ROUND TABLE 38 – WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT TEAMMATE? – EPISODE 597

Hello and welcome to the 38th edition of the Coach’s Corner Round Table on the Hoop Heads Podcast. Each episode of the Coach’s Corner Round Table will feature our All-Star lineup of guests answering a single basketball question.  A new Coach’s Corner Round Table will drop around the 15^th of each month.

February’s Round Table question is:  What are the three most important of characteristics of a great teammate?

Our Coaching Lineup this month:

• Erik Buehler – Chatfield (CO) High School
• Chris DeLisio – Olmsted Falls (OH) High School
• Joe Harris – Lake Chelan (WA) High School
• Liz Kay – Wahconah (MA) High School
• Dell Leonard – Mountain Home (AR) High School
• Peter Lonergan – Basketball Australia
• Matt Monroe – St. Ignatius (IL) College Prep
• Matthew Raidbard – Author of Lead Like a Pro
• Don Showalter – USA Basketball
• John Shulman – University of Alabama-Huntsville
• Ido Singer – UNC Greensboro
• Joe Stasyszyn  – Unleashed Potential
• Patrick Touhey – Author of Create Forever Teammates

Please enjoy this Round Table episode of the Hoop Heads Podcast and once you’re finished listening please give the show a five star rating and review after you subscribe on your favorite podcast app..

If you are a basketball coach at any level please check out our Hoop Heads Coaching Mentorship Program.  You’ll get matched with one of our experienced Head Coaches and develop a relationship that will help take your coaching, your team, your program, and your mindset to another level.

Be sure to follow us on twitter and Instagram @hoopheadspod for the latest updates on episodes, guests, and events from the Hoop Heads Pod.

Let’s hear from our coaches about the three most important characteristics of a great teammate.

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TRANSCRIPT FOR ROUND TABLE 38 – WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT TEAMMATE? – EPISODE 597

[00:00:00] Narrator: [00:00:00] The Hoop Heads Podcast is brought to you by Head Start Basketball.

Mike Klinzing: [00:00:21] Hello, and welcome to the 38th edition of the Coach’s Corner Round Table on the Hoop Heads Podcast. Each episode of the Coach’s Corner Round Table, will feature our [00:03:00] all-star lineup of guests answering a single basketball question, a new Coach’s Corner Round Table will drop around the 15th of each month

February’s Round Table Question is, “What are the three most important characteristics of a great teammate?”

Our Coaching Lineup this month:

• Erik Buehler – Chatfield (CO) High School
• Chris DeLisio – Olmsted Falls (OH) High School
• Liz Kay – Wahconah (MA) High School
• Dell Leonard – Mountain Home (AR) High School
• Peter Lonergan – Basketball Australia
• Matt Monroe – St. Ignatius (IL) College Prep
• Matthew Raidbard – Author of Lead Like a Pro
• Don Showalter – USA Basketball
• John Shulman – University of Alabama-Huntsville
• Ido Singer – UNC Greensboro
• Joe Stasyszyn  – Unleashed Potential
• Patrick Touhey – Author of Create Forever Teammates

Please enjoy this Round Table episode of the Hoop Heads Podcast and once you’re finished listening please give the show a five star rating and review after you subscribe on your favorite podcast app.

If you’re a basketball coach at any level, please check out our Hoop Heads coaching mentorship program.  You’ll get matched with one of our experienced head coaches and develop a relationship that will take your coaching, your team, your program, and your mindset to another level.

Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram @hoopheadspod for the latest updates on episodes, guests and events from the Hoop Heads Pod.

Fall in love with basketball again this February with our partners and friends at Dr. Dish Basketball. they’re doctored, his shooting machines are undoubtedly the most advanced user-friendly machines on the market. Be sure to check out their new Dr Dish facility model with advanced analytics. Learn more at DrDishbasketball.com and follow their incredible content @drdishbball on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. Mention the Hoop Heads Podcast and save an extra $300 on the Dr. Dish Rebel, All-Star and CT models. Visit DrDishbasketball.com for details. That’s a great deal Hoop Heads! Get your Dr. Dish shooting machine today!

