Teamwork and its influence upon the football team performance

What is the definition of teamwork? Teamwork is the concept of a team, working together cooperatively, such as a football teams. How important is teamwork and what are the relationships involved making teamwork a success? Why do some teams go straight to the top winning title after title while some seems to languish in the bottom half? In order to answer the above questions, one needs to highlight some of the important concepts; We always hear that teamwork is very fundamental in any successful team. We also heard that two heads are better than one. Clearly, the difference between a good team and a great team is not the qualities of the players rather than how well they work together as a team to achieve the teams goals. Great teams are more than collections of talented players or even great players. In any football team, success depends upon the ability and willingness of players to work together to achieve the common goals. Sport in general and football in particular, is one of the activities in which teamwork plays a vital role in ensuring whether the team succeeds or fails. As with all teams each has its own stars. The stars are players with certain values, who have a unique understanding of the game and are willing to make sacrifices for the game. Strong values also set the basic foundation for players in a team to grow and further progress in their careers. A Player needs strong and basic values to build on what you currently have to take the team on the next level. The right values are what hold the team together. Characteristics of effective team; Everyone in a football team needs to be clear about their tasks and responsibilities and the role each player needs to undertake in order to be an effective team player. What makes an effective team? Elvin Voung in his book Leadership and motivation, described some key characteristics that significantly define one team from another; First, a clearly defined goal and plan; each player must know his specific role and responsibilities in order to implement the best tactical strategy either defensively or offensively in order to accomplish their goals.

Second, full of commitment to the teams goals and objectives by all players of the team. When each player is fully committed to the task, he will put more efforts to exceed the expectation of his team coach and stakeholders. Third: the players responsibilities and contributions. This is when the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined to each player of the team. This ensures that all players carry out their responsibilities in order to accomplish their goals. Fourth, internal relationship Among players of any team, respect of each other must be observed, regardless of age, skin, religion, background and so forth. The football players must learn how to work together with players from different race and background. When a common purpose is put together with enough conviction and perseverance, anything is possible. Fifth, any team with a lack of leadership will not go far. Therefore the next important characteristic is strong leadership and decisiveness for a team to move forward. The coach has to guide players into fulfilling their duties and has to effectively manage the team so that motivation can remain highly for their goals to be accomplished. The role of the team leader; A team is a group of players that focuses on one common goal, one common purpose. All teams must have a leader (coach) that can bind a team together and a team captain that can lead the team on the field when playing matches. If there is no clear leadership, conflicts become common ground and motivation will be at an all time low. The team will loose the direction and the focus of the goal. On the field, there is the captain of the team who should possess certain attributes or values that make him unique. The captains main role is to communicate positively with the players during the game, to motivate them and to play the messengers role between the coach and the rest of the players when they need a renewed their spirit and determination.

Written by; Dr. Shamil Kamil References Elvin Vong, Leadership & Motivation, The key to achieving what you want in life, 2009