LUGI - Success story 22/23
“The team! The team made a decision!”
I had a manager for a while who left a lot to be desired when it came to being a support when the going got tough, a mentor who could lift and get more out of each individual than they knew they had within them. A worthless leader in my eyes. But he was one of the people I learned the most from throughout my professional life. He was a fantastic analyst who could put his finger on what needed to be done, sometimes an unpleasant finger that hurt. Still, you understood that it was true deep down. But there was no doubt that the team needed to be protected from him. He needed to be filtered through others to have the desired effect. Some kind of humanizer filter. His intentions weren't evil but they came out wrong. It was his way of communicating and putting himself above everyone else that just did not work.
One thing I learned from this man was that you should write the success story of a project before implementing it. Then it was just a matter of creating what was said, simple. Describe to everyone and yourself where you are when the project is over, what you did to make it happen and what values you have delivered. Brilliant in many ways. Not only do you have a clear goal to communicate and work on together with your team. You also have the project planning in place with challenges and achieved results described. Only to implement. Easy enough!
“His intentions weren’t evil but they came out wrong. It was his way of communicating and putting himself above everyone else that just did not work.”
It may sound simple and naive. It obviously requires hard work, bringing out all the individual strengths of everyone in the project, reflections and adjustments during the journey. The job needs to be done! Of course, unexpected things will happen but they happen whether you have a goal or not.
So what does this have to do with handball and more specifically, with LUGI's women's team in the 22/23 season?
My youngest son and I usually amuse ourselves by doing match analyses after the games. It has been about technical errors, fantastic saves, good pulled pork burgers in the restaurant and everything in between. So based on that, this is the success story written before it happened.
LUGI - Success story 22/23
Lund, January 2023
“Those who are supposed to provide safety and help when it is the toughest and the team struggles are downright failing in their mission. ”
With 8-9 games left of the season, the situation is anything but happy faces and that is perhaps the worst, not the technical error in minute 47. It hurts to see the leadership that unfolds. Those who are supposed to make you feel safe when it is the toughest and the team struggles are downright failing in their mission.
“If you believe your every move can be a failure, you will stop trying.”
During the fall, when my son and I analyzed the games, we often liked certain players who stood out. Unfortunately, there were only so many and usually the same players from game to game. Some players always gave it everything, with big hearts and never stopped running regardless of the opponents or what was on the scoreboard. Why didn't more players do it? I thought at the time it was a matter of safety and I still think so. If you only think about not making mistakes, you lose all about what's essential in a game like handball. If you believe your every move can be a failure, you will stop trying.
If you instead have a positive thought that I'm going through that gap, this ball will be stuck in the net behind the goalkeeper. She won't get past me even if that is the last thing I do in this game. Then that will happen!
At the end of March, we look forward to the season's start of 23/24. Not because we think it's nice that this season is over but because we have a lot of energy left and a belief in ourselves and our teammates. That we can go as far as we like! All the way!
That it turned out the way it did in 22/23 was due to many things that are easy to blame. Injuries, the management, the opponents, the crowd, or actually the absence of them, and so on. But above all, it was due to lack of feeling safe and joy for the game! But somewhere at the beginning of 2023, something happened. Of course, some players returned from injuries. But there was something else too.
“Some they win, and some they loose. But none of that matters.”
The team! The team made a decision! The group came together! A significant change in my son's and my analysis is that there are not a few players we highlight after the games. Everyone plays for the team, giving a little extra to contribute. Everyone gives their all in every situation. Sometimes the ball hits the post. Sometimes, a player gets stuck in the opponent's defense, and sometimes a ball is thrown outside the court or makes the goalkeeper better than she is. Some they win, and some they loose. But none of that matters. The players feel safe in their group, so they keep trying as long as they have time on the clock with a big heart, a straight back, and a lot of pride.
Lunds stolthet!
“The players feel safe in their group, so they keep trying as long as they have time on the clock with a big heart, a straight back, and pride.
Lunds stolthet!”
