Communication: How important is it?

In a relationship, it is important to communicate one's thoughts and feelings to your significant other. The reason for this, is that your thoughts and feelings are not as clear to that person as they are to you. If you feel angry or sad, it may not be obvious to your significant other.

The same is true on the ultimate field. A player has to constantly make assumptions about his teammates and about his opponents. Is he going to huck it? Is he going to dump it? Or break the mark? Will my teammate see the switch, will she drop off her girl to get the poach d? Will she stay as a dump or will she clear up field? These questions could be constantly racing through each player's mind, but instead we usually assume what each person will do next. And then when we miscommunicate, then the tempers flare.

In order to stop these situations, it is important to communicate each others actions. We do this at practice by going over the flow of each offense. That way we can anticipate where each cutter will go next. We do this by pump faking to indicate we want an under cut, a break mark cut or a deep cut. And we do this by being constantly vocal on the field and on the sideline.

It takes a good amount of energy to be vocal while running hard. But with good communication comes less mental errors and less easy turnovers.

Good communication is the difference between a good team and a great team. A team that communicates on a high level, is one that reduces it's mistakes. We communicate with one another (both on and off the field) so that we can understand one another better. The better we understand each other, the better we can anticipate each others actions. Yet even the closest of lovers and the greatest of teammates will have times when they fail to anticipate the others action. That is why we must never stop being vocal. Never stop talking to your teammates. Not even if they offer you $100 to be quiet for the entire trip home.