5 Team-Building Activities That Improve Synergy

With the recent disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, your players might seem scattered when returning to the field. Worse, the team glue which one bonded them may have dissolved in the intervening months. 

How can you get your mojo back? The following five team-building activities improve synergy and are sure to delight returning players. More crucially, they’ll muster the energy and enthusiasm necessary to go out and get the win. 

1. Chain Gang 

In this game, you build camaraderie and physical skills. To avoid becoming the “weakest link” and breaking the chain, players have to work their strength and balance. 

To begin, you’ll need a 40-yard by 30-yard expanse of space — your field works perfectly. Divide the area lengthwise with cones and divide players into two teams of six. 

One player begins by kicking the ball down the field around the cones. When they reach the other side, they link arms with the second participant and repeat the course. The game continues until all competitors navigate the turns without breaking the chain. If they do, they must start again. 

2. Axe-Throwing 

Are your team members — and maybe you — suffering from the repressed pandemic rage that clouds judgment and performance? Get those negative feelings out of you the medieval way by chucking a sharp object with all your might. Your player’s parents will thank you for preventing shattered glassware. 

Axe-throwing invites two players at a time to compete for points, which they earn similarly to the way you score darts. When aiming for a bullseye — or a killshot, as it's called in the sport — competitors must first announce their intent like a pool player. 

Similar to basketball, you can play as many variations as your mind can invent. Go around the world or play a sharp-edged version of Cornhole. Players who serve as goalies will benefit from the increased arm strength they’ll gain while chucking these bad boys, and cross-training boosts everyone’s performance. 

3. The Balloon Game 

When it comes to team-building, you must remember that many players haven’t seen their mates in months. They missed them on the field, but they also weren’t high-fiving them in school corridors. As a result, once-close buddies may now feel like distant strangers. 

You can improve their handling skills and build camaraderie with the balloon game. When first returning to practice, have all players write down one thing they learned about themselves during quarantine on a slip of paper, which you then place inside a balloon. Bounce these around the room to mix them, and then have each team member pop one and try to figure out whose slip they received. 

To bolster on-the-field skills, have each player repeat this exercise, only this time, have them write down one soccer technique they need to improve and one strength. As you shuffle and pop, write a list of strengths and weaknesses on a whiteboard. Then, pair players with aptitude in particular areas with those who need improvement. 

4. No Contact Moving 

Here’s a fun team-building activity that reinforces awareness of social distancing rules. The object of this drill is to dribble a soccer ball without hitting any other players. If that objective seems straightforward enough, the challenge arises as you move participants into an increasingly smaller practice space. 

To begin, arrange players in a 15’ by 15’ area. Individuals move around this space — while kicking the soccer ball — but without touching any other participants. They cannot walk but must maintain a slow jog throughout the activity, which boosts their cardio training. 

After each minute, cut the box in half and keep the game going until players eliminate themselves with touch, or the objective becomes impossible. This drill benefits athletes by teaching them to keep their heads up and scanning their opponent’s movements while simultaneously controlling the ball.

5. Magazine Story 

If you study Olympic athletes’ habits, you’ll discover that many of them incorporate visualization into their training regimen. While it’s impossible to create high-pressure situations before game day, these exercises help them imagine their muscles powering their body effortlessly to victory. 

Why not add a twist on this powerful technique by using it for team-building? To do so, divide participants into teams of three to six players. They then collaborate to create a magazine story outlining an upcoming win, replete with quotes and game day highlights. Share these with the group as a whole once complete to create positive energy and get your squad in a victorious mindset. 

Use These Team-Building Activities to Improve Synergy in Your Soccer Club 

The interruptions due to COVID make it more challenging to get your team working together like a well-oiled machine. The five team-building activities above can help you recreate synergy and propel your players to gold. 

Author Bio:

Oscar Collins is the managing editor at Modded. He writes about cars, fitness, the outdoors and more. Follow @TModded on Twitter for more articles from the Modded team.