The First Day of Camp

For those of you that have read some of my earlier posts, it is likely obvious that a lot of what I write about is relationship based/driven. I am strongly of the belief that everything that we do comes back to relationships, and as we (mostly) agree, sport is a microcosm of society and, as such, a team environment is no different. If we assume that each individual on a team has a sufficient understanding of their niche area as well as clarity of their role in the group, then it may be our perceptions of our relationships that will determine how effective and, therefore, successful we are. The first day of a new campaign/season can be daunting and developing positive relationships is, at times, challenging.

In my experience as a consultant in the area of mental skills, I have utilized (often deliberately, other times inadvertently) various strategies that have helped me to establish positive relationships; most importantly with the athletes and coaches. This article shares a selection of such strategies.

Avoid doing all of the talking

It is tempting when meeting new colleagues to constantly try to rationalize our roles; why we are there and share tales of what we have done prior to our current position. However, it is important at this early juncture to ask questions and learn about the people that you will be working with. This provides you with an understanding of them and, also, implicitly tells others that getting to know them is important to you.

Be clear about what your role entails

Communicating what your role is and is not is an important part of establishing clarity regarding your function and objectives in the team. Once this conversation has been had, then there should not be any confusion around your responsibilities or purpose in the team. I have had many an athlete say to me “I’m not exactly sure what [staff member] does” – it is fair to say that this is not conducive to a high-performance unit.

Share your philosophy

It is a good idea to develop a philosophy that captures the values that are important to you and will help steer you in the right direction (perhaps this should be covered in a future post?) – for instance, what are the key values that will shape your behavior? Once you have developed this, share it with those that you work with. This will nurture a trusting relationship between you and the other individuals in the team and will help them get to know you better.

Be part of the team

There remains somewhat of a remedial stigma attached to the field of sport psychology, and such a perception can become self-perpetuating when we operate in a remedial way. I believe that individuals can contribute to reducing this stigma by being proactive and becoming an integral part of the support team. Whilst I always attempt to remain in regular contact with the teams and athletes that I work with, there have been occasions where (due to a number of circumstances) I have not been able to spend as much time with a team as I would have ideally liked. This lack of contact, in and of itself, can convey to the group that mental skills are not part of everyday development and is in fact something to merely consider when a problem surfaces.

A good way of avoiding this from occurring is proactively communicating with individuals so that a perception that mental skills are just another piece of the puzzle is shaped. Also, as much as is realistically possible, be a key member of the support team – by this I mean engage with your colleagues (coaches, nutritionists, sport scientists, etc.). As we all know, some of the most important ‘meetings’ now take place whilst sipping on espressos at the local café - being involved in these ‘unofficial chats’ helps to establish a strong and trusting relationship.

Don’t take yourself too seriously

Have fun – sometimes it can be as simple as that. Coaches and athletes are often highly stressed and exist in environments where internal pressure and external noise are pervasive. Having someone join their team that makes positive contributions through their expertise as well as through their passion and personality will make the experience of working with you more enjoyable and, as such, much more likely to flourish.