When we choose a sports team, we select players primarily on their ability in their specific position; that is fair enough.
The problem comes, however, when we come to consider their personalities. It is all about PD. Imagine, therefore, this team: In goal we have the Prehistoric Dinosaur (“We have always done it this way”), while in front of him the back four is made up of the Precious Darling (“I don’t want to make a mistake”), the Proactive Disciple (“Tell me what you want me to do”), the Privileged Disputer (“That’ll never work”) and the Prolific Dreamer (“We’re going to win everything”). Are we happy with that? It certainly becomes a Practical Dilemma. Let us go further.
In midfield, we have the Present Die-hard (“I’ll play whatever position you want”), the Prima Donna (“Just give me the ball – I’m the best”) and the Predisposed Dribbler (“I can do it all by myself”), while up front we have the Promising Debutant (“I hope I can make a difference”), the Prancing Dramatist (“This is all such a shambles”) and the Private Doubter (“We’re never going to win”). Not to be outdone, on the bench we have as the substitutes the Proud Discard (“Why am I not on the field?”), the Prudent Defender (“We’re going to do this!”), the Pragmatic Director (“Listen to the coach, guys”), the Preening Dilettante (“When is the team photo?”) and last but by no means least the Proverbial Dog-in-the-Manger (“I’m not going to share my juice with these guys”).
We might begin to wonder if any such team does exist but more importantly, we should consider how well we think this team will perform. It would most likely end in Profuse Disaster. Another question is simply this: what makes a great team? Phil Dooley (another PD) was not just thinking of sports teams when he said that “The best teams are made up of a bunch of nobodies who love everybody and serve anybody and don’t care about becoming a somebody” but he certainly hit the nail on the head. The Provocative Diversity can equally be a Pregnant Difficulty.
Sadly, though, as the following well-known anonymous but similar piece reminds us, the bodies do not always come together. “This is a story told about four people named Somebody, Everybody, Anybody and Nobody. There was one important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about it because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it. Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”
It is an age-old adage that a body is made up of many parts, of many bodies, in fact, and all those parts are important and must somehow be brought together to work efficiently and effectively. We do not need the Prima Donnas who think they are somebody very important, a cut above the rest, even if they are supremely talented. We cannot afford the Predisposed Dribbler who thinks he can win the match on his own. We need the “bunch of nobodies”, a group of like-minded people who are not necessarily supremely talented and who do not seek or need the attention that might come with being talented, who care not for themselves but for the team.
Those nobodies will then see the value in all the members of the team; when they are all nobodies, then they will not see any differences in others and so will do anything for each and every other member of the team. They do not seek the glory or headlines or spotlight but simply get on with doing what is best for the whole team. There is no ranking, no seniority, no special treatment. There is no Prize Distinction. Only Professional Determination will achieve that. Such is the best team and the coach’s job is to get the members to be such, to change those who think they are Somebody to realise they are Nobody without the other players. John Wooden, the successful basketball coach put it this way: “The star of the team is the team”. The All Blacks rugby team, considered the best team consistently over the last hundred years, have the mantra that “No- one is bigger than the team”, which goes a long way to explain their success. All the players in that All Blacks team take responsibility to ‘sweep the sheds’ after matches; nobody is above the rest.
That is the type of team we need – and that is the type of team that we as coaches should be Primarily Developing – PD Quick. Surely anybody can see that? Everybody must. Pray Do.
- Pretentious drivel or prosaic dogma