[00:02:40] Andy Winters: Hi, this is Andy Winters, head men’s basketball coach at Otterbein University. And you’re listening to the Hoop Heads Podcast.

[00:02:45] Mike Klinzing: Prepare like the pros with the all-new Fast Draw and Fast Scout. Fast Draw has been the number one play diagramming software for coaches for years. You’ll quickly see why Fast Model Sports has the most compelling and intuitive basketball software out there. For a limited time, Fast Model is offering Hoop Heads listeners 15% off Fast Draw and Fast Scout.

Just use the code HHP15 at checkout to grab your discount and you’ll be [00:03:00] on your way to more efficient game prep and improved communication with your team. Fast Model also has new coaching content every week on their blog, plus play and drill diagrams in its play bank. Check out the links in the show notes for more. Fast Model Sports is the best in basketball.

Let’s hear from our coaches about the three most important characteristics of a great team.

[00:03:44] Mike Klinzing: Eric Buehler, Chatfield Senior High School, Littleton, Colorado.

[00:03:51] Erik Buehler: Hey, what’s going on Hoop Heads? This is Eric Buehler at Chatfield Senior High. And this month we were asked, what are some characteristics of a great teammate?

I think there’s some obvious ones. Just going to go into a little bit of detail with the obvious ones. First and foremost, puts team over self regardless of their abilities or their talent, their team for sky. And they buy into the roles that they set for themselves, the team sets for them and that their coach has set for.

Second. I think you gotta be to be great. You gotta make everyone else around you better. Whether you’re creating for them, you’re supporting them when they’re struggling, when you’re lifting them up here, you’re showing them the right thing to do, and you’re making everyone else around you. A better person.

I think that’s important too. It’s hard to fight that instinct to be selfish and to put oneself. Or received the credit, especially in the world we live in. Now, it’s really hard to ignore some of that stuff and put the team first to put your teammates first. And then finally, I think to be a great teammate and you have to do everything possible to be the best version of yourself.

And that’s a little more self-focused, but I think that’s just as important. If you’re not the best version of yourself. If you’re not working on your game, your body, your grades, how you act in the community. Then I think you’re letting the team down in those situations. You can lead by example that way too.

But I think a team needs each individual to be the best version of themselves or be striving to be the best version of themselves. So that’s all I got. Thanks for having me again, guys. And we’ll talk to you guys next month, but

[00:05:31] Mike Klinzing: Chris DeLisio, Olmsted Falls High School Olmstead Falls, Ohio.

[00:05:38] Chris DeLisio: Hey Hoop Heads, Chris DeLisio, Olmsted Falls. The three most important characteristics of a great teammate.

It’s tough question to answer, because I think there’s just so many of them, but I’d say that at the top of my list are unselfishness being a great leader and bringing your best effort every night. You know, I think that you talked about being a great teammate. You gotta be somebody who. Sets an example on a nightly basis with your effort, with the way you play.

I think your leadership is such a huge part of it because you’re going to have to lead your team through a lot of difficult situations and the selflessness required for being a great teammate. It’s all about the team. And when you’re an unselfish player, you focus on the team all the time, no matter what kind of ups and downs you might be having from a team or individual stamp.

[00:06:27] Mike Klinzing: Joe Harris, Lake Chelan High School, Lake Chelan, Washington.

[00:06:33] Joe Harris: Hey Hoop Heads is this is Joe Harris from Chelan High School, Lake Chelan Washington. This month’s round table question is. What are the three most important characteristics of a great teammate? I believe in the number one characteristic that a great teammate should have is they should be selfless and a selfish person.

They have to be a servant leader and have that mindset, great teammates lose their identity and the goals of the team. And they put those goals ahead of their own accolades and use all the gifts they have been given all the time. They’re on the court or off the court. Great teammates also have a coachability factor amongst themselves.

They have a teachable spirit that helps them gain an inner confidence and creed so many daily opportunities for their growth. Lastly, I believe that being accountable to yourself and your team is another characteristic of great teammates. This accountability as an adult by daily work habits, he builds trust between teammates.

