Team Chemistry Part 2

Team Chemistry Part II

This issue of team chemistry is less a difference of opinion about the value of team chemistry as it is about the purpose of team chemistry. Team chemistry, according to my take on the issues, is a bonus benefit of winning, not in itself a major cause of the winning. Most all teams at the Professional level have coaches and organizations which stress team chemistry. And of course one of the major benefits of participating in any kind of team sport is to learn that no individual, by themselves, can bring victory. Even a sport like cross country cannot have success with one good runner. It takes 5 or 7 good runners to win a meet. It may well be as difficult a feat for someone to finish 5th in the race as it did for someone to finish 1st.

Be all this as it may, one cannot get carried away with the team chemistry bit---after all, only one team in the NFL can win the Superbowl. That means, out of 32 teams participating only one team gets to go on national TV and deliver the obligatory message of how great each person on the team is, how much of a family they are, how the credit goes to everyone on the team etc. And this is just before the exuberant credit sharing goes to parents, God, the fans, etc. All of this is good, and is not untrue to the extent of just how they feel at that moment.

Before the Super Bowl a small army of experts and commentators debate which team is the better team. Considering all the uncontrollable factors that occur in a football game, this debate is a bit silly. Yet non of these debates ever center around team chemistry. No one said, for example, that Green Bay would win because they have better team chemistry. For one thing the term is so vague that it is hardly definable. IF team chemistry could be defined and measurable the issue could be resolved. Every team has some sort of chemistry and that chemistry is going to be defined by the team players and coaches. I always love to use the Chicago Bull's trio of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman as an example at the extreme side of the issue. No one can define team chemistry in a way which would make any of these players the kind of team players portrayed by the victory speeches. Dennis didn't talk to his teammates, Jordan was focused on Jordan, and Pippen seethed that his contributions were not acknowledged enough. And the coach had to find a way to get them to accept that reality and that what mattered and what would make them appreciate each other in the end, was for each to perform their respective team assignments well. If they win then each of them will be up on the podium graciously thanking their teammates for the great 'team effort'. If they lose, the same generous attitude will not likely prevail. After all, there had to be weak link somewhere, and all parties involved will try to cover their ass, so to speak. Those least fitting the image of a team player will be the first target. Dennis hurt the team because he didn'teven bother to talk to his teammates, Jordan needs to understand there are others on the team and not hog the ball so much, Pippen needs to quit pouting and just concentrate on playing etc.

The stated goal of the Super Bowl is to find out who has the better players on their team. There is no attempt to claim beforehand that the game, or all those before it were really about the team chemistry of the various teams. How the hell would you even start to measure that? Team chemistry operates in all social and employment enterprizes. Most people work in situations which involve team chemistry. Team chemistry is most important in order to make the working conditions more palatable. Everyone would rather work in a job where the workers get along.

In Professional Football talent is pretty much where it starts and where it ends. Add the quality of the coaching and all the uncontrollable variables, and therein lies success or failure. The question becomes one of do you have the talent? Then do you have a coach who can develop the talent, put in the right plays, and keep them focused on their individual assignments, not be too occupied with external family or social activities. Team chemistry is a given---it will be there of some sort. And because the individual personalities vary, the chemistry will vary.

Granted, some coaches are better suited than others to deal with particular personalities. Most people have certain personalities with which they have difficulty dealing. So you avoid hiring them or coaching them. A different coach or employer will form a successful relationship with them. That is just the way life is.

To get the best out of certain team members may take the wisdom of Solomon and the patience of Job. Favre, in retrospect, was no ideal team chemistry contributor. Favre is Favre, and he had the needed talent. So, team chemistry gives, the owners, the coaches, the other players, all know Favre is treated with kid gloves and allowed to get things his way. That, for such a team, is the price to be paid for winning games. As long as 'Hot Stuff' is irreplaceable everyone just accepts the reality. It was only when age caught up with Favre and he kept changing his mind about retirement that they decided he was expendable. Team chemistry was never the issue.

