Many coaches and players often think of communication as something that just happens. We make the sad assumption that the players on the field are all on the same page and they don’t need to communicate. Do you all remember the old saying about what happens when you assume?
The old saying that you make an ASS out of U and ME! really rings true when we talk about the assumption that communication will take care of itself.
Why?
When do you notice when your players don’t know what their teammates will do under pressure? When it all goes wrong, that’s when!
The next level of our communication pyramid is Middle School. We all remember going to middle school. Our group of classmates and friends head into the crazy world of changing classes every 50 minutes or so. What the heck is study hall? Where did my best class, recess, go? And before you know it, all you can think about is that cute person you see and don’t know what to say to!
What should we now expect from our team as they grow in the art of communication at the Middle School Level?
We have crossed the bridge from cheering for cheering sake and now expect our team to be talking about the game. To actually be discussing things like, number of outs, the count, what they did in the last at bat and occasionally what the primary play is.
Often sounds something like this:
“Come on, Mary! You got this! One out! Let’s go defense!”
Are we starting to get excited about where the whole Communication project is headed? I know you are!