Coaching is not just about making your team technically and tactically better. As the other articles in this section suggest, it is very important that players learn to work together and like each other to some degree. The activities below have been used by coaches to help foster task and social cohesion on their teams. Some can be used as a quick diversion during practice, others take daytrips to specific facilities.
| Activity | Description | Minutes | Where? |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Aboard! | Solving a physical problem trying to get everyone in a small space at the same time. | 10 | Practice |
| Catch Me Out | Like the party game, players write down two truths and a lie about themselves that other players won't know. | 20+ | Anywhere |
| Chinese Picnic Tables | Players sit around tables and someone says a fact about them then gets up and runs around the tables and back to their chair before anyone else. | 10 | Area with tables and chairs |
| Climb and Swing | Overcoming a large challenge then trusting your team to keep you safe on a climbing wall and rope swing. | 60 | Ropes Course |
| Cringe! | Players write down or draw a picture of their most embarrassing moment then share with the group. | 20+ | Anywhere |
| Get Off My Land! | Players run around a flag if they match a called out statement "I have a brother" etc and the last one back has to come up with the next question. | 20 | Practice |
| Get Up! | Simple activity to get a group to stand up, with leadership, communication and coordination. | 5 | Practice Field |
| Giant Seesaw/Teeter Totter | Leadership and timing to get everyone onto the end of a giant balance board without it touching the ground. | 20 | Pingree Park, Fort Collins (or build your own) |
| Gutter Ball | Rolling a ball down gutter sections in pairs, working as a team. | 20 | Anywhere |
| Hashtag Lunchbag | Players make sack lunches and ride around on bikes giving them to homeless people. | 2-3 hours | Office space or picnic shelter |
| Helium Stick | Working together to raise and lower a bar, taking coordination and communication. | 5 | Practice |
| Help at Homeless Shelters | Taking players to help in the local community; working together to make meals for people who need help. | 2-3 hours | Homeless shelter or similar facility |
| Lateral Ropes | Working around rope objects, needing teamwork to get through swings and balance moments. | 30-60 | Ropes Course |
| Mine Field | Guiding a partner through a field of objects, building communication and trust. | 10 | Practice Field |
| Retreat! | Team take at least one night away from soccer to stay together somewhere and have some downtime. Cook dinner, hang out and learn more about each other. | Many | Condo, Campsite, hotel etc |
| Running Steps | Fitness and teambuilding together. Work to overcome the exercise. | 60 | Amphitheater, Mountain, building etc |
| Silent Order | Players pick numbers from a bag then get blindfolded and try to arrange themselves in number order without talking. | 5 | Anywhere |
| Spaghetti Junction | Players hold hands with different random players starting in a crazy mess then try to untangle themselves into a circle without breaking any of the links. | 10 | Anywhere |
| Team Cooking | Learning to cook together, trying new foods and following instructions. | 90+ | House |
| The Lightning Round! | Over the course of a season come up with five questions about every player or coach then play a game to answer them. | Many | Anywhere |
| Trust in Sharing | Players take it in turns to share something about their lives that other people are not aware of, that has helped define who they are. | 20+ | Anywhere |
| Tube Balance | Balancing on a large tube and moving together, taking coordination and communication. | 30 | Gym with a large tube |
| Back | Team Building | Forward |
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