By Zach Parker, BGGA Senior Coach
In the current landscape of education, child development and coaching, we are inundated with promotional material and individuals boasting about their team approach. While it is refreshing to see the shift in our industry, it is concerning to think that for decades coaches, educators and parents alike have over looked the research on how a collaborative and cooperative approach directly impacts the individual’s growth, learning and overall development.
A true team approach to development must be a cooperative and coordinated effort toward a common goal. Therefore, every decision, strategy and action toward an athlete’s development must start with the athlete’s end goal in mind. The ideal team will be filled with teammates rather than individuals with their own goals and egos. In order for a team to truly be effective, the athlete must be the driver of the program. Therefore, their needs, desires and aspirations must be the foundation for the approach. While the team must be filled with experts in each area, no one is more of an expert about the athlete than the athlete themself.
In order to create an effective and powerful team, the athlete needs to be the nucleus and each member of the team needs to take a supportive role based around cultivating the athlete’s intrinsic drive, passion and motivation to make their dreams become a reality.
