February 25, 2019 - Crucial For Team Success

One of the things that players often hear coaches stress is the importance of communication! In fact, I was reading an article on USA Basketball’s site (usba.com) that made it of utmost importance to a team’s/player’s success…

“College players talk! They talk on screens. They talk on inbounds plays. They talk when sprinting back in transition D. They thank the passer on an assist. Between the squeaking sneakers and constant chatter...a college court is never silent.

College players listen! They listen when they huddle before free throws. They listen to their coach during time-outs. They listen with their eyes and their ears.

Obviously, these are blanket statements. Not every college player does these things...and some high school players do. However, in both cases, those are the exception rather than the rule…

…When you don't talk on D, your opponent gets easy buckets. When you don't talk on O, things get scrambled.

Bottom line: lack of communication causes breakdowns on both ends of the floor.”

COMMUNICATION IS CRUCIAL TO THE TEAM’S SUCCESS! (And a correlation to the individual player moving beyond high school to the college ranks…)

The same is true off the court!

It is amazing how far it goes to tell a teammate, “My bad!” It is great for team chemistry when we admit our faults. James 5:16 tells us to confess our trespasses/faults to one another and in doing so be healed… this is in the context of the promise a few verses earlier of healing a sick man; but the word for healed here also can be translated to the idea of being made whole… I believe we are being told that for the wellness of the team, we need to communicate when we have fallen short… “My bad!”

What about communication that builds up a teammate that is struggling… “You got this!” “Get ‘em next time!” “It’s all right, we’ll get it back!” We need to spur one another on… encourage… build up… (See Hebrews 10:24… this is one of the mandates of being the church!)

What about asking for help? In basketball, when a player loses the guy he is guarding, he should yell out, “Help!” or “Pick me up!” In life, we need to cry out for help when in need! And in turn, when we see or hear of someone in need we should step in and communicate, “I got ya!” (See Galatians 6:2)

Great teams talk a lot on the court… great churches are made up of honest dialogue that causes us to work together! We need to be authentic… caring… great listeners… and willing to step up to meet needs!