Competition Among Teammates

I’ve recently noticed something strange among club players, teams, coaches, and (especially) parents.

Everyone is trying to one-up another…on the same team.

There’s a lot of unhealthy competition among teammates. Teammates are trying to beat each other rather than other teams in the league.

Also, parents are so busy making sure their kid is better than their teammates. Susy practices after team practice so she should play more. Johnny is a way better midfielder than David. Olivia is very overrated, not sure why she’s on the team. This is usually driven by their own ego.

All of this nonsense is coming from the players, parents, and sometimes coaches!

It can get toxic.

Players should only compete with…

1. Themselves
2. Their team’s opponents

Healthy competition is great. This is when players on the same team push themselves to get better. Each player understands that they are working towards a common goal. They will get better individually and as a team if they buy into the team-first mentality.

Unfortunately, the atmosphere for many teams is “I’m better than the other kid on my team so why am I not playing more?” The coach, player, and parents are looking at it from a player’s perspective instead of the team’s.

Maybe this comes naturally to us.

But, when players have tunnel vision about their development, great things happen.

When players look outside of themselves, the blame game happens.

Players, look to get 1% better each day. Get better individually and as a team. Most of all, trust the entire process and have fun with it.

[End Rant]