B&D: Team Structure and Organization

One team I had the pleasure of being a part of was my high school soccer team. We were the

Eagles - a single team split between junior varsity (JV) and varsity. The structure of a soccer

team more closely resembles the football team analogy given by Bolman and Deal. In soccer,

players perform in close proximity to one another with each play being a concerted group

effort. I started on the JV team my freshman year. The JV team was significantly larger than

the varsity team which made it much more difficult to manage. This loose structure, however, 

allowed everyone who wanted a shot at playing soccer a fair enough chance. Hardly any cuts

were made on the JV team and everyone got playing time - even if they weren’t “ready” (I

remember one game I stupidly showed up for the last half to observe after a track meet - I was

thrown in anyway.). JV was not based on skill, but determination. Varsity, however, relied on

prowess.

Skilled JV players could play on both teams. At the beginning of the season, these JV players

had relatively definite positions in JV games; everyone else on JV was positioned nearly at

random. The JV team lacked structure so much that I pondered quitting after being “cast” to

be the goalie. I can very clearly recall Coach San T telling me that, “Someone’s gotta do it

when Christie graduates!” After many scrimmages, two lost games, severely bruised legs, and

overwhelming guilt - I kept trying. Coach San T decided enough was enough after a cleat

went into my right ankle. Being in the goal allowed me to see many things that were wrong

with the functionality of the team. Many times, defenders were parallel to midfielders, and

even forwards on the field. The latter case is absolutely not supposed to happen. Only centers

and forwards should be playing offensively. Defenders’ main goal is to block attempted goals

from the opposing team. I, like the majority of the team, believed that my rightful position

was a forward. Coach San T made me as midfielder for the rest of this season. Midfielders do

a great deal of running - something he knew I was used to be a cross country runner. I

remember constantly yelling, “Move back! Move back!” to my defenders who would

themselves just steps away from the opposing team’s goal. Losses were hard hits, and

sometimes teammates would not talk for days after the game. I will never forget our coach,

Coach Jesse, calling us a bunch of “whiny, a**holes crybabies”. There was no shared

accountability - if a game was lost, it was immediately blamed on the defenders and goalie.

There was no organization, no leadership, and no hope. The team sucked. 

Throughout the first season, we eventually found our rightful positions based on expertise. We

started winning as we became bonded as a team, incorporating clear roles and communicating

more in practice and in games. In the next season, most remaining juniors and a handful of

sophomores officially earned varsity positions. A once disorganized JV team bloomed into a

well organized team of people who wanted to be there. Organizational issues hardly existed on

the varsity team. Ownership of roles was  and communication was efficiently executed. Most

importantly, lasting informal relationships were born. Our varsity captains, Bossie and

Anairis, had positions that were similar to the surgeon analogy. Bossie, as our offensive

midfielder, was responsible for communicating to forwards and often playing the positions of

others (as midfielders are able to score goals). Anairis communicated with other midfielders

and defenders. There was also shared accountability. Most people can agree that the position

of the goalkeeper is the most important position in the game. However, losses were no longer

blamed on defenders and the goalie.