Is there such a thing as an individual sport? Lori Hill, of the Landsharks Running Club, discusses team building and support systems in both individual and team sport environments.
Learn more about Lori Hill.
Video Transcript
I think if you can create common bonds with teammates, whether that be, “Hey, you guys are in the same math class. You both like Ninja Warrior.” Something that’s going to create that bond. It really inherently creates some team work in those individuals, especially as kids. Kids don’t want to be by themselves. They inherently want to be with other kids, and if you can just create that, that just tiny little common bond, that team work is there.
I think a lot of team building can be done off the field as well. Land Sharks will have Land Sharks Monday where everybody at that school is going to wear their team t-shirt and they walk around with pride and people ask them questions and they feel very strong about what they’re representing.
On the field, obviously, there’s a lot of games that coaches can incorporate where kids can work together, whether they get along or whether they don’t get along, and that gives them the opportunity to kind of, obviously, again, work together as a team.
I do believe that it takes a village to create a person, and if you look at a young child, at home they’re being fed the correct nutrients, the correct hydration, they’re given the correct sleep, and that’s typically given by mom and dad. To me, that’s part of Team Sydney or Team Andy or Team Lori. That’s part of that team. And off the field, again, you’re going to have teachers. Those teachers are keeping those kids fresh, they’re educating them, and again, that’s part of that team. But of course, running, in our experience, is very individual, but you do have to realize that there’s people on the sidelines cheering, there’s people who are depending on you to hydrate and to sleep, and that’s part of team work too.
The bottom line I think the kids are looking up to adults, and if that coach is drama filled, that team is drama filled. If that coach is showing respect to the assistant coaches and to the parents and to the kids, those kids are going to do the same thing and they’re going to see what’s going on. If there’s team work at the top, there’s team work in the middle and at the bottom.
