How To Stay On Track When Your Teammates Are Trying To Derail

Are you on a team where everyone is on different pages? Or maybe you’re feeling like you care about the season more than your teammates?

Here are some tips on how you can continue focusing on your goals, while also working for the betterment of the team.

1. “Pull” Harder 
Great leaders lead by example. If you feel like you are working harder than your teammates or that they aren’t giving it their all, don’t slack on the work that you are putting in.

• Encourage high levels of effort and communication
• Bring more energy and enthusiasm to practices
• Encourage teammates to have positive self-talk
• Continue to have positive body language and facial expressions

Now I get it, you pull and pull, and yet still not everyone buys in… You can’t give up. You have to continue to lead by example. Those who want to learn, and those who are looking for an example to follow will jump on board. I promise you.

2. Approach Every Practice and Tournament with A Positive Mindset
Picture this with me… You’re coming off a tough tournament weekend, and now it’s the next day, Monday, and you’re on your way to practice. Here are some examples of what you could be thinking:

“I hope coach isn’t mad at us for how we did”
“I hope ____ has a good practice, she didn’t have a good tournament”
“I hope practice is fun”
“I wish I could stay home and study or do my homework”
“I’m tired”

OR we can change our mindset.

“I can’t wait to get better today”
“I am going to focus on ____, ____, and ___”
“I’m going to do ___ extra ___ before (or after) practice”
“I’m going to ask coach what he/she thinks I should work on today, and I’m going to focus on that”

“Just because you’re not having a winning season, doesn’t mean you can’t have a winning mindset every single practice and tournament.” – Alexia Heist

3. The Only Person That You Can Control Is YOU.
If you get to the point where you are constantly getting frustrated and are spending time making excuses as to why your team is playing up to expectations, take a step back and take a deep breath.

The more time and energy that you waste thinking about what your teammates are doing wrong, the less time and energy you have to spend on yourself, on your goals, and on the present moment. Focus on what you want to improve at, and make a point to focus on that during practice, workouts, and games.

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Now think about this: There is an athlete out there who is in the same situation as you. You both have about 2.5 + months left in your season, both of your teams are struggling, but the other athlete makes the decision to continue to improve and you sit back, sulking about the team that you’re on and the teammates that you have. Who’s going to be in a better position going into school ball or the next club season? She is.

Are going to allow your teammates to limit the amount of improvement that you make in the next 2.5 months, or are you going to take the initiative to do everything in your power to improve and to also help your team?

Your life is made up of millions and millions of decisions, some bigger than others, but every decision you make either gets you closer or further from achieving your goals.

It’s up to you.