffed animal.

It can be as silly or serious as you want.

Include everyone

Team building events should include everyone. Practicing members, their parents, staff, volunteers, sponsors, and anyone in the community that supports you.

While some people are doing one thing you can have a strength or stretching session with another group.

The key here is to figure out a way to have something for everyone. A toddler wants to have fun just as a teenager or a grandparent.

Making it fun will lift the spirits of everyone and give you a moral boost for the season.

Go to a different location

If you have a lake, forest, or mountain near you, get together at that place and create activities around this location. You will have a whole year of training in front of you and having something truly not related to your sport can be exciting for long term members of your club while helping new members get to know their new team mates in a neutral, and most importantly, relaxed environment so that when the time comes to push hard they can start right away.

Your club is only as good as your member’s satisfaction so make it a key point of your pre-season prep to set the tone for the rest of the season.

Your members will be more open to anything you have for them in the future.