<p>If you or your kids have ever been on a sports team, what would you consider the dos and donts of being a good teammate?</p>
<p>Do: Show up, on time, every time, to every practice/game with a smile and ready to play.
Don’t: Hog the ball/equipment.
Do: Respect your teammates and your opponents. No swearing, hitting, spitting (ewww), throwing down (like a tantrum) equipment or other bad sportsmanship.
Don’t: Be a show-off or wiseguy. </p>
<p>Oh jeeze, I used the term “wiseguy” - I am officially my grandfather (and I’m a woman!!) :)</p>
<p>You win as a team & lose as a team. </p>
<p>Don’t criticize a teammate’s performance during games or place blame after a loss. This is very divisive. It is your job to be a positive & supportive member of the team–leave “advice” on performance to the coach.</p>
<p>From second hand reports (and first hand experience) on what bothers teammates:</p>
<p>-Failure to come to practices.
-Failure to accept the coach’s directions or decisions.
-Explaining to teammates why you are the best one, or why you deserve something that you’re not getting.
-Criticizing the play of other teammates, even (or especially) if it deserves criticism.
-Joining in in the disparaging of opponents.
-Excusing your own mis-plays. Failure to accept responsibility for what you do.
-Attempting to coach other teammates in a way that shows them that you feel you are superior.
-Failing to help with the “mundane schlepping” work that someone has to do (picking up equipment, picking up trash,etc.)
-Blaming people for team’s lack of success. [note: I made a point with my children to note that when our team didn’t win, it was almost never because our weakest players were not as good as the other teams weakest players. It is almost always because our best players did not play as well as the other teams best players.]</p>
<p>On the positive side, there is no more beloved or remembered teammate than the one who sees the tremendous disappointment engendered by a mistake, failure to make a play, or some other lapse, and does something to help encourage the player and rebuild his confidence. </p>
<p>NB: a lot of these are really hard to do, and hard to refrain from. They are kids.</p>
<p>Respect the game and its history and rules.
Be a leader - everyone can be a leader on the field by setting a good example.
Speak up for and support your teammates - especially when your coach is a jerk.
Respect the coach, like any adult, but remember that coaches too make mistakes.
Give your two cents in a responsible manner. </p>
<p>Don’t get caught up in the drama - turn those dramatic moments into opportunities for the team.
People get angry during competitions - figure out an acceptable to handle your anger.</p>
<p>This is great information. Thanks so much!</p>
<p>My son’s greatest frustration is when teammates fail to show up for practice.</p>
<p>Other items - play like you are on a team and not a solo act.
No cursing.</p>
<p>Be aware of the kids that don’t have as much parental support as you.
Ask your parents to give those kids a ride home after practice/the game, offer to pick them up if needed/ make sure they get to team parties.
Have your parents cheer for them by their name during the game from the stands.
My mother did this and years later those kids still ask after my mom when I run into them around town.</p>
<p>what everyone else said above. Also, treat every member of the team with respect. Engage the bench-sitters and don’t exclude them in any way, shape or form… ESPECIALLY if the coach plays favorites and it might be tempting to follow his/her unfortunate lead. Quietly lead by giving tips/advice to those struggling.</p>
<p>And do not engage in anything that might even come close to hazing, even if it’s tradition and everyone thinks it’s “just fun.”</p>
<p>This may be a corollary, but educate your parents on how to behave at the game: no coaching from the sidelines (that’s the coach’s job), no vocal criticism of officiating, no arguing with parents from the other team, etc.</p>
<p>I have coached a bunch, 4 different sports, and every team has only 3 rules:
- When the coach talks, you listen.
- When you do something, you do it 100% effort.
- Respect the game.</p>
<p>Each kid has to memorize these 3 rules first practice. That way I can hold up 1, 2 or 3 fingers when I notice one of the kids breaking a rule. It cuts way down on the need to yell.</p>
<p>The third rule is a bit of a catch-all, including respecting teammates, opponents, referees/umpires, proper behavior on the field, no littering, etc.</p>
<p>To be a good parent of a kid on a team:</p>
<ol>
<li> Never talk your kid up or the other kids down.</li>
<li> Yell loud for the kids whose parents have to work or can’t be there</li>
<li> Offer rides, if necessary.</li>
<li> If you notice a kid who never gets a snack and all the other kids are, pack an extra and have your kid “happen to have an extra.”</li>
<li> Never shout at the refs, the coach, other parents or other parent’s kids.</li>
<li> Always keep track of the 3-5 things your kid did right that game and let them know. No need to critique the mistakes. They know ALL about these.</li>
</ol>
<p>have fun. It’s so fast and then the sports are done, even for those of us who had nationally ranked players.</p>
<p>I’m not quite sure how to phrase this, excuse me if this is wordy. </p>
<p>Parents are the extra man on the team.</p>
<p>Parents can be the worst members of a team, or the best members of the team.
