Here are Ted Lasso’s five steps to “make a locker room feel like heaven.”
Ted Lasso is a television series that follows Ted to England, where he coaches a football club despite having no prior experience in “the real” football. His background is the North American-style game. It’s a must-watch for anyone interested in sports, not just for its artistic qualities but also for its unique blend of athletic and psychological elements. Consider this Lasso quote: “I love a locker room; it smells like potential.”
Photo courtesy Our Sunday Visitor
I’m not the only one who sees the applicability of this TV fiction to athletic competition. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said that watching the series helped him during challenging times in his football management career.
Another example of locker room influence comes in this example. Erik Ten Hag’s tenure at Ajax was undoubtedly impressive (75% win rate). Still, his performance at Manchester United was lackluster, with the team’s progress resembling that of a child learning to write: sporadic and disorganized.
At Ajax, Ten Hag coached young players in their formative years, avoiding the crises he encountered in Manchester United’s locker room, including the situation with Ronaldo. While some analysts and fans defended Ten Hag’s actions, the circumstance prompted a critical question: Why did it escalate? It’s unlikely that a professional like Cristiano Ronaldo would act without substantial reason. Regardless, ten Hag was dismissed yesterday after losing to West Ham 2-1 over the weekend.
My take is that Ten Hag could have benefitted from watching and learning from Ted Lasso. How so? One way would have been for him to take five steps to make your locker room “feel like heaven.”
The first step involves identifying a genuine leader, someone dependable in crises. Upon Ted’s arrival in England, he encountered the team captain, Roy Kent. Roy’s demeanor is quite gruff, instilling fear in everyone. Additionally, he stood as the team’s eldest and most seasoned member, one who played for many clubs, won the Champions League, and was on the verge of retirement.
When Ted came, he concluded that no one else except Roy Kent could be the team leader. But Ted decided to bend the circumstances in his favor. He changed the status of the team captain from a feared dictator to a person who players appreciated, listened to, and respected. Ted was willing to sacrifice everything to change Roy Kent’s personality from a harsh one to a compassionate and responsible personality.
The second step is about making your team a family. Your team cannot become cohesive if it does not care about each other’s affairs, feelings, sorrows, and joys. That’s not what Ted found upon arrival: the team was fragile and disjointed, indifferent to one another, and split mainly into factions. It was a toxic environment for Ted, something he would and could not accept.
The third step involves exercising assertiveness if and when necessary. For example, one player, Jimmy Tartt, is a remarkable swhichtriker. However, despite that ability, Tartt was also known for arrogance and loose morals, and Ted soon lost respect for him when Tartt overstepped personal boundaries. Ted responded quickly, showing the team that field prowess does not trump responsible individual behavior.
The fourth step is to bring out the best version of each player. My take is that Ted held this view constant in everything he did.
The fifth step is the power of belief. If you believe and everyone around you believes, then there is power in belief: you trust it. Hanging at the entrance to the changing room is a large yellow blueprint with the word “BELIEVE!”
