Each team needs these pieces in order to compete at their highest potential. Is your team missing one? Or more?
February 26, 2025 by Tiina Booth in Opinion
This article is presented by the National Ultimate Training Camp. NUTC is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this summer!
“Ms. Booth. I think you are making up what that symbol means in this book. Maybe Holden’s hat is just a hat.”
“Why do you think that?”
“English teachers love finding meaning when the author never intended it. You overanalyze everything.”
“Yeah. I’ve heard that before.”
Metaphors are your friend. I have used many different ones in my teaching and coaching career to varying degrees of success: Desert Island, Team 2.0, The Bubble, Butterflies, Flying Fortress. Metaphors can help a team see where they need to be when words just won’t do it. Inexperienced coaches often offer an avalanche of instructions in the huddle, unaware of most players’ inability to process it. Painting pictures works better.
After watching hours of college ultimate already this year, I see analyzing team development as a puzzle that needs to be solved. A few teams have all the pieces somewhere and have a good chance of completing the big picture. Most teams have some gaping holes which they need to fill in. And some are unfortunately still searching for the picture they want to complete. It is not too late but there needs to be a sense of urgency as we approach the middle of the college season. From everyone.
Piece #1: Strategy
Less is more. Every team needs to spend more time on skill development and less on half-learning an ambitious set of plays or defenses. If you don’t have players who can physically execute your plan, what is the point? Teach and drill the fundamentals and build your system slowly. I understand how a thick playbook can be compelling and comforting, but doing the simple things well and then adding complexity makes the most sense. That’s how teams learn and grow, trust and excel.
Also, teach offense first.
Piece #2: Strength and Conditioning
I’ve seen or heard of so many pulled hamstrings from coast to coast. While training outside of practice will not guarantee team-wide fitness, it is an essential part of player development. Energy begets energy. Our small market seems flooded with many S & C options these days, more than I ever have seen. There is no excuse. A team with a well-used online group where players consistently share their achievements is on the right path.
If most of your players are pretend training, they won’t have the stamina to withstand a practice, never mind an entire tournament. They then will try to come back too early from a pulled hamstring, and we all know where this story ends.
Also, rest is part of recovery.
Piece #3: Culture
I could break this culture piece into another 15 smaller pieces because a healthy culture is the glue that holds a team together. The better the culture, the tighter the team. Secure teams learn more from their victories and rebound faster from their losses. And while culture can naturally vary from team to team, most have:
- Presence
- Commitment
- Consistency
- Trust
- Support
A strong indicator is if a team has a working protocol for problems. Teams that deal with disputes before they blow up show that they are proactive rather than reactive, an important quality both on and off the field.
Also, there is no such thing as a neutral teammate.
Piece #4: Game Management
Tournament schedules seem to change under everyone’s feet all the time, at least during this mid-winter run. You have to be nimble as a coach and keep your team informed and focused. One of the tenets of mental resilience is ‘Stay in the Moment’, but coaches do not have that luxury. We always have to be one step ahead of the action, anticipating and predicting what happens next. Minimizing surprises and reframing adversity is an essential part of coaching well.
Part of that planning involves your team’s protocol for playing time. I suspect many athletes who played recently are having conversations right now about this very topic. Every team needs a system that is clear and consistent and which has been introduced weeks ahead of your first competition.
Also, pulls need to land inbounds.
Piece #5: Mental Training
More is more. If you are not implementing some type of mental fitness program, what are you even doing? Watching teams falter because of a break or two shows me that they have prepped very little for adversity. If teammates are yelling at each other because the other team is playing well, they are focused on the wrong things. If there is clearly an in-crowd and an out-crowd on your team, you are unwittingly setting everyone up for failure. From accountability to commitment to focus, an effective program will make everything easier and more fun.
Also, be where your feet are.
Completing the Puzzle
Winning a championship is difficult. Putting together a team that has pieces that all fit together and hold together through an entire season is a monumental undertaking. Figure out what you want to accomplish, recognize what has to happen and then invite everyone to bring what they have to the table, kind of like in the children’s story “Stone Soup.”
Uh oh. That sounds like another metaphor heading my way.
