What Makes a Title-Winning Team?

What Makes a Title-Winning Team?

• June 6th, 2015
• Camilla Chapman

• success trophies titles

We're at the business end of the seasons, and many teams are battling it out for the honour of becoming champions and to win silverware for their team. With Arsenal winning the FA Cup, and the Champions League Final approaching in Football this weekend, we take a look at what makes a title-winning team. It's just not about having the best players possible, who can change a game in an instant, but drawing together a number of different aspects to help your team succeed!

First off, it's important that you and your players understand the need for commitment and hard work. By regularly turning up and putting in the hard work in training, your players will become match-ready and committed to helping your cause. The legendary Basketball coach Bobby Knight once said, "the will to win is the most-overestimated phenomenon in sport. It's not the will to win, everyone wants to win. It's the will to prepare to win that makes winners." If your team are all on the same wave-length and all want to achieve the same goal, then it's the will to work hard that will produce wins!

Playing in those big games can have a lot of pressure on your team so it's important that your players are prepared. Experience will help your players understand their roles and what is needed as a team in these games, so give them plenty of practice. Work on match situations in training, using specific drills to help your team adapt to what they can expect. Ensure that they give 100 per cent with this training, making sure they take it seriously so you and your players can prepare efficiently enough.

There is no 'I' in team! Your players must be able to put the team's success before their own personal goals. Jose Mourinho, who recently guided Chelsea to his third Premier League title as manager, said in an interview with Eurosport "I think a good quality of our team is is exactly that we don't care about individual praise. We just care about the team, about the result, about the table, about our collective ambitions."

Your team must work together for success! Communication is vital in any team sport so teach your players to talk to one another, communicating to help each other out. It can be as little as letting your team-mate know that an opposition player is on their back, but every little can help! By working together, you can build up a good team spirit, but this can be done away from the pitch as well; organise some team-bonding activities and outings, as simple as a team meal to as thrilling as go-karting! By organising this, your players can get to know each other more and be willing to talk with each other more on the pitch.

But arguably most importantly, it's vital that your players enjoy themselves! Sport is not just about winning but also taking part, and if your players enjoy it, then you'll have an all-round better team morale and spirit. Sport is all about enjoying yourself and loving the sport you do and, although winning titles is an added bonus, make your coaching fun so your players will keep smiling!

For more information, take a look at this helpful factsheet to find out more.

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