Root Cause Analysis: Playing Time At A Soccer Team

As a parent or guardian of the player, I understand that I will do my best to make the players follows all rules stated above. I will not contact coaches regarding playing time, player's position, or team strategy at any time. The only reason for me to contact the coaches would be regarding the player's health or well-being, as well as the player's academics.

The following practices were disastrous, some of the team did not even bother to show up. Coach quickly got fed up with the no show teammates. When we would scrimmage with the other teams we would always lose. This led to team arguments and lack of teamwork. Coach finally said that he had had enough with the team and stated he had coached our team voluntarily. That day

players were some of my best friends and they would ask me questions about their game or their stats. The coaches always told the players they were not to question what I said, when it came to game stats. This was important because of a point system our school used. The players lost points for fouls and turnovers and gained points for positive stats or plays. They were not to question what I said in that part of the game. The coaches and players asked my opinion on different things and they always valued what I said. They didn't always go with my view, but it was considered equally with the players' views.

In resolving conflict, ask the question, “How do we keep this from happening again?” The first thing is to be objective. This helps in managing conflict by keeping team members focused on the problem at hand (Huber, 2007)

Conflict results from real or perceived opposition to one’s values, actions, desires or general interests. Conflicts may occur internally or externally between individuals or groups; conflict within a team environment can cause frustration, and occasionally anger. However, conflict resolution can also often generate positive results for the team. Conflict management skills remain in demand; conflict may be managed successfully by reaching an agreement that satisfies the needs of both the individual(s) and the team as a whole

Conflict arises from various sources in the team setting (Capozzoli, 1995). The most common causes of conflict are values, attitudes, needs, expectations, perceptions, resources, and personalities. As we are all raised with different values, morals come into play when the team issue deals directly or indirectly with ones values, morals, or ethics. Conflicting attitudes can bring about problems as two or more team members prove to have differing goals in mind. Individual needs can cause rifts within a team when they are not satisfied. The expectations of team members are not the same on how the goal will be met. We all have different perceptions of life situation and interpret them differently. The lack of resources needed to complete a task can cause conflict. Differing personalities play a major role in team conflict.

The coach also does not create any positive feedback for the weaker links on the team to work with. Instead of telling the team they ALL did well, the coach focuses on who are the better athletes. As a result, the members feel

Cappozzoli, Thomas K. (1995, Dec). Resolving conflict within teams. Journal for Quality and Participation. v18n7, p. 28-30

Their practice became full of actions and hatred that result to an accident. As my friend was so young at that time, he got his left arm seriously injured when this teammate of him unintentionally fell down to him. That scenario was not just resulted in physical harm, but also in psychological harm for the both of them. That accident caused trauma to my friend. Because his injury was so serious, he cannot play basketball for almost a year.

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

The dynamics of a team relies heavily on the interaction of team members during times of conflict not just during times of agreement. Often groups seek to achieve a cohesive relationship in an effort to unite the team towards its goals. Group members can make the mistake of subverting conflict in an attempt to maintain this team unity. Conflict serves a valuable role in effective group interactions that must be understood by participants of a team. An examination into the characteristics of conflict and cohesion and the relationship between the two dynamics can provide perspective to

2. Hold a meeting among all team members and coaches to communicate honestly and openly in order to find and solve the problems especially

There can be many factors that play a role, when conflict arises within a team. Often there can be

Conflict is inevitable and at times stimulates beneficial or creative thinking. Often conflict is a signal that people are miscommunicating and making different assumptions about what has gone unspoken. The conflict in itself is not the problem. It is the team’s reactions to it that determines the impact, thus causing it to be a negative experience. Conflict or divergence can be destructive or it can be constructive. It is up to the people involved in the conflict to manage the outcome. This gives them an opportunity to articulate their assumptions and figure out a way to come to agreement. In a learning team situation, conflict can arise when the original agreement to work together does not address

The important issue, however, is not whether or not a conflict exists, but how it is handled once it is identified. Conflict can be detrimental to the team effort when it is not addressed quickly, but allowed to grow and widen the gap between those team members whose opinions differ from each other. This tension can lead to decreased productivity and low team spirits, which can negatively affect the entire organization. On the other hand, if conflict is identified and addressed by following a structured process and by involving everyone affected by the conflict, it can result in personal progress for all team members. Another benefit of this progress is the discovery of an actual solution to the initial problem is derived from the conflict.