A unique first day experience

One of my goals as a Head Coach was to create a unique first day experience like no other for the players on their first day on the job. A day that was memorable and one that showcased the culture, history and meaning of what it meant to be part of that particular group. Here are a few of the points I concentrate on:

1. The first email of the day the players received was from the coach containing an individual video with voice over welcoming them to a new season followed by a montage of the previous championship winning teams to give them a sense of the history of how the team had competed

2. Every player was given an individual “gift” that was linked back to the meaning of the team. A tangible gift that was for the player to keep and that only a select few people receive which creates purpose to that group of individuals. Also used as a way to recognise the contribution of past teams and players and signify the privileged position these new players are in

3. Later in the day each player was sent an individual induction video containing: a formal welcome from a past player, history of the region, history of the team, history of the home ground and informative information relating to the season ahead

4. The vision for the team was presented to the team with a focus on the past, present and looking to the future possibilities of the team

5. The last piece was the players presenting their thoughts on a pre defined subject to get better understanding of player motives, past experiences, feelings experienced and what the group means to them. Especially important if you don’t have all players present on this day then you need to include everyone so there is a sense of connection between the group. Video is an easy tool to achieve this and players that weren’t able to be present on the day we linked in through this medium