The Making of the Perfect Team

In this series I will take a look at what I think makes the perfect team.

I will break it down into different segments, and include some real organizations and people that I think have made a difference. Please add your comments and opinions at the end of the blog…as I am sure there are a lot of great sports minds out there. I have broken it down to these different categories….there are more, but these are the ones I will focus on.

• Executive
• Community
• General Manager
• Coaching Staff
• Training Staff
• Equipment Staff
• Team - Defense – Offence – Goaltending – Superstar – Role Players.
• Parents
• Sponsors/Fundraising

Executive – This subject can be a touchy one. Don’t get me wrong, an executive committee is not only necessary, a good executive can be the difference makers in having a poor, to mediocre season…..all the way to having “The Perfect Team”. The exec must have a good leader…..this person does not have to have played the particular sport (but I think it helps) – but they do have to have a few key qualities……passion, energy and patience….to name a few.

I think a good executive must be slim and trim. If you have 12 people…it can work, but more often than not, in my opinion I think it provides opportunity for failure. Now remember here, I am talking about The Perfect Team here…….One Team….if you are running an entire organization, than you need a lot of people……but for one team…..I say 3 – 5 main people on the exec, with some volunteers for other duties. You need people that get jobs done. One bad example I can give you…..I was in charge of a team once, in our first meeting…jobs were assigned….we were to meet 2 weeks later to discuss….I did what I needed to do…nobody else did a thing. Could blame me (I was the “leader”) – but my point is, the exec has to be full of people that get things done, and the leader needs to be able to motivate them to do it. Otherwise, it is a waste of everyone’s time.

Exec Duties include:

• Hire (and fire) General Manager and Coaching Staff
• Look after budget
• Getting community involved…sponsorships and parent volunteers….
• fundraisers
• Practice and game facilities
• Schedule meetings
• Again, anyone that has ever been on an executive could add a pile of duties…it is actually endless.

My present pick for MVE (most valuable Executive) – Sandy Barfoot – Owen Sound U19 Women’s Field Lacrosse – Energetic (X4) – Passionate for the game.

Next – Community.