No matter the age or developmental stage of your players, if a team is to perform effectively and, more importantly, have fun, then respectful relationships must be the foundation.

Whether you are working with a new squad, made up of players that don’t know each other at all, or you are welcoming one or two new faces into an existing group, there are some approaches you can use to help players get to know each other.

Don’t force it

We have all sat in meetings, or attended events, where we have been forced to do icebreakers.

You know the sort of thing – "Tell us your name, role and why you’re here", "Share a fun fact about yourself" or "Tell us two truths and a lie". I’m not sure about you, but even the thought of preparing answers to any of those questions fills me with dread. 

For young players in particular, who are learning, developing and finding out who they are, the idea of being put on the spot to say even their name can seem mortifying.

So, don’t force it! Rather, think about...

Building opportunities to get to know each other into practices and activities

There are numerous elements you can add to practices to allow players to get to know each other a bit more.
I have a couple of go-to warm-ups or arrival activities I like to use for this purpose.

The first (illustrated below) is a simple passing, receiving and moving activity, with a small square inside a bigger square.