How Coaches Can Create A Positive Environment

In order for a team to be successful, coaches must create a positive environment that motivates as well as supports the players. Creating a positive environment doesn’t always come natural to coaches especially with the pressures of winning, recruiting and more are a constant thought. However, if creating a team dynamic that is positive is a goal of yours, you’ve come to the right place.

An Athlete’s Perspective: What Makes a Caring Coach

TeamSnap works directly with coaches every day. We get insight into their skills and drills as well as communication strategies, mission statements and more. Creating a positive environment starts with the beginning of the season. Here are 5 ways you can start building one today.

1. At the beginning of the season, keep it positive. When you are getting your preseason meetings ready make a point to bring up a positive attitude and the importance of it. Setting the foundation for the season ahead with reminding your players how important it is to still be having fun. Talk about what a positive attitude looks like on and off the field and how they can encourage one another rather than pull them down. You can also use this as a chance to share how you try to give positive reinforcement as a coach too.
2.  Get the players input. One of the best ways to resonate with your players is to hear from them directly. Ask them what they think a positive environment looks like. Follow that question up with how they see it coming to life. By engaging with the players themselves you’ll get better insight into what may actually work with this particular group. Write all of their feedback down and think of a way to sprinkle it into conversations throughout the season.
3. Make it part of your team goals. Most teams start the season off with laying out the team goals. Sure, players will also work on their own individual goals, but as a collective group make a point to include positivity as one of the team goals. Positivity doesn’t have to mean everyone needs to be smiling, rather it can be trying to find the good when a practice isn’t going the way it was planned, or a game turns ugly.
4. A positive environment can be enforced by really great leaders. Most teams have captains and team managers, as well as a coach or coaches. Encourage the captains as well as the team or parent manager to have a positive attitude. These people will help the group stay the course. Often players relate more to the captains than the coach which means if they see their peers with a good mindset they’ll likely follow along.
5. In order to establish what a positive environment looks like, you as a group should also explore what a negative one is like. This conversation may have come up because as a group you have a negative environment and need a shift. Whatever your reason for bringing up what a negative environment looks like and its limitations are, it’s an important step to recognize the opposite: a positive one.

We hope that some of these suggestions and steps can help you build a positive foundation for your team this season. If you’re looking to get set up on TeamSnap to better communicate with your team, get started today!