Developing a strong team that is able to work together and find solutions is very important to the success of your season. In some cases, you can get lucky, and everyone’s personality just gels. Most of the time however, it takes a little work.

My favorite way to jumpstart any teambuilding process is to get out of town. Going out of town, on an overnight trip, pulls each team member away from their comfortable surroundings and encourages them to create new bonds. The best case scenario would be going to a leadership class like a ropes course. This way you can benefit from trained workshop leaders.

If going out of town isn’t an option, planning an overnight stay at a squad member’s house, is also a good choice. Make sure you have plenty of fun teambuilding games on hand and that you understand the point of the exercise. If you can get someone to lead the games, even if their not part of your group, it makes it easier for the team to focus on the team.

Most teams plan on going to camp, which is also a great place to bond. My suggestion however, is to do something in addition to that. When you’re at camp, your focus is cheerleading. In a separate teambuilding experience, you can focus on each other. If this extra effort is put in on the front end, you reap the rewards all year long.

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