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[Erin Schaben]: Welcome, Comm. students, to the introduction of Chapter 8 of the Interpersonal Communication Textbook: A Mindful Approach to Relationships, by Jason S. Wrench.
[Erin]: Today we will be covering Chapter 8, Building and Maintaining Relationships.
[Erin]: We are your hosts, Erin Schaben, [Cooper Hanson]: Cooper Hanson, and [Chauncey Bates]: Chauncey Bates.
[Cooper]: Today's episode theme is Building Winning Relationships in Sports, where we are going to break down and explain the concepts present in this chapter by connecting them to the world of sports, more specifically football.
[Chauncey]: We will also explore the relationship characteristics in sports, the support between players and the locker room.
[Chauncey]: Similarly, the thesis and attraction and team formation.
[Chauncey]: And we'll also provide examples to each concept discussed by using examples from our selected teams, New England Patriots, Iowa Hawkeyes, and the no other Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
[Erin]: We'll first go into discussing why we each chose our specific teams.
[Erin]: I decided to choose Notre Dame.
[Erin]: I've been going to games since I've been five years old.
[Erin]: It was a tradition that was passed down from my grandpa where he took my aunt and uncle and my mom to games.
[Erin]: The only rule is you have to wait until you turn five, and we go to the Notre Dame Navy game every other year in South Bend.
[Cooper]: My name's Cooper, like I said earlier.
[Cooper]: I chose the Iowa Hawkeyes, born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa.
[Cooper]: Dad was an Iowa fan, whole family's an Iowa fan.
[Cooper]: And I chose Iowa because they're a great example of a team built on discipline, tradition, and a very strong team culture.
[Cooper]: Iowa football's known for being physical, consistent, and honestly, they're pretty old school.
[Cooper]: So it fits really well with relationship building and maintaining trust over time.
[Chauncey]: And mine's a little different than Cooper.
[Chauncey]: I'm from Illinois, and my whole family is Chicago Bears fans.
[Chauncey]: And at a young age, I kind of realized that the Bears were an awful team, and I didn't really want to go down that route of terrible experiences.
[Chauncey]: So I decided to be a Patriots fan, kind of hopped on that bandwagon when I was young, and stayed with them ever since when Tom Brady was quarterback.
[Erin]: Okay, let's dive into our first concept, where we'll be discussing relationship characteristics in sports.
[Erin]: Wrench, E-T-A-L, explained that there are several key characteristics in relationships, including duration, frequency of contact, sharing, support, interaction variability, and shared goals.
[Erin]: First, let's start with frequency of contact, which is how often we communicate with one another.
[Erin]: Notre Dame players and coaches communicate with each other on a daily basis through practice, team lifts, potential player meetings, and film sessions, especially on game day.
[Erin]: Communicating this frequency- frequently allows players and coaches to strengthen their bond with each other, which positively impacts their performance on the field.
[Chauncey]: And then we'll also talk about support.
[Chauncey]: Support is an important characteristic of relationships discussed by Jason S. Wrench.
[Chauncey]: Supportive relationships are often recognized by the people we would call during an emergency.
[Chauncey]: There are people we trust for help, advice, encouragement, or assistance.
[Chauncey]: Wrench explains that
[Chauncey]: the "people who first come to mind in emergencies are usually the ones we know and will support us."
[Chauncey]: That is Wrench, et al on page 309.
[Chauncey]: And support helps build trust and strengthens relationship over time.
[Chauncey]: And an example I can really think of this for the Patriots would be Kevin Byard, a signing that we signed with the Patriots in this offseason.
[Chauncey]: One reason for his decision was the positive relationship and support he previously received from head coach, when Mike Vrabel was the coach of the Tennessee Titans.
[Chauncey]: And Byard came out and stated the Patriots were his top choice partly because of Vrabel's respect and encouragement.
[Chauncey]: And I think this kind of just shows how trust and support can influence important professional decisions.
[Cooper]: Though relationships within football teams rely heavily on task-related purposes, they also rely significantly on social purposes as well.
[Cooper]: Friendships, team bonding, and chemistry plays a crucial role in team success.
[Cooper]: In order for teammates and coaches to work well together, they have to have some tolerance and like for one another.
[Cooper]: So let's break this down by discussing our specific teams, um...
[Chauncey]: Yeah, so now let's discuss relationship development because relationships don't just appear overnight.
[Chauncey]: They take time to develop.
