“Talent wins games, but teamwork wins championships”. Michael Jordan 1994.
It is not so uncommon when teams with most talented players play poorly when as other teams with
less talent and fewer resources succeed. So what is the secret of a successful team? Can you create a
team environment that will ensure that all players in your team are able to demonstrate their
strengths, build strong bonds with the team-mates, enjoy playing together and take successes and
setbacks without falling off the cliff? Here we will describe three simple steps that will enable you to
build effective dynamics in your team. Take your time and respond to questions in each category.
Your answers will give you some insight into yourself, your team-mates and provide you with a good
idea how to move your team forward.
Step 1: Self-awareness. The road to a successful team starts with you. The depth of your selfawareness will define the quality of support you can provide to your team-mates. Try to respond to
some simple questions:
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
My motivation: What are my motives to play curling? What do I enjoy about the sport?
What are my objectives for this season and five years down the line?
My responses: How do I react when I make a poor shot? How do I react on defeats? How do
I react when I receive criticism? How my reactions help my team to stay focused on the key
goal of the match?
Me and my team: What kind of team player am I? What are my key strengths and
weaknesses? How well do I know strengths and weaknesses of my team-mates? What can I
do to bring the best out of them (on and off ice)? What kind of role do I play when there is
conflict in my team? In what circumstances am I prepared to take responsibility for my
team-mates actions?
Once you answer these questions, you need to identify one or two behaviours you decide to change
or improve. When you commit to the change you need to work out a plan how you are going to
implement these changes and what kind of behaviours you would like to demonstrate. Be as specific
as you can and describe these behaviours to your coaches and team-mates so that they can keep an
eye on you and provide you with constructive feedback.
Step 2: Set team values. Before you kick off with the season it may be useful for your team to sit
around the table and have a good-honest chat about the fundamental values of your team. What are
the fundamental elements that will enable your team to be successful during this season? Please be
aware that if you don’t put your heart and soul into this exercise, you will end up with overused
phrases with very little meaning behind them: “Tight group”, “Professionalism”, “Success” etc. Take
your time to get into the details of each of the statements. Make sure that by the end of the meeting
you and your team-mates are crystal clear about what your team is standing for. Use your postmatch debriefs to re-visit your the team values. Make an honest assessment about effectiveness of
your values and what worked well and what you need to do better.
Step 3: Team communication. In order to ensure that you have effective communication within your
team you have to commit to the quality and consistency of your communication. Before the start of
the season take an opportunity to sit down with your team and your coach and go through a series
of questions that will enable you to develop supportive and positive communication. Here are some
questions that may help you to be absolutely clear how to support your team-mates and how your
team-mates could support you.
Player
Lead
Second
Third
Skip
Question
What do I need to hear and see after I
make a mistake?
What kind of support do I need before my
shot?
What kind of actions/language of my
team-mates make me tense and
uncomfortable?
What kind of actions/language of my
team-mates make me feel relaxed and
focused?
What do I like doing/hearing before
games?
What do I need to hear/learn from postmatch and post tournament debriefs?
It may look like there is a lot of work for you to do, but it is important that you constantly feel that
you are very clear about how you need to support your team-mates at every stage of the game (on
and off ice).
“Teamwork doesn’t appear magically just because someone mouths the words. It doesn't thrive just
because of the presence of talent or ambition it doesn't flourish simply because a team has tasted
success”. Pat Riley – National Basketball Association.
Team dynamics is quite straight forward! It boils down to your ability to understand yourself and
how you fit in your team. Stick to the team values you set at the beginning of the season. Re-visit
them during every post-tournament debrief. Ensure that you are absolutely clear how you need to
support your team-mates before, during and after matches. Work hard to get the best out of your
team-mates and keep asking yourself and your team-mates a question: “what else can I do better”?
Remember team dynamics is not going to happen because you are talented or because you want to
win – it is careful and continuous effort which can be a lot of fun with great rewards!