Condensed, team chemistry exists in a zillion forms, and is important. At the professional level this means the coaches have to find a way for the varied, sometimes difficult personalities to co-exist and stay focused on their individual assignments. IF winning results then some real appreciation for each other amongst the players will develop. If winning does not come the focus changes, and scapegoats sought by everyone on the team. Teams that win Championships do not look to clean house. Those who fail to win Championships do look to clean house. The teams that win face a different dilemma. Now all sorts of team members believe they deserve a huge raise, I mean after all, they heard all the speeches by their own teammates and commentators of all sorts, and it all gives testimony of just how important they are to the team. Salaries for the next year become a nightmare.
And the players have increased market value---I mean other team administrators also heard all these laudatory comments about all these players. Now lets get real one more time here. If this team chemistry stuff and all this 'we are family' stuff had the meaning we all want to think it has, then why do so many of the players go where ever the money trail leads them? What happened to 'family'? For many players to varying degrees, when all the hoopla dies down they decide, often for money, that all the 'shit' and pressure that goes with being a professional football player can be put up with just as well one place as another.

After thoughts: When a player says on the victory podium "We are like family" one need give pause for thought about that. Like whose family? Some families don't get along together at all. In some family certain family members get along and certain other ones do not. In some family all family members get along just fine. And then what do we mean 'get along'? That would be hard to define also. I think most people in any group try to get along---at work, with church members, waiting in lines, etc. This 'team chemistry' under different titles, is pervasive in all our lives. And then there is the numbers game. A football team has 17 different assistant coaches and like 50 different players and then all the support staff. And they are only together half of the year. The amount of genuine personal interaction between most players is cursory. Then there is the age factor. A college coach one time told me he missed high school coaching because in high school you get to really develop raw talent. In college he felt most of the job was recruiting talent and then just ensuring that the effort in practice was going to play a big role on who is a starter. When a professional football player reports to a team, these days maybe the 4th team, they are primarily motivated by salary and public approval of their performance. Kids in high school are going through a difficult social stage in their life---and they really do need to learn the importance of respecting others on the team. If a coach wants to feel like he has turned raw talent into something special, including getting along with diverse personalities, then high school is were he will maximize this kind of satisfaction. In a professional sport like football these guys are adults---maybe pampered, sometimes irresponsible, oversized egos, etc. All coaches preach team unity, tolerance for each other etc. I suppose it is a version of Rodney King's plea "Can't we all just get along?". But in the last analysis it is money and fame which drives these players to be the best they can be.

There is this saying which says, "God gives us our relatives, thank God we can choose our friends." I reckon a football player could say, "Management gives us our teammates, thank God we can choose our friends." Families are bound by genetics and law. Professional football teams are bound by contracts and skill. Whether Mary becomes a good doctor and Harry becomes a good lawyer is not closely related to family chemistry. They are almost separate issues, related but not in any clear way.

Sport arguments, which is what they are, serve a good purpose in that it forces one to take impressions, some assorted observations, combine all this with some stats, and come to a formed opinion. We then defend our opinions with all the tools at our disposal. Rarely do sports opinions change. The arguments are seldom about facts, like exactly how many points did a team score, but about things which are not facts---who is the better player, which team is better, which team is going to win a game, why did this or that team win the game, etc. All this if fine, healthy and dandy---as long as one realizes opinions are not likely to change. And there is little need to. Sports is entertainment. Whether I am right or wrong on any of my opinions about sport debates has no bearing on the rest of my life. No harm is done. It is in the area of politics and religions where the harm is done. Big time.

TEAM CHEMISTRY

Team Chemistry

After the Super Bowl all the Packer Players could not say enough about their teammates and how well they all work together with no bad apples. We all like to hear that talk and it makes us feel good about all the players on the team. I have had long standing discussions with others about the importance of team chemistry in sports like football. On the surface it seems a slam dunk---of course team chemistry is a key ingredient to success on the field. The players just told us that, as did the coaches.

HOWEVER, the issue is not so simple. It is just another one of those questions of which came first, the chicken or the egg. First of all, talent is needed at all the different positions. That is also a slam dunk. Then, winning also breeds contentment, with oneself and then with the rest of your teammates. I can't recall any team winning where the players do not give effusive praise to all their teammates. Whenever we win we get into an effusive praise mode---to all sorts of others--- teammates, parents, coaches, spouses, children, God, etc. One of those 'everybody is great' moments.

