Coach Jay
Years ago
How to get players to cope with changed team
Hi guys, hoping to get a bit of advice here. I've coached the same core group of boys for the last five seasons. There has been very little change to the team makeup, except for one boy leaving, one coming in every season.
The boys have gotten really close, and do things with each other outside of basketball. They really love playing together. They even won the grand final together last season.
This year however, the club has decided to do a big shake up. Out of the nine i had last season, only five will stay with me (it was only supposed to be four but i fought tooth and nail to get one back)
Firstly, how do i break the news to the four we've lost? Two of them have mentioned before they'd probably quit if they didnt stay in the team, but i want them to keep playing, even if its not with me this season.
Secondly, we've got three new players to replace the four we've lost. How do i get the five who remain not to gang up on the three newbies? I think after a while they'll warm up to them, but i really dont want there to be an "us vs them" mentality right from the get go. The three new kids are all younger too, so i dont want them to be pressured into thinking the older ones run the show. I need them to play as a team-equally
How do i go about this?
