What Does a Unified Team Look and Think Like?
We all have an ego.
It’s normal. It’s necessary. And it will continue to be necessary.
In childhood, playing in a team is about joy, fun, and being with friends.
And it’s good when that’s possible — to play for the joy of it.
In the end, it’s the inner motivation that is the primary force helping athletes reach and play at the elite level.
As we grow up and play professionally, the sense of responsibility increases — both toward ourselves and toward the team.
Like a parent who lives a family life — the personal “I” expands into the family “We.” That’s family unity.
In a team, it’s similar — it’s good when team members are mature enough to expand their “I” into the team’s “We.”
If we narrow down all actions and goals in team sports, the one main goal is — to score.
That means all players need to have one clear thought in mind — to score.
That is the goal.
To maintain that goal, there needs to be a foundation: well-trained physical abilities, technique and tactics at the level of unconscious competence, individual psychological skills well-developed, and high-quality communication within the team.
Every time a player gets caught up in emotions and starts behaving uncontrollably — the awareness of the goal is lost.
Every time a player starts arguing with opponents or referees — the goal slips further away.
Every time a player focuses too much on tactical execution, the goal of scoring fades, because the focus is elsewhere.
This means that when all the foundational factors are in place, there is only one thought in the minds of the team — to score.
And it’s quite easy to distinguish a focused, unified team from one that’s not.
People feel it intuitively even if they can’t quite explain it.
In a united team, there must be conversations — and therefore, clarity about the main goals, roles and values of the team.
These are the questions upon which the entire training process is later built.
Of course, life isn’t perfect, and it’s easy to say how things should be. Everyone can do that.
That’s why we address the problems and work on them — so that even if we don’t become perfect, we at least become better.