Communication is a skill any team must work to improve if it wants to play the game at the highest levels.
The Communication Pyramid describes the different levels of communication in a way that can easily be understood. By drawing the correlation between the levels of communication and the levels of the traditional education system, I hope to help people see that communication is a complicated skill that takes years to master.
Level 2 in our inverted pyramid is the Kindergarten Level. We all remember Kindergarten, right? We learned a little, ate some snacks, took naps, had fun, and pretty much got introduced to the idea of going to school every day.
Most people’s memories of kindergarten revolve around fun. Thus, the Kindergarten Level of the Communication Pyramid is also tied to the most basic level of team communication.
Cheering!
But just like kindergarten, teams are not even really good at cheering yet at this level. They cheer when they are playing well. They have their rehearsed cheers when certain players are coming up to hit or when their pitcher is preparing to throw a pitch.
Part-time cheering is a start. It gets kids used to being vocal at the ballpark. And for the most part, kids have fun with cheering. Unfortunately, for many teams this is where communication ends.
All skills must be introduced and practiced! Communication is a skill. At this level, we are embarking on the idea of communication.
