Whether you are in the middle of conference play or preparing for a run in the playoffs, this team evaluation from Texas A&M Men’s Basketball Mitch Cole will illustrate the the team’s strengths and weaknesses to finish the season at a championship level!
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Most of us will look at the obvious categories like Wins and Losses, Team and Individual Statistics, and even Advanced Statistics that give us a closer look. Are there other ways to evaluate how our team that might help us identify and correct some potential problems that might creep in when the pressure hits during league play?
Below are some intangibles that could be discussed in a team setting that, if evaluated honestly by the players, could help raise everyone’s level of play during the most important time of the season.
TEAM CHARACTERISTIC
POOR (1)
FAIR (2)
GOOD (3)
EXCELLENT (4)
CHAMPIONSHIP (5)
COMMITMENT 1 2 3 4 5
*How committed is our team to achieving the goals we have set for the season? Is everyone “ALL IN” and completely invested in the process of improving, being the best team we can be, and winning?
COACHABILITY 1 2 3 4 5
*Has everyone bought into following the coach’s instructions each day in practice? How does our team execute plays after time outs or respond to adjustments? Does our team carry over drills to game situations? Body Language? Handling Criticism?
TEAM TOGETHERNESS 1 2 3 4 5
*Is this team a cohesive unit on and off the court? Do some guys have their own agenda? Is the bond tight enough for us to want to sacrifice for one another and HAVE EACH OTHER’S BACK at key moments in the game?
WORK ETHIC 1 2 3 4 5
*Are we outworking our opponents on a daily basis? Do we just go through the motions in practice? Is our team regressing, improving or staying the same due to our work habits?
OFF COURT HABITS 1 2 3 4 5
*Are we doing things socially, academically, or personally that help our team achieve the highest level of excellence possible? Are off court habits becoming a distraction or hurting our team?
ENERGY 1 2 3 4 5
*Do we still have enthusiasm for the game, for practice, for improving individually and as a team? Or do we see our effort and energy as a waste of time that has very little impact on the results of our season?
RESILIENCE 1 2 3 4 5
*How does our team recover from mistakes, handle difficult losses, adversity during the game? Do we “bounce back” well or let failures linger into the next play, the next practice or the next game?
HANDLING SUCCESS 1 2 3 4 5
*How do we respond after big wins? How does our team handle positive attention in the media or in the school?
You can have the players evaluate themselves, another teammate, or simply score the team as a whole. You may find other characteristics to measure that fit your team and your situation. It seems best to have everyone on the team give scores. Some players may not be mature enough to give accurate scores, so if that is the case, get your captains and staff together and calculate the averages for each category.
GAME PLAN!
If your team is trending towards POOR in certain areas, bring it to the attention of the team. Make them aware of which ones are keeping the team from COMPETING AT A CHAMPIONSHIP LEVEL or BEING THE BEST IT CAN BE. Then work to create a plan to raise those levels in the coming weeks. If appropriate, do another evaluation and challenge them so show significant improvement the areas in which the team scored lowest.
