Teamwork ?
- Thread starter Robbo
- Start date
In essence, teamwork is an emergent property of a set of players playing well, and the important point to note here is, emergent property .... that is so critical when trying to unravel the mystery of teamwork.
Above is a proto-definition I suppose you could say, I realise it's my definition and there may be others out there but this one is specific to paintball and is as accurate as one can get.
I also realize that if I'm right, it suggests it's maybe out of our reach in terms of trying to train 'teamwork' directly.
Actually, it isn't like this in practice at all because even though the amorphous quality of teamwork is not directly trainable (because it is an emergent property of something else) we can direct the focus of our training toward whatever precursor activity is creating it, and in this case, it's players, playing well.
Now this in itself is maybe a hard concept to grasp but at least we have the fundamentals at hand to break down the idea of playing well.
Playing well is a combination of upholding whatever techniques are deemed appropriate, fast and accurate snap shooting etc, as well as drawing on whatever experience you have accumulated.
When each player on the field is deemed to do this, the sum of the team then becomes greater than its component parts and it is this we now interpret as teamwork .... that is a working definition ... well, it's my definition anyway.
Above is a proto-definition I suppose you could say, I realise it's my definition and there may be others out there but this one is specific to paintball and is as accurate as one can get.
I also realize that if I'm right, it suggests it's maybe out of our reach in terms of trying to train 'teamwork' directly.
Actually, it isn't like this in practice at all because even though the amorphous quality of teamwork is not directly trainable (because it is an emergent property of something else) we can direct the focus of our training toward whatever precursor activity is creating it, and in this case, it's players, playing well.
Now this in itself is maybe a hard concept to grasp but at least we have the fundamentals at hand to break down the idea of playing well.
Playing well is a combination of upholding whatever techniques are deemed appropriate, fast and accurate snap shooting etc, as well as drawing on whatever experience you have accumulated.
When each player on the field is deemed to do this, the sum of the team then becomes greater than its component parts and it is this we now interpret as teamwork .... that is a working definition ... well, it's my definition anyway.
Intelligence
Sometimes though, winning a game, does not mean you had awesome teamwork going on. Shouting stuff out repeatedly at 110 decibels until you walk to the deadbox does not necessarily make you a team player or good at communicating.
I would choose an intelligent player with low skill, over an agg "check how i put my hand over my face when Im about to superman" high skill HK'er any day of the week. The kids that have a bit of common sense will make great team players, and eventually the great teamwork will follow if you STICK TOGETHER!
Sometimes though, winning a game, does not mean you had awesome teamwork going on. Shouting stuff out repeatedly at 110 decibels until you walk to the deadbox does not necessarily make you a team player or good at communicating.
I would choose an intelligent player with low skill, over an agg "check how i put my hand over my face when Im about to superman" high skill HK'er any day of the week. The kids that have a bit of common sense will make great team players, and eventually the great teamwork will follow if you STICK TOGETHER!
Sometimes though, winning a game, does not mean you had awesome teamwork going on. Shouting stuff out repeatedly at 110 decibels until you walk to the deadbox does not necessarily make you a team player or good at communicating.
I would choose an intelligent player with low skill, over an agg "check how i put my hand over my face when Im about to superman" high skill HK'er any day of the week. The kids that have a bit of common sense will make great team players, and eventually the great teamwork will follow if you STICK TOGETHER!
Bolts, the only bit I got a slight problem with is the phrase, 'stick together' and the reason is this mate, it's a phrase that sounds good but actually means little.
The problem is, if you really look at it and try to quantify, assess, whatever, it doesn't actually mean a lot in a definitive sense.
And by making teamwork contingent upon 'sticking together' (as you have just done) it kinda places teamwork upon extremely shaky foundations if we are trying to understand what is really going on.
Do you see what I am trying to get at here mate?
Yeah, 'sticking together' is cool until one of your guys gets a full frontal labotomy or ends up in a semi-vegative state. Gonna put that guy back right and hope for the best?
Sorry, maybe I didnt explain myself too good. When I say stick together, I mean that as a general rule. If you have your 5 intelligent players, who are currently playing well, and bouncing off each others moves, that last thing the team needs, is for someone to think the grass is greener and to toddle off to join another team. Ive seen it many times as have you im sure.
maybe Im still wrong, who knows
Sorry, maybe I didnt explain myself too good. When I say stick together, I mean that as a general rule. If you have your 5 intelligent players, who are currently playing well, and bouncing off each others moves, that last thing the team needs, is for someone to think the grass is greener and to toddle off to join another team. Ive seen it many times as have you im sure.
maybe Im still wrong, who knows
110 % on the money mate and if you need a shining example of that ethos, you can do no better than look toward the greatest team of all time in the modern game, Dynasty.
Those guys stuck together for years, and just look at what they achieved.
No argument from me on that Bolts !!!
Good stuff.
Yeah Dynasty are the shining example. They literally feed off each others moves on field. Look at how they get new players. They dont just let any Pro player join up. Ryan Martin for example, quiet, not got a big ego and a seriously intelligent player.
If anyone wants to see an example of an excellent team player, watch a Dynasty video with Ryan playing. The most solid player Ive seen (and played against) for years. Watch what he does. what he is saying to his front guys and how he conducts himself on field. Note how he just talks loudly rather than screaming nonsensical noise randomly. What Ryan does is makes your life so difficult, you physically cannot get an eye on his front players which = danger for you.