My sports teammate is not cooperating. What can I do?

I don't understand why my teammate is not doing well!!

Instead of feeling annoyed, let's identify the six types of teammates and propose solutions to improve teamwork!

1) Most Valued Player

2) The Rookie

3) The Achiever

4) The Survivor

5) Happy Go Lucky

6) The Showoff

1) Most Valued Player

Most valued players (MVP) are;

- Talented and famous in the team

- Receive praise for their ability

As people have high expectations of them, they may face stress. When these players start to

- wanting to play solo

- increasingly hot-tempered

- become strict during training

- being less friendly with the team

These could be signs that they are feeling discomfort or stressed.

----- What should I do? ------

- Approach them as a friend

- listen to what they have to say and identify the problems they are facing. It may be due to personal issues or the pressure from the team manager/teacher

- As a team, propose constructive advice to help share their burden and let them know they are not alone

2) The Rookie

The rookies are;

- New with little to no exposure

- Prone to making mistakes

Since everyone learns at different speeds, rookies will require more time. 

Therefore, if you observe that they are performing worse than before and start to isolate themselves, this could be a sign that their morale is low or they are not interested to learn anymore.

----- What should I do? ------

Understand what had caused this person to act differently. It may be due to;

- recent events of someone blaming them for the team's poor performance

- being bullied

- being ostracized by the team

Provide care and concern. Aim to motivate this person and be more inclusive. Communicate as a team to promote a caring culture rather than a reprimanding culture.

3) The Achiever

Achievers continuously put in the effort to do well and aim to be a better player.

They want to be noticed for their hard work but are not attention seekers.

They are driven to do well with good intentions.

When they become impatient and aggressive during the gameplay, it may be a sign of them wanting to perform well.

----- What should I do? ------

- Help the achiever by practicing together and accompany them to practice after school.

- By lending a helping hand, the achiever will receive the support and help needed to perform better.

- This way, team cohesiveness can also be improved concurrently.

4) The Survivor

The survivor joins the team and enjoys the sport initially but dislikes training after some time.

They are also known as "bench warmers". They do not participate actively and dread to be part of the team.

Attending training causes them to be unhappy, resulting in their poor performance in games.

----- What should I do? ------

Encourage the survivor to attend training and offer to be their training buddy. By having someone to attend training together, it will be more fun where relationships can be built. This way, the survivor will start to put in more effort and attend more training activities when they feel that they belong to the team.

5) Happy Go Lucky

The real Happy Go Lucky arrives for training late, takes unnecessary breaks, and ignores the team's dynamics. However, this trait may be hard to distinguish since it could be easily covered up with excuses.

For individuals who are serious about the sport, they will usually start training on time, practice outside of school, and put in extra effort to become better.

Hence, if they start to exhibit behaviors of the actual Happy Go Lucky, this could be a sign that they may be feeling unhappy due to poor performance or blamed by others. If not, they may feel tired or uninterested in such commitment.

----- What should I do? ------

- Identify if a team member is a real Happy Go Lucky or not.

- If they are not, embrace their weaknesses and guide them along during training.

- For the real ones, provide constant reminders to stay alert in-game and make them feel they belonged in the team to motivate them.

6) The Showoff

The showoff seeks attention from others by flaunting things they are good at.

They think highly of themselves and aim for success towards personal benefits rather than for the team. They may also throw harsh comments haphazardly whenever they believe they are right. Therefore, when they play solo and do not follow the team's strategy, team members will then feel annoyed, and conflicts may occur.

When they are seen as less expressive and perform worse than before, this could be a sign they are not motivated anymore.

----- What should I do? ------

Only praise them when necessary and highlight that the team cohesiveness is essential to perform well.

Encourage this person to help weaker teammates; this helps to garner positive attention and be perceived as helpful. 

Provide advice to ensure they present themselves humbly and positively so that people will like them.