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Coaches know that maintaining and sustaining team culture at the end of a season can be a challenging task, irrespective of a team’s performance. 

Navigating these challenges requires strong leadership and open communication to ensure that the team remains unified, regardless of how the season unfolded. 

Doing so becomes much easier when one has access to cultural cornerstones that past coaches have used with their teams to sustain morale at the end of the season.

We have pulled three tips on maintaining team culture from three high-level basketball coaches that you can use to finish your season strong. 

Matt Doherty - Symbolism

Matt Doherty - Symbolism

Matt Doherty is a former American college basketball coach best known for his time as head coach of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team. After leaving UNC, Doherty would go on to become head coach of the SMU Mustangs, where he was for seven seasons.

In his ‘Strategies of Effective Leadership’ clinic, Coach Doherty explains that little things — whether it be handshakes, trophies, or anything else that could seem insignificant — could be given value through the symbolism it provided a team and used as a visual representation of their core values. 

The item that Coach Doherty used was a stone which he wrote ‘RTC’ (Respect, Trust, and Commitment) on, which was an acronym for his three biggest core pillars when it came to team culture. 

From there, all of his players could sign this stone, and he used it as a contract that his players could be held accountable to uphold as the season progressed. 

The key here is to keep the stone (or whatever symbol) you would like to use readily available and in the open. This will serve as a constant reminder of the values a team agreed upon at the start of a season and is therefore accountable to. 

Bart Lundy - Having Your Own Language

Bart Lundy - Having Your Own Language

Coach Bart Lundy is currently the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Coach Lundy is a former D1 Head Coach and current Head Coach of Queens University (NC). 

Coach Lundy’s ‘Blueprint to Creating Championship Culture’ clinic goes over every single aspect of the program that has an impact on team wins.  

He spoke about having a specific set of words that are integral to each team and to the program as a whole, which can be employed both on the court and in the locker room to evoke a sense of cohesion and camaraderie among a team. 

If these words are used throughout a season, they can serve as pertinent reminders for a team that’s having lapses in concentration and accountability as the season nears its end. 

Lynn Milligan - Understanding the Why

Lynn Milligan - Understanding the Why

Lynn Donovan-Milligan enters her 18th season as the head women's basketball coach at Rider University in 2024-25.

Coach Donovan-Milligan’s ‘Lynn Milligan - Creating Culture Through Practice’ clinic discusses the value of a coach knowing and understanding the ‘why’ behind everything that they do. 

A coach knowing the why behind why their team does layup lines, why there’s a pregame huddle, why there’s a team dinner the night before games and communicating that why to their players will help create a team culture that’s rooted in understanding, which will allow teams to stick together regardless of how a season goes. 

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