[Chauncey]: And like a lot of romantic relationships, the relationships that are built between football players and coaches follow the same series of stages developed by Mark Knapp.
[Erin]: First, the initiating stage occurs at the start of the season during camps, OTAs, or training, where players and coaches are just getting to know each other.
[Cooper]: Then there's experimenting and intensifying stage as players begin to spend more time together, and they build trust and connections with coaches and players.
[Erin]: Lastly, there's bonding.
[Erin]: By the end of the season and as the playoffs roll around, that's usually when a team really starts to feel like a family.
[Cooper]: If you apply Knapp stages to Iowa, I think you can really see it's a great example.
[Cooper]: The initiating stage happens when freshmen come into summer workouts.
[Cooper]: They start to meet coaches and teammates for the first time in the fall.
[Cooper]: Experiencing happens during fall camp when they start building those small connections, figuring out who they are going to be closer with, who they have a better connection with.
[Cooper]: You'll start to realize that in the fall in those early stages.
[Cooper]: And the intensifying stage is usually mid-season when players are starting to trust each other more and really understand their roles as a player on this team,
[Cooper]: and bonding happens after season when they've been through a full season together.
[Cooper]: By the end they're not just teammates they're like a brotherhood especially in a program like Iowa where culture is everything.
[Cooper]: It's a lot deeper than football.
[Erin]: The same goes for Notre Dame, especially in the playoffs run that they had a couple years ago.
[Erin]: You notice the players have a great relationship with one another, especially the seniors.
[Erin]: They had built a bond that even though a lot of them were transfers, it will last them a lifetime, because of the long run they had making it to the national championship game.
[Chauncey]: And going off of that, I think it's just kind of special the time that we're living in for sports.
[Chauncey]: I feel like it's pretty cool that all these teams have social medias to post and we get to like see a background on these players, not just see them on the field.
[Chauncey]: So, I feel like that's really cool.
[Chauncey]: And just speaking from experience, I follow like all the Patriots' accounts and they post videos of like Drake May and Will Campbell and some of the players after practices,
[Chauncey]: kind of just getting to know them more on a personal side.
[Cooper]: So it kind of almost feels as a
[Cooper]: as an audience that you kind of are building relationship with that player so I kind of think that that's pretty special.
[Cooper]: I think I think that's awesome as well and really nice of you to add, Chauncey, because you're totally right.
[Cooper]: Um, social media is you're able to see the, the human side of players nowadays and not just the competitive side that um, you were,
[Cooper]: you were only able to see in say the um 70s through the 2000s, like you were only able to see them on the field them competing.
[Cooper]: And I feel like now and as the Internet's expanding and getting better and better every day, you're able to see those softer sides of players, which I think is I think is really awesome.
[Erin]: OK, so do we want to move on to goals?
[Chauncey]: Yeah, we can definitely move on to goals.
[Chauncey]: I can lead off if you guys like.
[Chauncey]: Another relationship characteristic discussed by Wrench was goals in building and maintaining relationships.
[Chauncey]: The author did explain that every relationship includes certain expectations, and that is on page 309.
[Chauncey]: And shared goals help guide communication, behavior, and decision-making.
[Chauncey]: And some Patriots examples of shared goals would be
[Chauncey]: The New England Patriots benefit from shared goals among players, coaches, and staff.
[Chauncey]: Team members are expected to work together toward success, performance, and collaboration.
[Chauncey]: And I feel like common goals help the organization operate more efficiently.
[Chauncey]: And under head coach Mike Vrabel, the team's larger goal is to compete for four, and win the Super Bowl.
[Chauncey]: After going to the Super Bowl this past season,
[Chauncey]: I don't think anyone was really expecting that, especially with having a second year quarterback and just how terrible we were the two previous seasons.
[Chauncey]: We had a combined win of eight between the last two seasons, and then just going to the Super Bowl.
[Chauncey]: I think that really boosted everyone's expectations.
[Chauncey]: So now going into this new season, I think everyone's kind of expecting the Patriots to regain the title and win the Super Bowl.
[Chauncey]: At least that's my expectation.
[Chauncey]: So I'd say that I think Mike Vrabel and the team are probably going to really hone in on that this season, and just kind of talk about what their potential is and what they're capable of.
[Erin]: Yeah, to piggyback off what you said, Notre Dame being one of the most historic programs in college football, they are always expected to compete and win national championships.
[Erin]: So that's the ultimate goal.
