The Making of the Perfect Team – Training/Equipment Staff.

Unsung heroes, to say the least. If you are going be a successful team, you need help….in so many areas. Of course if you are building The Perfect Team you need different things at different levels. A House league hockey team is different than The Toronto Maple Leafs. (no jokes here please). However, different levels need different amounts of help. The fact still remains, we all get injured, and we all have equipment problems, it is how we handle these issues that make the difference between mediocrity and excellence.

Equipment – The key to a perfect team is preparation. Your equipment must be good to go before practice and before the game. The player is the only one that knows if things fit, or if equipment is broken or loose, and the player must ensure it is ready, if they are able to….but if there is something that the player needs help fixing, adjusting or making more comfortable, than the equipment manager is the person to go to. And they are busy. So give them some warning…not 5 minutes before the game….they have a lot to do and a lot of people asking for tape and laces etc., etc. I have seen many equipment guys that are miracle workers with the “last minute” fix. The other thing that as a player I would love is to walk into a room…sweaters are hung, taping table and supplies are ready…etc. It goes back to what I was saying earlier, making the player feel like they are part of something big, and most players appreciate it and want to show appreciation.

Trainers – A key component to any successful team. A good trainer can do amazing things to help a player prepare for a game, and also to react in the middle of a game to get a key player who is injured to finish out the game. It really is special to watch. In my quest to build The Perfect Team, it would not happen without a good training staff.

In 2010 my lacrosse pals and I participated in the World Field Lacrosse Championships in Manchester, England. We played in the Grand Masters Division (45+) and ended up with the Silver Medal. This simply would not have happened without our trainer Silvana Yee. Silvana is the head coach for the Women’s Field Lacrosse team at McMaster University. She is also a physical therapist. While in Manchester, Silvana wore many hats.

• Stretching routine before games
• Taping and rebuilding players (in a group of 45+ players she was busy)
• Even bought food etc to keep the guys nourished. (tuna sandwiches were awesome)

The entire team voted Sil as The MVP of the tournament; we simply could not have done it without her. Going forward to Make the Perfect Team, Equipment/Training staff…are critical pieces.

Next - The Team.