Once you have applied the first two ingredients of Selflessness and Servant Leadership, the next step in building team chemistry is to add a COMMON GOAL.
Too often on teams, every team member is going after something different. Sure, everyone wants to win but the players on the team are more concerned with individual accomplishments than team accomplishments. This has become even more of an issue for coaches with the addition of social media. Players often seem more concerned with getting highlights to post on twitter than they are with helping their team win the game.
Taking the time to sit down as a team and define a common goal is well worth a coach's time. A great activity is to put your players in a room with something to write with. Have them answer these three questions:
1) Where are we now as a Team?
2) Where do we want to be as a Team by the end of the Season?
3) How are we going to get there?
As you discuss the answers, talk to your players about the benefits to the individual when the team is successful. Make sure by the end of the discussion, everyone is clear on the primary goal of the team (for example win the District Championship or win the State Championship) and what it is going to take from every person on the team to accomplish that goal.
