Category: Lifestyle

There is no I in a team and there is no one-size-fits-all kind of team either. The greatest developing asset of team sports is that it promotes inclusivity and diversity.

Throughout history, team sports have shown society that success relies not on uniformity and monotony but on the strengths of different people who work together towards a common goal. Educational institutions need to embrace this asset of team sports to encourage diversity and inclusivity.

Be an example

There are several movements nowadays that want to shed light on inequalities and exclusion. As a coach or educational institute, it is imperative to be an example and show the students and athletes the benefits of diversity. Cultures differ and we are richer for it if we choose to learn from each other.

Coaches are in the perfect position to display an accepting character and lead the way for the team to also learn from each other and build on each other’s strengths. If there are a diverse group of athletes in your squad, let them take turns to sit at the basketball scorers table and observe how other cultures do things. Sideline Interactive has amazing scoring boards that will entertain your team members as well as afford several players to sit at the table at once.

Develop a team culture

When there is a diverse group of players in your team, the best way to encourage the team to include everyone is to develop a team culture. This is an organic culture made up of all the different members and cultures of the team. This culture will differ for every team, but inclusivity should be at the heart of it.

No celebration should be done in isolation or while excluding someone. What many coaches find is that although inclusivity might not be at the heart of the team culture initially, it is an inevitable end when a team wins and loses together. They start to see the value of each member and begin to learn from each other.

Promote encouragement

Not everyone on a team has the same level of skill or abilities, but everyone in the team can bring something to the table. In team sports, coaches have the opportunity to use this difference in the ability to promote encouragement and upliftment. A coach should be very strict when it comes to negativity in a team.

No one should be allowed to talk down someone who made a mistake. Instead, teammates should have each other’s backs and encourage each other to improve. This can only be done when winning is not the main goal but rather the development of a team.

Be deliberate in selection

Coaches want to have the best players on their teams, but this means that all bias should be thrown out the window. Regardless of background, creed, or culture, a coach needs to look at talent and will find that it hides in the most unlikely of places. A mixed team is often the result and then it is the coach’s job to pair teammates who differ so that they can learn from each other.

Address the elephant in the room

A close-knit team is like a family and every member of a family has their baggage, history, personality and beliefs. Conflict is bound to come up and the last thing that a team wants is for the division to occur. Therefore, whenever there is a heated topic or controversial issue in a team, it should be spoken about openly. Hiding away from it or pretending it is a non-issue will only divide a team.

Contrary to popular belief, divorce is not easier on children when their parents split while they are infants. It affects children of all ages in different ways, and babies are no exception. Indeed, babies and toddlers struggle as much with a divorce as they cannot express their emotions in words.

After a divorce, life with a baby is challenging, and parental cooperation is necessary to make it successful. Here are some of the realities parents and children will face:

Frustration

Emotions run high during a divorce. People’s feelings are hurt and calm rational conversations might feel impossible. The best child custody lawyers from USAttorney state that emotions can cloud divorce agreement discussions, especially related to custody. Both parents feel frustrated by the situation. In a typical divorce, one spouse is eager to get it over with and start a new life, while the other is still in shock and feeling devastated about the situation.

Many parents feel frustrated about being left to care for a baby alone. Working and being a single parent is a challenging prospect, and they worry about coping without their spouse’s support.

Mistrust

The idea of leaving their baby in the other spouse’s custody fills many parents with fear. They worry that their ex-spouse will not care for their child properly. These trust issues might come from betrayal in the marriage that had nothing to do with their children. For instance, one spouse might translate the other’s infidelity into them not being trustworthy in any way, including as a parent.

Overcoming these feelings of mistrust is challenging, and parents must separate their feelings about the breakdown of their relationship from their child’s best interests. They need to understand that they cannot remain in control all the time and must rely on their ex-spouse to do what is necessary while the baby is in their care.

Communication

Divorce can never be a clean break when a child is involved. Parents are linked forever by their offspring. This means having to communicate with each other after a divorce. For some ex-spouses, the thought of managing this is unbearable as they are still hurt and upset about what has transpired.

When feelings run high, it is easy to bring up past hurts in conversations between former spouses. Each should concentrate on limiting what they discuss to matters regarding the child, always remembering that it is in their baby’s best interests to keep the communication channels open.

Fear

When an ex-spouse moves on and starts a new relationship, the other former partner will instantly panic about being replaced by a stepparent. This is a terrifying prospect as parents fear that their child will like the stepparent more than them and reject them. It leads to feelings of anger and resentment, leading parents to badmouth the other parent and their partner.

Overcoming this fear is challenging, but it is typically unfounded. Children might form an attachment to a stepparent, but that person can never replace their biological parent. Provided parents remain active in their baby’s life, they are unlikely to experience this.

Additional stress

Babies are perceptive and understand that things around them are changing. Most do not respond to this prospect positively as they thrive on routine and things staying as they are. Any disruptions cause them emotional distress that they could express through clinginess, extreme emotional reactions, and developmental regression.

It takes babies a while to settle into a new routine and environment, and parents need to be patient with themselves, their child, and their ex-spouse. The child might have difficulty eating and sleeping for an initial period until they feel safe again.