Who is on the team matters more than what the team does.
- "One bad apple DOES spoil the whole barrel", Leadership Freak
I've coached her, and I'm sure you have too.
The player who instantaneously sucks the fun/joy/life out of your team by her mere presence.
Sometimes it's hard to figure out what she's doing, you just know that something isn't right. So when I saw Leadership Freak's article (from the quotation above), I knew I'd talk about it with you. I've been pretty lucky in my coaching career to have lots of hard-working young ladies on my teams... but I've coached a few bad apples in my day.
The power one person can hold on a team is never more apparent than when they are a negative influence on everyone around them.
Watch out! These three players can destroy your team's chemistry
Dominant. I'm not talking about the dominant person who everyone is drawn to on your team...the person that rallies the troops at water breaks. I'm talking about the dominant player who thinks she's the boss of the team. She doesn't ask their opinion and when they do give it, she shoots them down with the precision of a mercenary. The unfortunate outcome of having this type of dominant person on your team is that the rest of the team will stop trying to communicate with the dominant teammate (what's the use?) and with you (they think you condone the behavior)...leaving you to wonder why your team is in a tailspin.
Disagreeable. This is the toughest one for me, because it's the epitome of selfishness. The disagreeable player comes into practice all mopey and won't talk to anyone. When someone asks them what's wrong, they mumble "nothing" and continue to grump around the gym. Eventually, the disagreeable player's teammates stop asking her what's wrong and start to tip toe around her for fear of getting sucked into the abyss of her grumpiness. Sometimes she's not just grumpy, but downright mean. Regardless of its expression, the disagreeable player upsets any opportunity of comfort and cohesiveness your team has until it's addressed.
Irresponsible. This player is never prepared. You gave your team a summer workout with the promise of testing when everyone returns...the irresponsible player didn't have time for the workout. You're working on installing a new offense and you want everyone to study what you've been working on...the irresponsible player didn't look over your new offensive scheme. Unfortunately she's a key player for you, so the next practice is a bust because she didn't take the time to learn her responsibilities. Your athletic director needs to meet with all of the fall sport athletes...I'm sure you can guess who doesn't make the meeting with the AD.
How to handle these team chemistry killers
Talk to them and let them know what our issue is with their behavior.If it continues, talk to our captains and have them talk to her.If it still continues, talk to her again and ask her if she understands the behaviors we find distasteful.If she continues with the poor behavior, we've got a few options: bench her, keep doing the talking routine, if she's a captain...take that title away.Whatever we choose to do, it's imperative that she know what behaviors we would like her to display. We can't just say, "don't do this"...we've got to say, "instead, do this."Good luck! I know it's no fun to have one of these players on our teams. We have to believe that we're doing our jobs as their coach by trying to teach them the lessons of proper behavior in a group. No matter how painful it is to teach that lesson!
Dawn Redd is the Head Volleyball Coach at Beloit College. Come visit Coach Dawn's community of coaching nerds and team leaders over at her blog, http://www.coachdawnwrites.com/, where she teaches how to become an excellent coach, motivate individuals, and build successful teams.
Her book, Coach Dawn's Guide To Motivating Female Athletes, is available for purchase on her website.