Team unity

Granted it’s June, but I’m also optimistic (cough! 16-0!)....

Curious what tactics you’ve used/heard of to build unity? Is it a function of time spent? Difficulties overcome?

Everyone's putting the cart before the horse. It's great to be excited, let's temper expectations until we play a preseason game.

we will win more than three games this season. After that, nobody knows.

including the coaches resumes, this team could make some noise.

Well when coaching my kids (10-13),first and foremost I try to do things as a team away from the practice field. Literally try to help them bond and become friends outside of football.
On the practice field I try to stay away from individual accomplishment and punishment. When one succeeds the team suceeeds when one fail the team fails.
I watch videos constantly of new drills. I tend to adopt drills that don't put kid a one on one. I like group drills where we have to learn to trust our teammates to succeed and complete the drill, ( team blocking, fumble drills, zone coverage against mock offensive spreads, ext). I have found at least in my age group when you do individual the kids worry more about failing In front of their peers than they do learning the skill in the given drill.
In addition. I try to make alot of things competitive with benefits for winning. One things I love to do is line my offensive and defensive lines up head to head, I'll put cones about 5 yards behind each kind the first side to block 4 guys past that line wins. We will do best of 7 and the winning line will run only 2 laps to finish practice instead of 4. Now what I find great/interesting is after a few weeks together as a team the winning line will complete all 4 with the loseing line and they begin to take pride in conplwteibg things as a whole unit.
Finally as they always say winning solves alot of things so we always try to win games.

I was excited about going into last year also.

But, for sure a lot has happened between the end of last season and now. New coaching staff, new GM ...

Also the removal of locker room tumors that were causing damage to team unity. There is to much talent in this league and all teams have some. What separates the successful ones from the bad ones can sometimes be as simple as morale. If everyone feels like they are a family and working towards the same goal ... that has to mean for something!

I forgot who said it (might have been Parcells) and I forget what he said : ) but, it went something like -

"60 men working together ... (lol) that's all I got ..


I will google it and see if I can find the original quote ... which by that time will be anti-climatic.

In comment 13992522 short lease said:

Quote:

I was excited about going into last year also. But, for sure a lot has happened between the end of last season and now. New coaching staff, new GM ... Also the removal of locker room tumors that were causing damage to team unity. There is to much talent in this league and all teams have some. What separates the successful ones from the bad ones can sometimes be as simple as morale. If everyone feels like they are a family and working towards the same goal ... that has to mean for something! I forgot who said it (might have been Parcells) and I forget what he said : ) but, it went something like - "60 men working together ... (lol) that's all I got .. I will google it and see if I can find the original quote ... which by that time will be anti-climatic.

Could not find the one I was looking for but, here are some good ones.




Link - ( New Window )

Jonathan Stewart before anybody noticed for basically nothing to not only be the goal-line back but to bring team unity back to the locker-room.

is to select plays that match the ability of the players, in contrast to what appeared to be the case last year (e.g. McAdoo and Eli).
To paraphrase Shurmur when he recently commented on filling the slots below Jackrabbit and Apple from the "contenders"; they would make the player selection and THEN find plays and coverage schemes that matched the new guys' abilities. That jumped out at me at the time.
As the OP said, that's a great way to "get the most out of each individual player" and a big difference from last season.

was a shocker to me. Of all the positions, OL requires the most teamwork and unity. Yet according the report, Hart and Flowers on one side, Pugh, Jerry, and Richburg on the other. Unity is a big factor in team sports, I guess Mac didn't understand that.

until the team is 1-5 and the finger pointing starts. with the schedule they have and all the changes from one coache to another, I expect a slow stat

In comment 13992968 uther99 said:

Quote:

until the team is 1-5 and the finger pointing starts. with the schedule they have and all the changes from one coache to another, I expect a slow stat

Thanks sunshine