Essentially, can you be counted on and trusted by your teammates? I believe that these are three traits you will find in great teammates and appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts with you all today.

[00:07:34] Mike Klinzing: Liz Kay from Wahconah High School in Dalton, Massachusetts.

[00:07:44] Liz Kay: Hey Hoop Heads!  It’s Liz Kay from Wahconah regional High School in Dalton, Massachusetts.

And I’d like to offer my thoughts on this month’s round table question on characteristics of a great teammate. The first one I would say is that the best teammates are the ones that they really. That the program and their team are bigger than themselves, that the goals that we’re trying to achieve aren’t necessarily goals that you might have individually, but that the most important ones are the ones that the team achieves together.

The second thing I would say is that with that they have to be the best communicators within our program, not just with their teammates. I love the kids that come in and check on others and make sure they make contact with. Regardless of whether they’re friends in school or not, but they’re also great communicators with the coaching staff.

They’re the ones that are sort of the bridge between the two, not only with direct honesty, but also in, in the place of trying to make everybody better at all times. They’re not only probably pretty good players, but their number one goal generally to make everybody else around them better is something that makes them great.

And then the third thing I would say is. That they’re incredibly committed to what the program and what it’s trying to achieve on, on sort of a, a team level, a programmatic level. You know, they’re the ones that embrace the standards of the program. Don’t listen to the noise outside of the walls of our gym, with those, with opinions and getting caught up in the drama of what others think.

But also they’re committed to the program outside of. Outside of the season outside of our team itself, they’re the ones that are inspiring the next generation of youth players and encouraging all of those on the team to be a part of that process. I think those things are really important in building a program that extends well beyond your season and extends well beyond the time that they’re in high school, they’re heavily influenced by those below them as well and above them.

So. Those are sort of my thoughts. I know it’s a little bit rambling. I apologize for that. But I hope you’re all doing well and have, are having a great season out there. Thanks.

[00:09:57] Mike Klinzing: Dell Leonard, Mountain Home High School, Mountain Home, Arkansas

[00:10:04] Dell Leonard: Dell Leonard Mountain Home, Arkansas. What are the three most important characteristics of a great teammate?

I think the first one that I have is going to probably be the most common or the most popular answer. And for me, number one is be the hardest worker in practice. Now, I think there’s a lot of things that, that go with that. A lot of subtitles underneath that I think that includes. You know, being focused and engaged during practice and also during scouting reports and anything else that deals with a team competing in every drill throughout practice, never be late for anything that builds with the team, ask questions and practice, continue to educate yourself.

I think that. Going along with being the hardest worker and practices is speaking up when needed something good happens celebrate it with enthusiasm and energy. If a player does something bad, then also handle that in a way that won’t make that situation worse. Another thing I believe that goes along with being the hardest worker and practices, don’t put a demand on anyone else that you wouldn’t put on yourself.

So that’s number one. And then some examples of number one, number two. Demand that your coach tells you the truth. I mean, it’s pretty simple. The best players want to know the truth. And I think that coaches telling players the truth helps that player gets better. But I think that. That player wanting that really is a sign of someone who is one of your better players.

And then the third thing is just care about your teammates. And there’s so many ways to do that, but the best teams that we’ve all coached, our best players was the hardest worker in practice. They demanded that we told them the truth and they cared about their teammates, teammates, and they exemplified that in a lot of different ways.

[00:11:58] Mike Klinzing: Peter Lonergan, Director of High Performance Coach Development for Basketball Australia.

[00:12:07] Peter Lonergan: Hi this is Peter Lonergan from Canberra, Australia. Some traits of a great teammate, obviously communication is a huge one. Your ability to, to tell the truth to your teammates, sinner and empathetic ways is really crucial.

The ability to listen and take on board their feedback and their support is, is another important aspect. And I think an underwrited part of being a great teammate is being vulnerable. You know, being able to reach out, lean on teammates, trust that they’re there for you, and that they know that. There for them as well.