[Erin]: However, outside of that, head coach Marcus Freeman has a goal to build a brotherhood within the players on his team.
[Erin]: And he believes that's the strongest thing to have when competing for a national championship.
[Erin]: This year their expectations are higher than ever after being left out of the 12-team college football playoffs.
[Erin]: So, their ultimate goal this season for the Patriots is the Super Bowl, but for Notre Dame it will be winning a national championship.
[Chauncey]: What about C.J. Carr winning Heisman?
[Erin]: He's definitely in the conversation.
[Erin]: I don't know if it will happen this year, but they're saying he looks pretty good in camp, so we'll see.
[Cooper]: Definitely.
[Cooper]: To add on both of those for Iowa football, I think it's a great example.
[Cooper]: Because shared goals are honestly, I think, one of the bigger reasons that Iowa program stays so consistent.
[Cooper]: Iowa isn't really a team where we rail in these huge recruits, five-star recruits, like Notre Dame does.
[Cooper]: Instead, the whole culture is pretty much based on someone, I guess everyone buying into the same mission.
[Cooper]: Iowa does a good job at throwing the ego and pride out of the window when you step in their locker room, weight room, and you step into Kinnick Stadium.
[Cooper]: I think they do a great job of that.
[Cooper]: So the shared goal is obviously to win games, but it's deeper than that.
[Cooper]: Kirk Ferentz does a great job at raising disciplined, physical, and trustworthy kids that he's able to put out into the working world and as well into the NFL.
[Chauncey]: I feel like Iowa was literally two possessions away from going to the playoffs last year.
[Chauncey]: I can't even lie.
[Chauncey]: Some of those losses were heartbreaking.
[Cooper]: Yeah, you had Oregon.
[Cooper]: We had Iowa State and Oregon.
[Cooper]: And then Indiana at home as well.
[Cooper]: Just an absolute heartbreaker, so.
[Cooper]: We gave the Hoosiers a run.
[Chauncey]: Yeah, that was really crazy.
[Chauncey]: And I also saw that Mark Gronowski didn't.
[Chauncey]: He just gets signed.
[Chauncey]: He didn't get drafted this year in the draft, but he did just, was it the Dolphins or Jets?
[Cooper]: I think it was the Dolphins.
[Cooper]: Yeah, that's...
[Cooper]: So the Dolphins signed him, so that's pretty exciting stuff.
[Chauncey]: Yeah, that is.
[Chauncey]: That's going to be very exciting for the Iowa fans.
[Erin]: Okay, should we dive into duration and interaction variability for our last characteristics?
[Chauncey]: Yeah, let's get into it.
[Cooper]: Let's do it.
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[Cooper]: So one relationship characteristic that really shows up in football is duration.
[Cooper]: I'm going to kind of take this one.
[Cooper]: I think Iowa is a great example for it.
[Cooper]: Duration is basically how long a relationship lasts.
[Cooper]: So with NIL and the transfer portal coming in these past few years, it's been very interesting to see how many players are jumping in the portal after just one season of playing.
[Cooper]: With Iowa football, you can see this duration really come into fruition because a lot of players stay in the program for four or five years.
[Cooper]: Over time, those relationships become much deeper, um, than football because you're able to get to know your players and coaches on a more personal level because you've been through so much together, spring ball, fall camp.
[Cooper]: Big wins, injuries, tough losses, all of it, again, talking about shared values again.
[Cooper]: And it's not just the players either.
[Cooper]: Coaches at Iowa, Kirk Ferentz has been there forever, which builds a huge stability and a great base for those coaches to come in and buy into the program.
[Cooper]: And long-term trust throughout the program, I think, is a huge thing as well.
[Erin]: I agree with that.
[Erin]: Though this offseason Notre Dame did have a lot of players enter the transfer portal, there are players that still continue to stick around, specifically linebacker Drake Bowen, who will be a captain again this year.
[Erin]: He's essentially like the head of the defense, and just his duration being in the building for the past three years I think will really help with
[Erin]: building long-term relationships between that team.
[Erin]: And though Marcus Freeman has not been there for decades, like Kirk Ferentz, um, he has established that this is a place he wants to be after getting job offers from the NFL and other football organizations.
[Erin]: So, agreed with what you said.
[Chauncey]: I will say I do- big Marcus Freeman fan over here.
[Cooper]: He's awesome.
[Cooper]: He's an awesome dude.
[Erin]: Yeah, I like him a lot.
