Overview
The Green Team serves as the framework for your team’s leadership and character performance. When a team successfully builds its Green Team, you will see a group of players actively moving the team forward and creating a culture that produces winning.
The “Green Team” helps young athletes see how their actions and attitudes strengthen the team. This activity introduces the idea of “Green,” “Gray,” and “Red” teammates to show how behavior affects everyone’s performance. The goal? Help every player become a “Green” teammate, positive, motivated, and a great influence on the team!
"After being introduced to the Green Team, I spent the next 45-minutes talking with my captains about it. They began going through the roster identifying who they thought was in green, gray and red. It created incredible conversation and inspired them to begin working to move everyone up a level."
Head Varsity Football Coach
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Lesson Plan
Green Team Lesson Plan
Language Guide
Green
An individual who actively demonstrates the traits of selflessness, enthusiasm, hardworking, humility, and positivity
Red
An individual demonstrating traits of selfishness, laziness, arrogance, frequent complaining and low levels of enthusiasm, creating challenges for the team and teammate
Gray
An individual who is lukewarm with varying levels of inconsistency that is performing at a moderate level in areas of leadership and character
Additional Resources
At Home
Coaches, use the below question, reflection, and action to engage parents, guardians, and other family members in the lessons learned in this exercise.
Suggestions on how to use: Email to parents the day you have taught this lesson, add it to the materials you send home, or text it to text message threads with your players.
- Question: What does it mean to be Green?
- Reflection: What do you imagine your experience would be like if this year’s team was able to become Green?
- Action: Share how you plan to show up Green on a consistent basis this season.
Coach’s Reflection
Coach, take a moment to reflect on the lesson and how you can lead by example to your players.
Coach, what was the most GREEN team you have ever been a part of? What made that team so green; so special? Think about the impact this season will have on the lives of every individual on this team if it truly becomes a Green Team. It will be life-changing. How cool will that be?!