I think they’re two big key elements. And the last thing I think is just that over team focus where you’re really happy for and celebrate the successes of others. I think that’s what great team mates do consistently. Thanks.

[00:13:03] Mike Klinzing: Matt Monroe St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago, Illinois.

[00:13:11] Matt Monroe: Being a great teammate is a skill that needs to be learned and developed. There are many characteristics that make up a great teammate. Three of the most important are personal accountability, sacrifice and trust. As coaches. We all talk about how a player led team is better than a coach led team, but how can a leader within a team hold their teammates?

If they don’t hold themselves accountable first to be a great teammate, you first have to hold yourself to a high standard. You have to have a great work ethic, be open to growth and be consistent among many other things. As a teammate. When you hold yourself accountable, you can inspire greatness in others and have the credibility needed to hold your teammates accountable to high standards as well.

We all have personal agendas and that’s okay. As long as they fit into the team’s goals and don’t get in the way of our collective. Being part of a team is about being part of something greater than yourself. An important characteristic of being a great teammate is a willingness to sacrifice your personal agendas for the good of the team.

This could come in the form of accepting your role, aligning your personal goals with the goals of the team and staying positive. Even when things don’t work out the way you want them to. When you make sacrifices for the good of the team, you become a chemistry builder and avoid being a chemistry breaker.

And your personal experience becomes much. Trust is a very important characteristic of being a great teammate as well. Trust is belief in confidence, and it starts with yourself. Trust yourself to put in the work and make the right decisions, trust in your skills and compete at a high level. Trust your teammates.

Believe that they have the right intentions and the ability to make winning plays trust in your coaches. Be coachable and open to growth. Always. Now trust is a two way street. It has to be given, and it also has to be earned when you hold yourself personally accountable and sacrifice for the good of the team, it is much easier to earn the trust of your teammates and your coaches.

[00:15:08] Mike Klinzing: Matthew Raidbard author of “Lead like a Pro”

[00:15:15] Matthew Raidbard: Hey Hoop Heads listeners. This is Matt Raidbard. Glad to be joining you here on this month’s round table. Talking about a question that is really important to me, one that I think about a lot both as a coach and administrator and I think is important for all leaders to just always be considering and via top of mind when putting together a team and helping to develop that.

And that’s what three characteristics or traits are most important to great teammates. And you know, the first one that comes to mind for me is unselfishness you know, great teammates care about their teammates. They care about the team and they’re willing to put their teammates and the team’s goals and success above their own.

So having an unselfish attitude, I think really is one of, if not the most. Traits for a great teammate. The next one that comes to mind for me is listening. You know, in order to be just a great teammate, you got to listen to your other teammates. You got to be willing to listen, hear what they’re saying, understand what they’re saying, care about what they’re saying that helps you develop relationships that helps you understand what’s going on with them.

What their needs are. And I think that’s such a crucial element of being a great teammate and the last characteristic for me, for, for breeding a great teammate is somebody who is willing to support their teammates and somebody who understands their role. And what I mean by that is not everybody is a star, not everybody plays a lot.

But there’s all different ways. For athletes or team members to contribute. And I think a really important aspect of a great teammate is a willingness to accept their role and support others who might be in a role that they wish they were in continuing to work hard, but that support and that willingness to take on the role that’s assigned to you because it’s for the better betterment of the team is such an important trait and really foundational to having great teams.

All right, thanks to you by listeners, Greg. Glad to be on this month’s round table and hope everybody’s having a great week and a great month. Thanks a lot.

[00:17:23] Mike Klinzing: Don Showwalter, USA Basketball.

[00:17:30] Don Showalter: Hi, Don Showalter here for USA Basketball. I’m responding to what makes a great teammate. A number of things make a great teammate. First of all, great teammates are always happy for other successes. When somebody scores a big basket, whether they’re on the court or not, they’re happy for the success of their other teammates.

And I think this goes a long way in forming a great team and a great culture. Secondly, I think great teammates are always very. They see that whether they play a lot or not, they can help the team out by being very coachable or making everybody better. Thirdly, I think players like to play with great teammates, either in practice or in games.