ONE OF THE GENUINELY ADMIRABLE THINGS about winning is that it brings to the surface genuine respect for some teammates who otherwise would be on the athlete's subjective 'biggest jerk' list. Now they become an affectionately designated 'our jerk' and they understand they 'need' such 'jerks' to continue to be successful. If one wants to call that team chemistry, I would accede the point but then, winning came first. When a team is losing the easy targets are those who are 'different', those who keep to themselves, or talk to much, or brag too much, or break rules, etc. These are the 'cancers' of the locker room and the reason for the losing. This brings to mind an athlete so many love to hate, which is their right, but a 'cancer in the locker room is hard to establish. A person who is different does not, by that in itself, make him a cancer. Terrell Owens has been on several teams and those who can't stand his personality refer to him as a cancer in the locker room. Really? Then why, without exception, has every team he left gotten worse after he left? By what logic can one argue that someone is a cancer in the locker room, a poison to team chemistry, and then when the poison is removed the team does worse? Either team chemistry is not that important or the player was not harmful to team chemistry. In the case of Owens, when in his prime, his presence on a team made the team record better. Now, in his declining years, put on teams that are weak, even though he does well, the team does not. To me, this kind of proves that a given wide receiver cannot make a poor team good.

ON THE OTHER HAND, when a team loses a lot of games the finger pointing begins. Clearly there has to be a reason why the team is losing. Some players or coaches are not performing well enough. And each is trying to figure out where to place the blame. After all, if you can't figure out where the weak links are on the field how can corrections be made? Things get said or implied and team members start to get a little cranky and defensive. When the season ends no one is in front of a camera touting how wonderful their team chemistry was, and gushing forth with effusive praise for teammates, God, coaches, spouses, etc.

IT NEEDS TO BE NOTED that no one is kept on a team because they are nice guys. The nicest players with the best attitudes and efforts and personalities get traded or dropped all the time. They just are not good enough at their position. No coach ever says "we know Charlie is not that good on the field but we love him in the locker room so he stays." Of course not, team chemistry doesn't enable you to catch the ball, throw it better, tackle better, block better etc. What team chemistry does is make it more pleasant to go through practices and enjoy going to work more. And that may help you train better. That is about it.

FINALLY, we all know many teams who do real well with a team composed of starkly different and incompatible personalities. I mean a team composed of Jordan, Pippen, and Rodman is not exactly a picture of harmony and team chemistry. Rodman didn't even speak to the rest of the team most of the time.
Jordan worried about Jordan, and Pippen wallowed in envy. BUT, they won championship after championship and with each Championship trophy they all had wonderful things to say about each other. Winning does that. And THEY SHOULD say nice things about each other. They couldn't win without Rodman's rebounds, Jordan's scoring, or Pippens defense and assists.

The 1985 Chicago Bears are considered one of the best football teams ever and Dikta and Ryan wouldn't even talk to each other, the quarterback was off doing his own thing with attitude sky high, Perry eating his way to fame, etc. They were good simply because each player performed well during games.

Bellicheck is not noted for being a great coach because he specializes in building team chemistry. He is about as methodical and impersonal as a coach can be.
You perform well or you are gone. Bellicheck knows if you have an excellent quarterback and competent players at all positions, you will win most of the time. He doesn't spend a huge pile of money to attract the best at one position because that leaves him short money to get a competent player at some other position. Both Bellicheck and the Eagles dump players who get so good they demand a huge contract. You can't afford to be the best at one position (excluding quarterback) and weak at other positions.

Realistically, the Packer players can effusively praise every player on the team, and it is well and decent that they do, BUT the Packers did well this year because they had Aaron Rodgers, Woodson, Matthews, Jennings, a good coaching staff, and fairly competent players at other positions. Take Rodgers out of the mix and see how far all this team chemistry stuff carries them. All those dropped passes during the game were not a product of any kind of team chemistry, good or bad. That is just silly.

A good coach (like Phil Jackson) is able to take diverse personalities, even weird personalities and get them to allow teammates to live and let live with respect to each other. Bubba doesn't talk much---so what? Doosey doesn't ever shut up---so what? Doosey brags too much---so what? Everyone do your job on the field and all will be well. If that is team chemistry then so be it.