In “Remember the Titans”, the football team’s stages of group development were described using Tuckman’s five stages of team development. These phases, according to Tuckman, are “necessary and inevitable for the team to grow, to face up to challenges, to tackle problems, to find solutions, to plan work, and to deliver” (Tuckman, 1965, p. 384).
When the black football players are getting ready to see Coach Boone, the formation stage of the movie starts. The group is experiencing a range of emotions prior to the meeting. Some are eager for the next assignment, while others are concerned about the anticipated racial conflict with their white teammates. Coach Boone calls himself a dictator as soon as he enters the gym to establish his control and status as the group’s leader. Coach Yoast, however, breaks up Boone’s team meeting by bringing in the white players to end that dominance. The white players assume that Coach Boone won’t “call the shots” despite becoming the head coach right away, demonstrating their lack of respect for him.
The crew encounters enormous challenges during the storming stage as they start to push the limits established during the forming stage. When Gerry Bertier challenges Coach Boone’s authority by requesting reserved slots for the white players and asserting that the defensive team does not require any black players, that is the first time this happens. The black and white athletes keep fighting and arguing until Bertier and Campbell finally have a deliberative discussion during practice. Campbell criticizes Bertier, when questioned about why he should make sacrifices. The storming stage ends at this point as both Cambell and Bertier realize, to some extent, how racism on the team is preventing them from succeeding. These kinds of arguments assist coworkers in developing important forms of relationship correspondence, like credibility to say what has to be stated.
The players start to feel like a real team during the “norming” stage. Coach Boone leads the team to the site of the Battle of Gettysburg to begin this stage. This was done to demonstrate to them the futility of hatred and the necessity of working together to defeat it. After this, team members begin to speak with one another as friends, regardless of skin tone. Finally, they are ready to ask for and accept assistance from other colleagues. The most crucial aspect of this phase is that everyone on the team has finally come to terms with a shared objective where football success is the top priority.
When Jones was forced to play defense, the performance stage started, and he made multiple blocks to adjust well to his new role. The team started to play well in their games, went unbeaten, and eventually won the championship. Coach Boone never gave up on the team because he realized that they could play together. The team shared accomplishments, leadership responsibilities, and incentives. Despite the discrimination in their surroundings, they were at ease since they could see each other’s trust. They played their roles collectively rather than individually, using “we” instead of “I” to identify themselves. The coaches succeeded in bringing everyone in their town together, not just the football players. The football team and coaches accomplished a tremendous feat.
The gang finally disbands in this last step, adjourning, having achieved their objective. The players, coaches, and supporters alike all rejoice after they win the final game. Coach Yoast commends Coach Boones for his ability to unite the team and the town despite the racial tensions of the time, as well as for the victory. After that, everyone continues to live their separate lives. Years later, they get together to remember Gerry Bertier, who had gone away, demonstrating the impact that one year of team building can have on forging lifelong connections.
Overall, Coach Boone made several significant choices during each stage of the team’s formation, including forming, storming, norming, performing. Building a team is difficult since there will always be difficulties and obstacles that prevent a team from working well. The importance of a leader to use these stages to benefit the team is key.
Reference
Tuckman, B. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychologica Bulletin, 384