Find out a great way to get all of your players committed to practice through a simple thing called a Promise Circle
Do you struggle with getting your players to practice hard? If so then the Promise Circle could be just what you’ve been looking for. Find out why.
Recently I had the pleasure to cover a Florida A & M University (FAMU) softball game for ESPNU. Whenever I cover a game for ESPN I try to arrive at the site a day early to watch practice and this game was no exception. As I was sitting in the stands I kept seeing the FAMU players go out onto the field and draw something into a circle that had also been drawn on the dirt. My curiosity was killing me so after practice I asked Veronica Wiggins, the FAMU head coach, what that was all about and she said, “oh, that’s a player thing, go ask, Melissa”. So I did
FAMU Team Captain Melissa Oliphant told me this was their Promise Circle and that basically it was a promise that every player who put her initials in this circle was promising her teammates that she would give her very best that day. Game or practice, it didn’t matter.
I thought this was fantastic as lots of teams have this kind of contract at the beginning of the year but I’d not actually seen anyone do it on a daily basis. This type of daily accountability struck me as fantastic so I had to find out more. To help you better see the different ways the FAMU players signed their Promise Circle I’ve highlighted their signatures in red in the picture to the right.
When I asked Melissa what happens if a player doesn’t put her name in the circle that day she told me, “simple, they don’t play”. Anytime a player didn’t feel like they could give their very best to their teammates and therefore didn’t sign into their circle that player couldn’t play or practice that day. While this might sound harsh just think about it for a second – do you want a player out there who isn’t giving their best? Of course not, so better to know that at the beginning. Now that doesn’t mean my best is 100% since I might be injured or sick that day, but even if I’m only capable of 70% that day the team deserves to have 100% of my 70%.
So here’s the scoop on FAMU’s Promise Circle and how it just might be what you’ve been looking for in regards to your team:
Circle made by captains before every practice and game
Each player had to put her initials or signature inside the circle before practicing or playing
Signing the circle signifies that player is “all In” for that practice or game.
Anyone signing in could therefore be held accountable for their lack of effort, focus or concentration
Anyone not willing to sign the Promise Circle was dealt with by the captains and they said – “we don’t have that problem!”
This was a team initiated thing and not something that the coaches insisted on