They enjoy play with great teammates. They have a strong attraction for playing with certain players. And I think great teammates bring out the best in other players. And then to build a great culture, you have to have a, you have to have a players that are great teammates, whether they play a lot or not, I think is really important.

And players have respond and have a great culture and just are happy to be a part of the team regardless of their playing time.

[00:18:43] Mike Klinzing: John Shulman, University of Alabama-Huntsville and the 720 sports group.

[00:18:50] John Shulman: Hope all is well, this is John Shulman head coach at University of Alabama in Huntsville, UAH.

And this the question is the. Characteristics of a great teammate being a great teammate. I think just to be honest is it’s the same thing of being a best friend and a great friend. And so think about, think about why you have a best friend and what makes that guy, your best friend and your best friend friend is dependable.

You know, he’s trustworthy. He’s going to be there through thick and thin through bad or good. And just be honest and, and he’s gonna, he’s gonna tell you the truth on the good stuff and the bad stuff he’s gonna, he’s not going to clam up. He’s gonna communicate with you. Your best buddy is gonna gonna be there and talk to you on the phone or talk to you whenever it goes, shoot ball, or he’s gonna be there.

Y’all going to just go ride in the car and talk that’s what a best friend does. And To great, great best friends and lost them both in the last five years and miss our talks and just miss having an ear. So flip that over to being a great teammate. You know what I think a great teammate does. I said, number one is he’s gotta be trustworthy.

You gotta be able to trust him. You gotta be able to trust them to have your back. And let’s just think about it on the court. You gotta be able to trust them. You know, if you get beat off the ball, he’s there to help. If you miss up a mess up a box out, he’s there to, to tip it and go get a rebound. You gotta be trustworthy.

If, if we’re running a set, you gotta be exactly where you’re supposed to be. And, and you gotta be trustworthy all the time. All right, so that that’s, I think you’ve got to have to trust your teammate. And you’ve got to be that guy who is dependable, accountable being accountable as a teammate being where you’re supposed to be and what time you’re supposed to be there and being on time, that’s being a great teammate.

All right. But also holding people accountable is being a great teammate. Hey man, you ain’t getting it done boxing out of not, I’m not mad at you. I’m just saying I want to win. And I’m going to hold you accountable because I’m not doing that at you. All right. I’m doing it for you. All right. And so holding people accountable is a gift it’s not being rude or mean it’s a gift for that person.

And you know, I think a great teammate holds his teammates accountable is don’t just clam up and not talk and holding each other accountable. Being being a great communicator. Golly, I tell you this. And I think every coach in the country, if you’re a great communicator on the court, but you’re a great teammate, you help out everybody.

You know, we all talk about calling out a screen and a ball screen and you know, early loud and often ELL early loud and often say it three times in a verbal command. Boy, what if you did that with every. What if you did that with, with a ball screen or, or down screen or a staggered and just help out everybody all the time?

Well, being a helper is a great teammate in communicating is a great skill to being a great teammate. So I think you better, better be able to communicate and be a great teammate. You better have trust to be a great teammate. You better be accountable and also hold people accountable to be a great team.

And then the last, I think you got to work. I think you got to work. And I think people that work lead by example you don’t have to be vocal on that, on this one, but I think you’ve got to work and I think you got to be there. And I think you got to think about the team is greater than you. And it’s very obvious when you see our.

Teams benches. I love our bench and I love how excited our bench gets for our basketball team. And I think in theory, we have unbelievable teammates for our kids. And so that a teammate and a best friend I think should be the same. So I would think about that. What makes people a best, buddy?

I think those things would make people a great teammate. Hope is. Good luck as we all finish up we’re in February and, and have a great remainder of the year and good luck. And if I can help, all you gotta do is yell. Thank you.

[00:23:25] Mike Klinzing: Ido Singer from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.

[00:23:31] Ido Singer: This is Ido singer from UNCG replying to round table Question number 38. And this week’s question is what are three most important characteristics of a great teammate. So there’s obviously more than three or at least in my opinion. And. Give it some thought. And in my opinion, I can boil it down to the following three. I think accountability is really important.

