A Great Team Is More Then Just One Person

You hear the saying “There’s no I in team” a lot. At least I do. It’s a great saying and indeed very true. It takes more then one great student or coach to build a great team. No program can sustain success based solely on the talent of one individual.

This is something that I feel has been key to the success we’ve had here at Ivey League with the mix martial arts programs. Good people mixed with a good system has proven time and time again to produce results.

So then, how do you go about building a team of students who get the job done?

A great team takes a lot of work and doesn’t form overnight. It’s taken me 6+ years to build Ivey League MMA into the team it is today. Was this process always smooth? God no! Not even close to smooth. But, I never give up and nether do my students.

Below I’ve listed the 3 major steps that all martial arts schools should be taking if they’d like to have better overall programs with students that stick with it for many years into the future.

Step 1: Ivey League Isn’t The Team For Everyone…

Step one is to understand that it all starts with the people who sign up and come on board with the program. You need to make sure these are the right people for the program.

When it comes down to it, The right people can and will make or break the team you’re trying to build. For us here at Ivey League, it’s better to bring in less money in order to have the right kind of people in the classes.

If all you care about is money and you let pretty much anyone join your team sooner or later that’s going to bite you in the rear. Some people are just flat out bad eggs.

You don’t want that type so don’t be afraid to pass on these folks. Show them the door and keep looking for good people to join your team.

Step 2: Common Goals

Step two involves having students that are working toward common goals. If you school ends up all over the place with many different goals in place it ends up being harder for the students to stick to a set game plan.

For us the common goals look somewhat like this:

• Better level of fitness and healthier lifestyle
• Real self defense skills that really do work
  
• A higher level of confidence & belief in oneself
  
• To make new friends with the same goals/interests

You want all your students to be pushing each other in the right direction for big time goals to be achieved. Again, this is where the whole team thing comes into play. Our teams looks out for one another. That also means we don’t let our teammates make excuses for missing training and not getting the job done.

You need others to push you in order to make it to that next level. A team of people who all want the same things can be the difference between swimming to dry land or sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Trust me, the former is better then the latter….

Step 3: A Coaching Staff That Also Works As A Team

Step three is having a staff in place that also strives for the same kind of results.

Just like with the students, a good coaching staff should also be pulling in the right direction. A good staff will have the goals of the students at the top of the agenda day in and day out.

If you’ve got a coaching staff all wanting different things out of the students from the standpoint of goals, you’ve got a program that needs fixing fast.

Our staff here at Ivey League knows and understands what the students are pushing towards and we all work together to help make big things happen.

A great team (NOT ONE PERSON) makes the big things happen.

I assure you that Ivey League would never have the kind of success It’s had if it needed to came down to just one person/student. It’s a team effort from start to finish.

If you train with a team of people, martial arts or otherwise, that truly care for each other and work within a well planned system, you won’t have to look too far for overwhelming success.

A good team shoots for the stars, they may not always get there sure, but more often then not they do, hence big things tend to happen.

Goals get accomplished, people are winning and better people walk away from your MMA classes. But make no mistake, great teams are great not because of one individual, but because of a team of people.

For all of us here in Annapolis, great teamwork is something that we never overlook. In the end, we wouldn’t be here today if not for a great team of people that surround us. YOU GUYS/GALS ROCK! THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!