The key to any team sport is the team. You can have players will excellent fundamentals and implement great tactics but it all comes down to the cohesion of the group. There is the rub. Build cohesion without forcing it on everyone.

First, it is necessary to understand where exactly cohesion or chemistry comes from. Scientifically speaking, people identify with groups based on the emotions they elicit. So the initial step in building chemistry is to make everyone feel comfortable. Then, once people relax they can open up and build relationships which is all cohesion is - a relationship with a purpose.

One of the best ways to relax everyone is to force everyone to identify each other on the team. By this I don’t mean memorizing names but acknowledging each person as a component of the group. This is done through nicknames. As long as the title revolves around a positive circumstance a powerful trigger has been created that instantly links in a person to a group and a good feeling. What more can you ask for?

Think physics. Any volumn void of air is considered to be a vacuum. In those environments no noise is made, feathers and bricks fall at the same speed - you lose the variables air provides and things become more uniform. Now apply the vacuum to emotions.

As we know by now, emotions create behaviors. In life if you lose all emotions then there is no reason to do anything. There would be no anxiety, excitement or happiness so there would be no reason to behave in such a manner as to acquire those feelings. However, sports are different.

In sports, the behavior is already spelled out. Everyday at practice participants repeat fundamentals and manuevers. They seek mastery in preparation for competition. When the competition rolls around each participant knows what is expected of them and how to do it.   

In competition the only emotions that really matter are those created by the final outcome. Every emotion preceding the culmination is a reaction based on the current situation in comparison to expectations. The best illustration for this is basketball due to the length of the game and multiple rolls of each player.

The most exciting stretch of basketball is when a team goes on a run. For several minutes it appears one team cannot miss while the other team cannot buy a bucket. One team executes effortlessly while the downtrodden opponent exerts great energy for no results. This is a direct impact of emotions. How it begins is different in each situation but there is always a common point.

One team feels the other pulling away. This creates anxiety, stress and other negative emotions as the immediate results depart from the losing team’s expectations. Each player’s behavior based on negative emotions only exacerbates the situation and a run is born. The thing to point out is that there is no reason teams should go five, ten or even 15 possessions without scoring a point. Statistically it does not make sense for a team averaging 40% from the field to be held scoreless for a prolonged period of time. However, emotions override statistics.

The perfect team plays in an emotional vacuum. They would not be concerned with what the other team does. If a team hit three shots in a row from beyond the arc then the perfect team would realize that the numbers will converge back to the averages and their opponents are due for a couple of misses. On the flip side, if the perfect team missed a couple shots then they would expect, again, the numbers to converge to the averages and they would be due for a couple of makes. The operating principle of the perfect team is confidence in their gameplan and teammates, immediate observed results do not change what they need to do so they will continue with what they prepared.

For the majority of the game the score should not affect the mental state of the athletes in question. The focus should be on the immediate responsibilities necessary to carry out the next play. However, too often, knowledge of the score adversely affects performance. In transitional sports, namely basketball, the score shapes the perceptions of participating teams.

The greatest shaper of perception in a transitional contest is possession differential. Or, in other words, how many possessions it will take for the losing team to even the score. Not only can the losing team play worse due to this information but also the winning team.

For the losing team, a deficit leads to thoughts that their tactics and personnel are inferior. This line of thinking often times leads to individual play as players attempt to be the superstar and shoot their team back into contention. The result is now the team in question in not only losing but the cohesion suffers as well.

The winning team can also change their performance due to a large possession differential. A thought of superiority can cause a team to let up because a perception of effort necessary to win changes. If 100% effort creates a large lead then “logically” an effort less than the best should maintain the lead. Unfortunately, as soon as the effort decreases as does focus and no good team prepares for games with a less than maximal effort.

The second, and slightly more abstract, shaper of scoreboard perception is the rate of the possession differential change. Great teams do not panic when the opposition high three shots in a row and builds a little lead. They are cognizant of averages and know if they do what they know how to do the game will again even out. However, for more emotionally volatile team it can be alarming.

For the emotionally volatile teams a little run can be exacerbated into a big run when the scope of the their perception draws only from the immediate experiences. Instead of looking at previous times during the season when they erased a deficit a volatile team focuses only on their immediate situation. This sets the team up for failure because they no longer have a positive mindset for their current predicament. Their only thoughts revolve around what caused the deficit and not what will get them out of it.

The third and final shaper of scoreboard perception is when the score is framed by the time remaining. The losing team not only has to deal with scoring points against the opposition but they have to do so quickly. In basketball, this means shot selection takes a backseat to shot frequency as desparation sets in.

Conclusion: teams attempt what they think is possible. On the micro level, each player will attempt what they think is possible. Environmental variables shape everyone’s thinking so it is up to the team to decide what variables deserve their attention. 

Emotions not only shape your behaviors but the behaviors of those around you. This is critical in a team environment, especially when the stresses of competition enter into the equation. In a game, it can happen in the blink of an eye. One moment everyone sees victory and then suddenly the team looks deflated.

The reasons for emotional change are too numerous to mention but the key is to understand how one person’s emotion overcomes the entire group. It begins with a dominant member of the team (i.e., coach, captain, senior, etc.). They establish their emotion through both verbal and nonverbal indicators. Then the entire team follows suit, often times without being aware of the change.

The verbal indicators are the most apparent. Tone of voice and word selection quickly disseminates a person’s state of mind, be it positive or negative. We are also far more conscious of verbal communication so it is easier to identify and correct. However, that is only half the picture.

Most athletes and coaches quickly pick up on verbal displays of emotions but lack a clear understanding of the nonverbal side. It is like watching someone compete and knowing something is off. You cannot explain exactly what you saw but in hindsight you put it together and rationalize the situation.

It all begins with the posture. No one gets tired when their team dominates the contest. However, when the momentum shifts you see players hunched over with hands on the knees or side, the shoulders tense up, and the chin drops. These are all clear indicators players perceive the game to be out of their reach.

The next set of cues comes from the face. Do players look confident, ready to attack, or have they conceded? This can be seen in facial expressions such as a furrowed brow, lack of eye contact and if they are smiling. When you add this to the overall posture the story really unfolds.

Finally, and perhaps the most important is the direct nonverbal communication. Team display cohesion through direct physical contact such as high-fives, fist pounds, and the more theatrical expressions like jumping in the air and colliding. Confident, winning teams do this while deflated teams do not.

Watch for these indicators, you will see them long before the final buzzer declares the victor. Then try to remember the moment in time that caused the indicators you observed. Chances are it is systematic for the team in question.

One of the most often used buzzwords in team sports is chemistry. “That team has a lot of chemistry,” or “they have really developed chemistry as the season progressed.” Most people can see it and can even tell when one team has more chemistry than another but the definition is evading.

Chemistry is the cohesion a team has. The respect, admiration and confidence each member of a team has for those around them. When you boil it down to its simplest components a team is only as strong as the relationship each member has with one another. To see the interpersonal relationships is to see the chemistry.

Like any relationship, it is difficult to pull meaningful information from relaxed, fun situations. However, when stress and disagreements enter then the true colors shine through. This is the same for a team. A team that wins is made up of best friends but it’s not always the case if that team starts to lose. Enter John Gottman, Ph.D.

Dr. Gottman is a world famous marriage analyst. He can sit down with a couple for a few minutes and tell if they will be happy together or get divorced with incredible accuracy. His method is not so much based on what is said but how it is said and the reaction it garners. He primarily focuses on four components: criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling - the Four Horsemen.

Next time you are involved in a game, watch for if and when one of the Four Horsemen surfaces and then the resulting actions. Chances are, just like in a marriage, it will spell disaster for the team.