We all want to be accountable to ourselves. We all want to make sure that we do our job and we do it well, and we do it consistently, but great teammates in my opinion are accountable for their other teammates. And I don’t believe that you can really lead by example. And the reason for that is that people that don’t want to be don’t want to do the work aren’t going to do it just because they see you doing it, some might, but most won’t.

So leading by example is an a, a broad brush stroke that will take everyone and move them in the right direction. People. People who don’t want to do the work, do it because teammates are holding them accountable to it. You never really see people like Colby, Bryan, or Michael Jordan, as some of the more obvious examples or more dominant examples of a personality.

And they demand that their teammates do the work. ’cause they do it themselves. They don’t go in there expecting that people will follow in their footsteps. They demand that they do it. They hold them accountable and they make no excuses and no apologies for it. So accountability for your teammates is a great characteristic that I believe moves the needle on teams.

The next one is on it. And to give another Colby Bryan example, he was telling this story about being the person who will tell you that you have spinach in your teeth. And he’s saying that it’s, it’s a really uncomfortable conversation to have, right. Your friend is talking to you and they smile. And all of a sudden there’s a giant piece of spinach stuck in between their teeth.

And a lot of us won’t say anything. We’ll look away. We’ll avoid the embarrassing conversation just because it’s uncomfortable. But Colby says I want a teammate that will tell him. When I’m walking around with a piece of spinach between my teeth, because it’s uncomfortable, but also because it protects me from looking like a fool.

So being an honest teammate in those moments can really help the people around you be the best versions of themselves that they can be. So honesty is a second characteristic, but. Not accountability, nor honesty can be there unless you’ve employed some empathy into the relationship with your teammates.

So a great quote that I love about empathy. Is this just because they carry it? Well, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy. Okay. Just because they carry it. Well, doesn’t mean it’s not heavy. And what I like about that is we see people walk around all the time. And they have problems and issues, and they’re dealing with things just like us and they’re trying their best to keep it together, but we don’t really know what they’re going through.

And so if we are empathizing, if we come from a place of wondering and not judging. Then we are more equipped to be there for them emotionally, and that builds and strengthens the relationship. It’s such a powerful tool for connecting. So we really have to employ empathy. When we employ empathy, we earn the right to be honest, and then we earn the right to demand and be accountable for them.

So to me, those are the three most important characteristics of a great team.

[00:27:43] Mike Klinzing: Joe Stasyszyn, Unleashed Potential, Carlisle Pennsylvania

[00:27:49] Joe Stasyszyn: Joe Stasyszyn, Unleashed Potential. This month’s question is what are the three most important characteristics of a great teammate. I’ve been very fortunate in my, in my basketball career.

And most recently to be able to work with the Boston Celtics organization with their whole youth development program, junior NBA to be up there. And in Boston that there are box center and train their coaches and work with their junior NBA clinics. And one of the things I really gained from not only working with those coaches in those players is I’m able to work with people in the organization.

And a few years ago, two years ago when Brad Stevens was still there. One of the things I really took from them that, that I really believe in and think that it’s a great idea in terms of what, how they view being a great teammate is. And there’s a lot of things that I currently or already had, had believed in.

I wanted to share today. The first one would be being resilient and accountable. By resilient and accountable. It means that being a great teammate, the standard that you have to have is you have to resist the noise. When, when people are telling you or saying things about your teammates or telling you that you’re not, you’re not valued enough, you don’t get the ball enough or whatever the outside noise is coming in, that you resist that noise.

And also part of that is the accountability and be able to accept responsibility as a great teammate. So rather than pointing fingers, I think that’s something that kids on all levels, not obviously, not just the NBA Celtics, but kids on all levels have to understand that you have to hold yourself accountable to be a great team.

Like, I always say, when you, when you point fingers, you have four pointing back at you. So those two things, I think resisting the noise, because you hear all kinds of noise on social media, you hear noise from the stands, you hear noise from other people family, friends being a Greek great teammate. You resist that noise.

