“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care” is a common leadership motto that is a reminder to leaders that it is important to build positive relationships with those that one is supervising.
One way that coaches will try to apply this concept in athletics is through the process of team building at the start of the season. For instance, coaches will often provide activities to help athletes get to know each other.
In turn, coaches will focus on getting to know their players so that they let their players know that they care about them as people outside of athletics, not just about what they can do on the athletic field.
Of course, the belief is that by helping athletes get to know each other on a more personal level, they will develop higher levels of social cohesion and thus in the future be able to perform more optimally together on the athletic field.
This is an important concept that leaders from the Cleveland Browns are utilizing as the football team is currently preparing for the start of the 2023 football season at Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
According to Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski, a main reason the Browns decided to begin practices in West Virginia is to help build team chemistry.
Andrew Berry, the Browns General Manager and Executive Vice President of Football Operations, reiterated this main reason on Sunday.
“Number one, really just focus on the work in a very isolated environment and also give us some extra time to just come together and bond and gel as a team,” said Berry.
Added Stefanski, “I think what this allows us to do, obviously, is we’re landlocked here. We’re in the middle of nowhere by design, so it forces you just to be around your teammates.”
From a player perspective, Cleveland Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper said on Saturday that he believed there should be a sense of realness between players and that leaders in the organization are the ones that can help foster that type of environment.
“I always felt like when it came to chemistry, it just has to be organic,” said Cooper. “Guys genuinely bonding with each other, guys genuinely getting along. I think it starts with the leaders. If the guys can really rally around the leaders and really feel the genuine leadership of the leaders, that’s what creates the chemistry.”
An exercise that Stefanski uses to build team chemistry is called the Four H’s, which he is currently utilizing while the Cleveland Browns are at the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia.
When Did Coach Stefanski Begin Using the Four H’s Team Building Activity?
In a Browns press conference on September 3, 2020 during his first season as head coach, Stefanski provided insight on how he began using the Four H’s team building activity.
“This idea of the 4 H’s came from (when) I was on a call back in March (2020) with VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University) men’s basketball,” said Stefanski. “One of their coaches I went to high school with, (VCU director of operations) Jimmy Martelli, and we talked about a lot of things and we talked about just that. Jimmy brought up something that they had done and their coaching staff had done, and it was just a way to share with your team. I just thought it would be helpful to do that in a virtual setting while guys are not spending a ton of time in the locker room together. That was kind of the genesis of it, and it has been unbelievable to hear some of the stories, what people have come from and where they are going.”
What is the Four H’s Activity?
Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson described the Four H’s team building activity during the training camp press conference on Sunday.
“I talked to the team last night (first day of training camp),” said Watson. “We had opportunities and Kevin called up a couple of guys and we gave our history, our story. We call it the four H’s, which is the history about yourself, your heroes, your heartbreaks and your hopes. I had the opportunity to speak to the team and told my story.”
Added Browns Linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, “So I haven’t done it yet, but every year we’ve done it. So different guys have gone and talked about their history, talk about their heroes, talk about just different things that have impacted them and who we’re looking at. Everybody has a story, everybody has a history. And as well, everybody has hopes of a better future or of a consistent future.”
How Many Players and Coaches Participate in the Four H’s Activity Daily at Training Camp?
“I think it was like three players and one coach,” said Watson. “I think every night we’re probably going to have the opportunity to get to know everyone.”
Player’s Thoughts about the Four H’s Activity
On Monday, Browns linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah provided his thoughts on the Four H’s activity.
“So that’s been a very productive exercise and I think that’s one of the ways that this team chemistry is going to excel,” said Owusu-Koramoah.
Four H’s Activity Gained National Notoriety
During Coach Stefanski’s first season as the Browns head coach he gained notoriety for his success in helping the Browns reach the playoffs. This success did not go unnoticed by the national media. In particular, his positive leadership and the use of exercises such as the Four H’s activity was highlighted.
In fact, on January 15, 2021 the success that the Browns and Stefanski had during the 2020 season and techniques such as the Four H’s activity were noted by sportswriter Conor Orr in his Sports Illustrated Cover Story titled, “Serenity Now: How the Browns’ Zen Masters Transformed the Team’s Fortunes.”
FIRST AND ZEN
How the Cleveland Browns' top brass came together and built a winner based on inclusion, feedback and the power of positive attitudes, in today's @SInow Daily Coverhttps://t.co/DNTEhIQpV4 pic.twitter.com/Y8wdaXHnv0
— Conor Orr (@ConorOrr) January 15, 2021
Browns Have Off Day on Wednesday
The Browns will have the day off from practice on Wednesday.
The Browns return to the practice field at Greenbrier Resort for four more days on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Browns then travel home to Cleveland and begin training camp at their practice facility in Berea on Tuesday, August 1st.
The Browns first pre-season game will be Thursday, August 3rd when they take on the New York Jets in the Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio.
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