Ultimate: A quick note on yelling

Ultimate

I know a lot of players who assume that their teammates aren’t giving it their all and use that as an excuse to yell on the field. Why is it that there always seems to be a legit reason for you to miss practice while that of your teammate is lame?

“People tend to think that if they tell a lie, it’s because it was absolutely necessary. But if someone else tells a lie, it means they’re dishonest.” – Humans Of New YorkSpirit of the Game is founded on mutual trust – If you cannot trust your own teammate then how will you trust the opposition when they make a call? Trust your teammate to give it his best shot. Trust him to turn up for every session he possibly can. Trust him to run until he can no longer breathe. If When he makes a mistake, he needs an arm around his shoulder. Everyone hates to lose (sometimes even more than they like to win!).

I’ll admit that I used to yell on the field. I consciously tried to make an effort to change after I read this (scroll down to the second question) gem from Ben Wiggins.

Please don’t yell at your teammates – no matter what the game situation. Even when you vent at your own team, you leave a sour taste in the mouths of the opposition. Not only does this immature act take the friendliness out of the game, it often gives your opposition a psychological boost (as they see it as a sign of your frustration) and your players will play worse.

There are a hundreds of different ways to motivate your teammates and yelling ain’t one of them.

In sum:

Trust your teammate to give his all on and off the field – If he missed a disc, trust that he did everything he could to attempt the catchYou take the fun out of the game when you yellOppositions often capitalise on your moment of frustration and start to play better while your own players play worseYelling is neither good communication nor motivation for your teammates