I recently decided to join the girls ultimate Frisbee team here at Ship. While I have played on sports teams before in high school, I was worried about joining this year. Would they already have their team filled pretty much? Would they be accepting of such a late newcomer?
Well after my first practice with the girls I realized that this team was an awesome one which fully employed Tuckmans stages of team development all the time. And I was not the only new girl trying to learn how to flick a Frisbee and hoping it would fly semi-straight! I would say that during my first practice there was a lot of Forming going on. It is early in the season and the first tournament was that weekend. While all of the returning girls were very nice and helpful, it became quite clear what was expected of us and who the team leaders were. All three of the leaders, along with the other returners, were very supportive and helpful of the new girls. They were excited by our interest in the sport and the team, and gave us a lot of help and praise.
As these next few weeks go by I expect that there will be a lot of Storming and Norming going on, as us new girls compete for the open positions, in a friendly manner of course. One thing that I really like about the girls is there lack of conflict, at least from what I have seen so far. The competition is encouraged and friendly, and we all learn from each other a lot. I am excited to see how we all fit together as a team this year, and how well we Perform during these next few months! And as for Adjourning.. well I don't really want to think of that for now, this team is just too much fun and I am excited to be a part of it!
That's awesome that you've joined the Frisbee team! My friend Natalie just joined too! It's also interesting to see what we're learning in the classroom in real life examples! I'm guessing the team goes through the five stages continuously, because of graduation and freshman coming every year, as well as other newcomers like yourself. Although unlike what we read the individuals on the team seem to travel through the stages themselves rather than the team as a whole.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on joining the team! It sounds like it will be a great experience. It is always interesting to see the different opinions on team sports. I am sure as the season continues, there will be some sort of storming, as there always seems to be when competing and playing as a group. On the positive side, those storms help the team grow as well as you being an individual. Good Luck and Enjoy!! :)
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