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IUPUI Women's Basketball Team

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Team Dynamics Paper The IUPUI women’s basketball team has improved greatly over the years. While we are definitely a small division one school, we have certainly shined light upon our name. IUPUI hasn’t ever made it to the NCAA tournament, but my freshman year we made post season play for the first time in school history. Since then we went on to make post season play for another 2 years. My freshman year my team was very cliquey and we had very poor team functioning skills. Our dysfunctions lingered into my sophomore year, and after a select few finally graduated, we started seeing positive changes in team chemistry (my junior year). Unfortunately the chemistry we had with each other was only indicative off of the court. We did not make post …show more content…

This stage is where players get to know and familiarize themselves with other teammates. This is where social comparisons begin and where players start evaluating each other’s strengths and weaknesses. My team had many issues with this stage. Upperclassmen often fear getting their spot taken by underclassmen, so they will pay close attention to the strengths and weaknesses of the newcomers. This same thing happens regardless of grade or age (upperclassmen verses underclassmen). I have multiple teammates who are not satisfied with their playing time. When they speak of it to me, they often say, “I just don’t get why coach doesn’t play me, but he plays this person, and I’m better than her.” They will also watch every mistake the player above them makes and wonder why she is not getting pulled out of the game or criticized for her wrong doings. This directly affects the forming stage. Signs of forming stage issues include uncommitted members, hidden feelings, confusion, poor listening, and …show more content…

Though we want to keep the same culture with each team, we must be realistic. When the new season arrives I truly do think that my team will revert back to the forming stage. When recruits come to campus all of the players are nice to them because we have to be. Recruits are potential future teammates and if they are on campus that means our coaches are interested in them. It is then our job to sell our program to these recruits. In doing so, we only share positive things about our school. Once these recruits sign the dotted line and join our team at IUPUI they learn for themselves that we may have stretched the truth. For some, this is where they start to shy away. Becoming a member of a new team can be hard. You have to meet over 10 people who all already know each other, and you aren’t quite sure of where you fit in. Can you see how a team can fall back into the forming

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