Team Success

When it comes to being part of a team that was successful, my varsity soccer team was a perfect example of that during my junior year. The main reason for this, which became most evident the following year, was the boss or the coach in this case. The following year the coach had to leave because he was moving to a different job in Colorado. Because of this, the team saw an immediate impact in performance due to the change in management. Although the team was not horrible after the new coach, things were never the same after that.

The team structure and hierarchy is what made the team very successful. What made the success of the team unmatchable the following years to come was the level of respect that we all had towards the coach and the clear head figure of the team. Following him, was the assistant coach responsible for being there for the players when the main coach was not there or had to focus on half of the team at a time. After that we had our team captains that were responsible for lifting the team morale in time of need, communicating to referees when we disagreed with them, leading some drills, and making sure the team was warmed up before the game began. Following them, were the players that had been part of the varsity team in the previous year. These players had previous years of experience and new varsity players, like me, looked towards them for any advice that would help us fit in and make the team perform well overall. These different mixes of expertise agree with Bolman and Deal and add to high perfomance in a team.

This clear sense of hierarchy is what made the team so successful. The team as a whole was able to communicate with one another if we had disagreements and it allowed us to overcome any problem that was thrown at us. We all respected one another and had a specific goal in mind; to win as many games as we could while giving it everything we had. This also agrees with what Bolman and Deal believe makes a team perform well. "High performing teams translate common purpose into specific, measurable perfomance goals."

The head coach was so well respected because he presented himself as an authoritative, assertive figure but he also gave everyone the respect that they deserved. He was genuine and had no favorites. In his eyes, we were all equal which allowed the players to get that sense of not only a team, but something much more. We all picked that up from him and because of that, we did not want to let him down or disappoint him in any way. That sense of respect is crucial and a big motivator when being part of a team. Whenever he had a problem with someone, he pulled them over to the side and worked out whatever needed to be worked out instead of exposing that player's business to everyone on the team.

Overall, what made this team so successful was the sense of communication and respect that we all had towards one another. We were able to overcome disagreements and help each other work towards a common goal which was winning. Everyone felt welcomed and understood that they were crucial for the team's success. Unfortunately, the following year the new coach did not present this sense of making someone feel welcomed and ultimately caused the team's success to drop drastically.