Army Crew Case Study

Working closely together towards achieving the common goals, the team has developed a certain degree of trust and cohesion. Although, cohesiveness can be seen as an obstacle to progress (CIPP, Unit 1) it is still one of the key characteristics of the team's high performance. It helps to achieve a greater focus on the process and commitment to the decision-making process. It became clearly visible once the team faced a change. The good level of cohesion and trust let the team members openly share their concerns, consider each other's feelings and opinions and come to decisions of how to handle the change in the most effective

Buchanan, A. H. (2001). Organizational Behaviour:An Introductory Text (4 ed.). (F. T. Hall, Ed.) Pearson Education.

With the Christmas tournament aside, we entered the post-season without a loss. We had a plan for each playoff game from districts to regional. We never deviated from the plan, keeping our eye on the target –

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2015). Organizational behavior (16th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. (Note: Refer to Chapter 3)

Kreitner, R., & Kinicki, A. (2013). Organizational behavior (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Retrieved from

Coaches are an important figure in creating this environment but all the team leaders are equally as important. Regardless of the two scenarios presented, improving cohesion via team homogeneity, personal sacrifice and leadership techniques is effective. Moreover, it is very possible that these factors do not need to be inputted by a single person or figure. Although the effectiveness of a coach implementing these cannot be ignored, as long as they are presented by a leader in the team environment then cohesion and in turn success will

| “The top 10 features of an effective team are: * clear purpose; * open communication; * constructive conflict; * effective problem-solving and decision making; * defined roles, responsibilities and accountability; * strong relationships; * systems and procedures; * experimentation and creativity; * measurement and self-assessment; * shared leadership.” For a team to be effective, they need to have clear

The Varsity team lost to the Junior Varsity team because of their individualistic mindset. The coach of the Army Crew team admits to putting together the best crew athletes together on the Varsity team. As “Making Star Teams Out of Star Players” discusses, putting the best individuals together seems appropriate on paper, but often ignores the soft skills necessary to work together as a team. Because the coach focuses on the individual talents of the Varsity Crew team he creates an air of competitiveness within each member, instead of how they can work together. The goal of the team is not greater than that of the individual and no one wants to be the weakest link so they overcompensate their own skills. Every member of the Varsity crew team believes he is compensating for the other members and blames other members for the failure of the team, which shows a lack of team mentality and strong leadership. Through overcompensating, as stated in the case study, that throws off the balance of the boat because one member being off pace causes slower speeds. Also, through pitting the Varsity team against the Junior Varsity team it adds to the divisive culture within the whole Army Crew team.

Over the past three years we have acquired many top players that have allowed our team to develop the skill and force we need to take down top teams. These girls have many unique qualities and skills that have allowed us to excel to another level that we could not achieve alone. Not only that, but the coaching staff, the strength and conditioning development staff, trainers, and athletic department have been working so hard for us all year and have provided us the resources, and means to be great. However, I stand by the argument that a major source of success this season came from the senior class. Every single one of the seniors has made a major contribution to this team on and off the field and I believe they are in the spirit and the heart of this group that stood as the foundation for the success of the

Throughout the season we had some big defeats from the tougher schools, however I was able to maintain our team’s morale throughout our wins and losses. And Fundraising. Oh boy those were tough. This year was very different from the previous with the new restrictions. However this brought out our teams creativity. These new obstacles brought pushed our team to think out of the box and work together in effort to raise money for the team.

Athletes who want to win and love the game demonstrate it by trying their hardest every play and through every practice as well. Athletes who do not always try their hardest or skip practice frequently do not deserve to play and should be benched. Playing time is unequal, but anybody who proves himself will receive more playing time. Varsity sports are also not about pleasing people, they play to win and compete to their fullest, so athletes should have to earn the right to play. Having respect for coaches and teammates also plays a significant role in earning the right to play varsity. Through my own experiences, I have noticed coaches are much more likely to play someone who respects what they say. For example, an athlete on my baseball team last year, who talked back to the coach and frequently skipped practice, lost his starting position on varsity. After our coach had enough of his behavior and lack of effort towards the team, he found a replacement who had earned the right to play by proving himself and respecting everyone around him. The original starter was decent but did not deserve to play at all, and once he realized that, it was too late. The replacement shined on the diamond the first time he played, and ever since, has kept proving to coach why he was the best option for the team. This incident really displayed how even though someone may be adequate, he should never be entitled to play over another athlete who is more deserving of that

Varsity rowers attributed their failures to external factors, while underestimating the contribution of internal factors; rowers would not only blame each other, but blame the coach for making them race against the JV team so often. Though the Varsity team had the most physically capable rowers, their motivation and group cohesion was virtually non-existent. Though Coach P tried to create group cohesion through the email initiative, he did not try to fix the problems at its core. There are many possible solutions, however, it is clear that switching rowers and boats altogether would be detrimental to the entire team, especially so late into the season. Only by analyzing motivational concepts and incorporating them into a solution, can the Varsity team unlock its true

Coach P.’s training program should have focused more on psychological variables and group processes earlier in the season. Instead, training was focused on improving individual team member performance. The Varsity team comprised of the eight top individual performers (Snook & Polzer, 2004). Mistrust between Varsity team members began developing following spring break. Lack of trust and other related psychological issues prevented the Varsity team from synchronizing their rowing even though they were the top individual performers.

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th Edition). Boston, MA: Prentice Hall.

The Army Crew Team is in utter frustration since the team that consisted of the top 8 members with excellent strength and condition, rowing technique, and psychological dimension kept frequently losing the JV team before the national championship race. Facing with this problem, Coach P. hold a meeting with the team members to discuss about the problems among the team. Now on, he has to make a decision among the choices of switching the Varsity and Junior Varsity boat, switching individual boat members or intervening to improve the Varsity boat’s performance.