From the Evansville Courier Press, March 15, 2009
In most cases when people talk about teams in any sport that have good chemistry, they tend to talk about how cohesive they are on the offensive side of the ball. I think it's easier to see that chemistry when a team is defending than at any other time.
So much of sports like soccer take place in transition, where the game quickly goes from a team losing possession on offense to having to switch gears and defend. Most players rely on their instincts during that quick transition from offense to defense, but the teams with the best chemistry can rely on much more than that.
Commitment: Teams that are committed are those that have players who buy into the fact that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics as a player and as a player-coach, is regarded by most as perhaps the best defender and winner in professional sports. Russell once said, "I determined early in my career the only important statistic is the final score."
Players who buy into that "important statistic" are usually more willing to play roles that aren't always associated with sexy statistics like goals or assists. These are the players that will work back on defense, and find something left in their tanks as the games reach the latter stages.
Selflessness: To be a good team defender, you have to be pretty 'selfless' opposed to being 'selfish.' When your team concedes a goal, no one wants to hear a defender or midfielder say, 'It wasn't my guy who scored.' Good team defenders understand that any time their team is scored on, it affects everyone. Team defenders don't just track the closest attacking player, but can keep an eye on all opposing players who are a threat. Those players who can communicate with their teammates while still defending 'their man' tend to be excel as team defenders.
Communication: When watching the Duke University basketball team practice one day, I heard Mike Krzyzewski instruct his players that on defense 'one player pressures the ball, and the other four players are coaching that player where to go and how to do it.' It is easy to see those attributes when watching Duke play basketball on TV, but even easier to appreciate it in person when you can hear them shouting instructions.
We stress with our players at the University of Evansville that the most important coaches on game day are not on the bench or on the sideline, but on the field with you. Ultimately, when the stakes get higher and you are playing in larger venues with larger crowds, the players can't really hear a coach anyway. And no matter how loud a coach yells, most athletes are so focused on playing that the chatter from the sideline only acts as noise or a distraction.
To coach on the field, we always tell our players to be 'connected' to the players in front of you and next to you — constantly giving instructions to those players when the other team has the ball.
Our University of Evansville team came back from a successful spring exhibition trip where we defeated Duke University (3-0), UNC Wilmington (4-1) and Cape Fear Community College (2-0). As great as it was to get positive results from a team like Duke that has a national reputation, the best accolade was what I received after that match from another coach who was in attendance.
"You could see how organized your team was defensively, but you could hear it that much more," he said. "That was the difference between the two teams."
The teams that you hear the most on the defensive end of the field tend to be the ones that win more frequently, which is the only statistic that matters.
In most cases when people talk about teams in any sport that have good chemistry, they tend to talk about how cohesive they are on the offensive side of the ball. I think it's easier to see that chemistry when a team is defending than at any other time.
So much of sports like soccer take place in transition, where the game quickly goes from a team losing possession on offense to having to switch gears and defend. Most players rely on their instincts during that quick transition from offense to defense, but the teams with the best chemistry can rely on much more than that.
Commitment: Teams that are committed are those that have players who buy into the fact that they are part of something bigger than themselves. Bill Russell, who won 11 NBA titles with the Boston Celtics as a player and as a player-coach, is regarded by most as perhaps the best defender and winner in professional sports. Russell once said, "I determined early in my career the only important statistic is the final score."
Players who buy into that "important statistic" are usually more willing to play roles that aren't always associated with sexy statistics like goals or assists. These are the players that will work back on defense, and find something left in their tanks as the games reach the latter stages.
Selflessness: To be a good team defender, you have to be pretty 'selfless' opposed to being 'selfish.' When your team concedes a goal, no one wants to hear a defender or midfielder say, 'It wasn't my guy who scored.' Good team defenders understand that any time their team is scored on, it affects everyone. Team defenders don't just track the closest attacking player, but can keep an eye on all opposing players who are a threat. Those players who can communicate with their teammates while still defending 'their man' tend to be excel as team defenders.
Communication: When watching the Duke University basketball team practice one day, I heard Mike Krzyzewski instruct his players that on defense 'one player pressures the ball, and the other four players are coaching that player where to go and how to do it.' It is easy to see those attributes when watching Duke play basketball on TV, but even easier to appreciate it in person when you can hear them shouting instructions.
We stress with our players at the University of Evansville that the most important coaches on game day are not on the bench or on the sideline, but on the field with you. Ultimately, when the stakes get higher and you are playing in larger venues with larger crowds, the players can't really hear a coach anyway. And no matter how loud a coach yells, most athletes are so focused on playing that the chatter from the sideline only acts as noise or a distraction.
To coach on the field, we always tell our players to be 'connected' to the players in front of you and next to you — constantly giving instructions to those players when the other team has the ball.
Our University of Evansville team came back from a successful spring exhibition trip where we defeated Duke University (3-0), UNC Wilmington (4-1) and Cape Fear Community College (2-0). As great as it was to get positive results from a team like Duke that has a national reputation, the best accolade was what I received after that match from another coach who was in attendance.
"You could see how organized your team was defensively, but you could hear it that much more," he said. "That was the difference between the two teams."
The teams that you hear the most on the defensive end of the field tend to be the ones that win more frequently, which is the only statistic that matters.
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