This is my club I belong here!
Many young people are introduced to sport through organised sessions at school. Others join after-school clubs and take part in activities they’ve already established an interest in.
The same can be said of most adults as many will have discovered their interest in a particular sport through school sessions and then continued to take part, or returned to taking part, by joining a local club in their adult years.
Part of the initial attraction is simply to be with others who share the same interests so sports psychology 2 encourages coaches to consider the promotional benefits of gaining an understanding of the value participants place on feeling a sense of belonging.
“While anonymity is appealing in some ways, to be constantly anonymous devalues our self-worth. When someone acknowledges our humanity, even by something as simple as knowing what drink we like, it reinforces…our sense of belonging” – Melinda Messineo
One definition of a sense of belonging is: ‘the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed.’ In sports psychology 2 terms, a sense of belonging could also be defined as ‘team spirit.’ Members of a team with team spirit all share a sense of belonging but the same can be said of individual participants who join a sports club where the coaching sessions provide members with the same sense of belonging to a team.
Team spirit can only be created through open, honest communication between coach and athlete or, in the case of team sports, between players themselves. To be able to communicate in this way means that everyone involved must feel their thoughts and opinions are valued.
It becomes the responsibility of the coach to ensure that coaching sessions provide frequent opportunities for feedback to be shared. It’s important that everyone must value truthful, honest feedback but it’s also important that a positive climate is maintained in the process.
Quite often, team spirit and a sense of belonging develops naturally among athletes or players who spend a lot of time in training together but sports psychology 2 can help coaches learn practical methods of promoting open communication in all of their coaching sessions.
At grass-roots level, a sense of belonging can be a valuable source of encouragement to young athletes who perhaps lack confidence in themselves and their abilities. The team spirit they feel when taking part in training sessions will create a positive climate in which they can grow.
Growing confidence will then lead to improved performance and a much greater possibility of them staying in the sport long term. This, in turn, provides greater opportunities for them to achieve their true potential.
At top competition level, the same sense of belonging can provide a powerful source of motivation when the pressure is on so, at whatever level you coach, time spent developing sports psychology 2 techniques will be time well spent as a sense of belonging can not only attract newcomers to your sport but keep them in your sport. Today’s beginners may be tomorrow’s champions.