Parents need to cheer positively for everyone on the team.
Parents need to clap politely for the other team.
Parents need to shut up about practically everything else.</p>
<p>Parents need to assume the coaches know what they are doing, unless there is clear evidence otherwise.</p>
<p>Parents need to learn to view their own kid’s skills with a clear, open eye. She probably isn’t as good as you were led to believe during years of watching her outstanding play in the county rec. leagues. Other kids on the team have been playing on travel teams since second grade.</p>
<p>Parents need to stop themselves from coaching their own kids from the sidelines. </p>
<p>Parents need to understand, at a deep level, that the high school varsity team does not operate in the same way as the 3rd grade rec. team. Not everyone gets to play. The goal is to win, which means that your snowflake might not touch the field during playoffs or close games. </p>
<p>If there’s something that needs to be discussed, let your child be his own advocate with the coach, if at all possible. If that fails, make an appointment (not right before or right after a game, but at some other time) to speak to the coach. If that fails, go up the line to the athletic director or principal (high school), or the owner of the club team, etc. If the problem can’t be solved, then your choice is to accept the situation or pull your child from the team. Do not sit in the stands and gripe. Do not badmouth the coach or other players publicly. Do not start a “fire the coach” campaign.</p>
<p>Parents need to be good sports, even when (and especially when) it is killing you that your kid is on the sidelines, the team is losing, and the coach appears to have lost her mind.</p>
<p>Personal work ethic. No matter what your skill level, exhibit a commitment to improve.</p>
<p>**Honor your teammates. ** Some will be at a higher skill level and some will be at a lower skill level at any one time. Take pride in their achievemants and improvements</p>
<p>Always be constructive. No matter whether it is the coach, another teammate or someone on another team, don’t engage in counterproductive conduct.</p>
<p>When in doubt, listen, not talk. You are not the coach.</p>
<p>I thought I’d have something to add, but everyone has done such a good job that I can’t think of much else. </p>
<p>I guess one thing I didn’t hear explicitly is that if your don’t show up for a practice or the previous game, don’t expect to play. I know different coaches have different rules, but nothing is more irritating than a “star” player thinking that he’s so important that of course the coach will put him in even though he’d missed the previous practice or practices. I’ll never forget the coach of ds1’s baseball team who sat the star kid because he’d missed the previous playoff game to do something else (not sick; he went to an out-of-town party). His mom had driven several hours to go fetch him from his other engagement so that he could pitch in the championship game. I know she felt like she was doing us all a favor and that he was the team savior, but they had won the previous game without him, and the coach didn’t put him in. The mother was furious, the kid was furious, and we lost the championship (we’d won the regular-season title, but this was a separate tournament). I think that was such an important lesson to teach that kid – and the mother. It stung to have lost, but my respect for that coach grew even more that night. I love a good coach whose priorities are straight.</p>
<p>don’t be a d0uche</p>
<p>do your job, and support others for doing theirs</p>
<p>not all teams are alike though. some are in it for spirit, others are there to win. big, big differences. My old soccer team tried to be competitive, but we could only get new soccer people to join our team. Most didn’t know how to pass a ball, and our goalie couldn’t catch a ball to save his life. if practice were at 6 pm, the first guy would show up at 6:05, and we’d take shots until we start stretching at around 7… And our stretching was crap too. I was the fittest guy on the team, and that’s not saying too much. But nevermind conditioning, when you have half of the people who can’t even play. And there was that one d0uche who would always brag about being in the army. He sucked at soccer. One day, he even had the curtesy to show up in full uniform. what a pansy. sorry that was more of a rant.</p>
<p>oh, and work hard. that’s how you make varsity, and in some cases inspire others to do the same. But honestly, most varsity guys on my track team were arrogant jerks who happened to have good genes, and fancy spikes.</p>
<p>A good teammate doesn’t hestitate to praise or congratulate another team member when they do well, and doesn’t hesitate giving them support when they are off. Good teammates put other teammates first…before themselves.</p>
<p>How about…don’t sign up for a team with your friends, and then covertly switch teams without telling them, so they don’t find out until it’s too late to get someone else to fill your spot. They would have been fine with it if you would have told them in the first place, just be honest. Now everyone is annoyed.</p>
<p>Or maybe I should be saying this the “Get it off your chest” thread!</p>
<p>Expect to take criticism from coach in order to improve. It feels personal but it’s not. If it makes you a better player/part of the team then you’ve gained by learning something and others will respect you for it.</p>
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<p>Do be a doobee, Don’t be a don’tbee. who remembers that? :D</p>