How teams can achieve success through mantras
By Sarah Wall
As we start a new year and head out of preseason training it’s a great time for coaches to start thinking about team culture for the season ahead. While team culture is made up of lots of moving parts, having a strong vision that players can come back to on a daily basis, can be a helpful tool.
It needs to be catchy, something every player and coach buys into and all your values summarised in a word that you can call out on court to keep everyone focused.
It needs to be front and centre in the team’s mind throughout the year. Looking back on my many years of playing, the successful teams I played in were the ones where we connected to our team values and reminded each other every session.
Each week I will release an example of a new “Team Manta” for our NETFIT Members to think about and use as inspiration to create their own. This week I explore the collaboration lessons from the Redwood Trees.
A simple and powerful way to help keep these values front of mind is by creating a team mantra.
How to go about making a team Mantra?
Bring the team together to answer some questions, ensuring all answers are written down on a whiteboard or a page where everyone can see.
Some questions that might help guide you include:
- How will we know when we’ve been successful?
- What is different about our team and how we play compared to others?
- What do we want to be known for?
- What are things we know to be true about how we’re going to play?
- What are things that we will never do?
- What is it that we want to become?
Make sure the questions are open ended and that everyone gets involved in the process.
The key to making a really great mantra is both purpose and punch. The purpose involves understanding why everyone is showing up each week and investing their time? What habits are being used to achieve greatness? And what principles exist in our team? The punch is the slogan or mantra; the game plan, what we do, how we live it, and how we execute it.
Some team Mantra examples
We are Redwood
Symbolism: Longevity, power, strength and energy
Redwood Trees are tall, strong and majestic, but their roots are shallow. The only reason these giants are able to stay stable is by connecting their roots with other Redwood trees around. This mantra signifies team unity is a strength.
On court this looks like following a game plan, understanding each other’s strengths and allowing each player to thrive as individuals. Everyone has their own talents and belief systems and by collaborating and sharing different mindsets we can find unique solutions.
Think Like a Lion
Symbolism: Strength, courage nobility, royalty and justice.
The Lion is the King of the jungle, not because it’s the biggest or the fastest or better than any other animal – but because of its mentality. The Lion’s mentality is of fearless courage, bravery and never surrendering.
This mindset helps a team go about training and games fearlessly and with extreme competence. On court this could look like chasing every loose end, working on each one percenters and approaching the game with confidence.
Fly Together as One
Symbolism: communication, teamwork, efficiency
This mantra comes from the V shape that birds often fly in. Each team member through their
communication executes the game plan so no one is left behind.