The Importance of the TEAM Approach

It is widely understood in the sports world that a team’s culture can have a big impact on how the team functions and performs. How team members think, feel, and behave are all influenced by the environment in which they practice, prepare and compete.

One of the most important areas I focus on in my work with junior golfers and their individual “teams” involves helping them create an organizational culture that is positive and exemplifies high performance. Developing a healthy team culture is as important in the junior golf world as it is in the rest of the sports world and even in the business world. So, what is team culture and why is it so important?

Team culture is the expression of a team’s values, attitudes, and goals about sports, competition, and relationships. Having a defined culture effectively “puts a stake in the ground” and establishes what is acceptable behavior on a team and what is not. The culture creates the atmosphere that establishes every aspect of a team’s experience.

At ForeCollegeGolf, we believe a team culture is comprised of three essential factors that support all team function and performance: Values, Attitudes, andGoals.

I defineValuesas “a persons judgment of what is important in life”. Types of values that should be considered:

- Work Ethic

- Focus

- Teamwork

- Trust

- Humility

- Self-Respect

Attitudes are defined as “the way a person thinks and feels about something”. Types of attitudes (or mindsets) that are helpful in golf:

- Growth Mindset

- Process, not outcome

- Embrace challenge

- Experiment & Explore

- Mistakes/failure are positive

- Grind/Never give up!

I defineGoalsas “a person's ambitions or efforts; an aim or desired result.” Goals that are useful for team building:

- Unconditional support Clear & consistent communication

- Process focused

- Respond positively to adversity100% prepared

A team that works together will share a strong vision and will continuously search for ways to improve. The team approach is especially fulfilling when teams are unconditionally supportive, purposefully focused and high performing. In order to work together and create the highest performing and most successful teams, I encourage junior golfers to clearly define their TEAM, create a strong culture and embrace all forthcoming challenges.

Mike is the owner of ForeCollegeGolf, a college consulting business which aims to ease the tension of college recruiting to help educate players, their families and coaches about junior golf, college golf and the college recruiting process.

Website – www.forecollegegolf.com

Instagram - @forecollegegolf