So I think that’s number of. As a standard for being a standard for being a great teammate, you have to do those things. Number two, being candid and being thankful is a standard of a great teammate by that. I mean, you need to communicate and truce. And you have to maintain perspective. And with that being said, another one that I, that I really have gotten from probably the greatest coach in the history of college, basketball and basketball overall from coach K, who I’ve worked very closely with through the years is he talks about communication that if you’re not communicating with your team, You’re being selfish, then you’re only caring about yourself on the floor.

So I think, I think that goes to anything, not in sports, but in life that you have to be able to communicate if you’re able to communicate and be truthful. Okay. And maintain perspective. I think that that makes you a great, great teammate being able to do those things. So I would say that’s. Being Canva, candid and thankful with your teammates and communicating.

Okay. Rather than when a teammate shoots the ball, rather than rolling your eyes or shaking your head because you didn’t get the shot, you should be encouraging them to shoot that shot. So that way you’re communicating and trues and you’re, and you’re being, you’re not being selfish and also on defense, obviously.

So communication is, is a key key thing. And then the third one is as a great teammate. You need to be held. And I think that is, that is also one that is, is, is very, very important because a lot of players sometimes who are not considered good teammates are very arrogant. Okay. They’re very outspoken it’s, it’s about them and it’s not about the rest of the team.

You know, you hear all kinds of comments about the there’s no, I in team and being a good teammate. Being humble as a good teammate when you’re thinking of others first, I think that is a very, very important quality. Okay. So it’s not always about you. It’s not always about scoring basketball is a team game, so that’s something I think all players, if they want to be a great teammate, have to be humble.

So. There are three basic things that I think are really, really important. But like I said, it’s really interesting because when I was working with the Celtics up in their organization, they had that, that those things plastered all over their wall. And that’s the first thing that got my. When I went, when I went in there, their team room and I saw that and I thought to myself, yeah, they’re all, they’re all things that, that I’ve talked about through the years and all things that I have really promoted, but to see all those together, I thought, man, you know what I think if you could follow those things, I think you’re going to be a great.

I think you can’t ask for a better, a better teammate than someone who does all those things. So I wanted to share that today. Hopefully that gives you some some knowledge and that’s something that you can take and use with those teams. Obviously, the settlers have had much great success through the organization history and under Brad Stevens most recently.

So I think that is, that is a great one to share. And also the one from from coach K talks about that all the time. Communicating and truths. Okay. And if you’re not communicating, you’re being selfish. And I think if you presented the players that way, that helps them to understand how important communication is and that’s on an offense or defense like I said, when you pass the ball to some of their open telling them this.

Rather than being mad that they don’t pass you the ball back. So you can shoot the ball on defense, telling them that you have Hurley early health that you have their back. So they they’re, they’re, they’re all qualities, standards of great teammates. Because again, you’re thinking of others first. It’s not always about you.

And so, like we say to, I like to say to players all the time, you’ve got to get over yourself. Okay. This is a team sport. So I hope you got something out of those. Thank you very much.

[00:33:54] Narrator: Patrick

[00:33:54] Mike Klinzing: Patrick Touhey author of “Create Forever Teammates. “

[00:33:59] Patrick Touhey: Hi Mike! Patrick Tuohey here from Elite Performance Touhey, wanted to respond to the monthly round table question.

What are the three most important characteristics of a great teammate? Number one is selflessness. This idea of wanting your teammate to succeed above your. Or doing something for a teammate without expecting anything in return. Number two would be the ability to talk about the hard things, the difficult things that the team needs to hear in order to resolve any issues or problems so that they can perform at their absolute best.

The third is the ability to show compassion when a teammate is struggling or having a hard time, this idea of reaching. Supporting that teammate, helping them believe in themselves, giving them some advice and solutions around solving their problems is a wonderful act of kindness.

[00:34:57] Mike Klinzing: Thanks for checking out this month’s Hoop Heads Podcast Round Table. We’ll be back next month with another question for our all-star lineup of coaches.

Narrator: Thanks for listening to the Hoop Heads Podcast presented by Head Start Basketball.