(Video) What do Championship Teams Sound Like?

Spirit is noise. A successful basketball team must practice in a noisy, spirited atmosphere; otherwise, the players won’t work up to their potential, they won’t inspire each other, they won’t energize each other. Given the natural ebb and flow of anyone’s personality, feelings, and energy, you can expect every individual to experience some down time or at least some not-exactly-at-your-best time during the course of a practice. But this is much less likely to happen in an atmosphere where special efforts are being made to uplift each other.

This line makes sense. The top basketball teams don’t practice in silence. Their coaches won’t allow it. No doubt there are a variety of ways to uplift athletes. But not many of them can be accomplished in silence. It is important that every team member understand that it is his responsibility to contribute some noise to the practice atmosphere, and it only takes one leader to remind everyone, over and over again, of that responsibility.