[Chauncey]: I saw him go on part of my take and I thought he was hilarious.
[Chauncey]: So I'm a big Marcus Freeman person as well.
[Chauncey]: And Erin, I meant to ask you, what are your thoughts on Eli Raridon?
[Chauncey]: I think I'm pronouncing that correctly?
[Chauncey]: The Patriots drafted him.
[Chauncey]: So I'm kind of excited about that.
[Erin]: Yeah, he actually went to my high school too.
[Erin]: So I saw him play in high school.
[Erin]: So that was pretty cool when he committed to Notre Dame because it was kind of like a hometown kid.
[Erin]: I don't think he did as much as he was expected to do at Notre Dame, but he was a really good blocker.
[Erin]: And I think that will really translate into the NFL.
[Erin]: And he's got great size.
[Erin]: So, I thought that was a pretty cool pickup because he's obviously from my high school.
[Erin]: So that was really cool too.
[Chauncey]: Yeah, I'm pretty excited about that one.
[Chauncey]: So I hope, hopefully he can stay a Patriot a long term and maybe become the next Rob Gronkowski.
[Chauncey]: We'll see.
[Cooper]: I was going to say, so I went to Southeast Polk, so he grew up probably 15 minutes away from. A stud in high school.
[Cooper]: Really good blocker, huge frame.
[Cooper]: And then, again, Patriots has got some history with some pretty good tight ends.
[Cooper]: So he should have a great opportunity to develop, and he should be pretty good in the NFL.
[Cooper]: I'm pretty excited to watch him.
[Chauncey]: I'm excited for that.
[Chauncey]: That'll be pretty cool.
[Chauncey]: And kind of just going off of you guys talking about duration, for the Patriots, it's kind of different.
[Chauncey]: Like, we used to just have the long-term dynasty, so everyone knows Tom Brady.
[Chauncey]: And now we're kind of getting into a whole new organization, it feels like.
[Chauncey]: But Robert Kraft has been with the team since he bought it in the 90s.
[Chauncey]: So, I mean, just going off of that, I feel like people kind of know that there's that saying 'the Patriot way'.
[Chauncey]: And I still feel like that's very evident in those locker rooms and buildings.
[Chauncey]: So, yeah, I feel like that that's very important in relationship building.
[Chauncey]: And it's definitely a good one that we decided to go over.
[Erin]: Yeah.
[Cooper]: I think we're going to jump into interaction variability now.
[Chauncey]: Cool.
[Cooper]: Another big one, like I just said, is interaction variability.
[Cooper]: It pretty much means how many different ways people interact.
[Cooper]: At Iowa and other places, people don't just interact during the games.
[Cooper]: Like when you're on a team, you're consistently around each other in the weight room, practice, film session, team meals, traveling with each other, hanging out in the locker room.
[Cooper]: I'm sure most of them live together.
[Cooper]: So you're growing up by these people.
[Cooper]: You aren't just teammates with them.
[Cooper]: So they also – and it's not –
[Cooper]: interacting on a low level at all times.
[Cooper]: They're interacting in high pressure moments, close games, and vice versa, relaxed moments, team bonding stuff.
[Cooper]: So they get to experience all those different environments.
[Cooper]: And those teammates are forced to learn how to communicate with each other, react to each other, handle stress with each other.
[Cooper]: So it's pretty nice that they can bounce off and learn from each other for those four or five years that they're together.
[Erin]: Yeah, and to go back to the social media thing, I think we're able to see the little behind the scenes of the team bonding that goes into players.
[Erin]: Notre Dame did a story two seasons ago where Riley Leonard and Xavier Watts went to the Notre Dame women's basketball game.
[Erin]: And it just talked about their bonding.
[Erin]: Even though Riley Leonard had not been there for a full year, he was a transfer.
[Erin]: Just they had bonded over going through injuries and just adversity throughout their entire football careers.
[Erin]: And I thought that was really cool to see them bond at a Notre Dame women's basketball game.
[Chauncey]: Really cool.
[Chauncey]: Yeah.
[Chauncey]: And with the Patriots, I feel like the whole Boston culture is really tight.
[Chauncey]: Like a lot of the Patriots players, Christian Gonzalez was just at the Boston Celtics playoffs game and he was hanging out with Pop Douglas, one of our receivers.
[Chauncey]: And I feel like it's kind of important.
[Chauncey]: And with that, just not only in the locker room, but they build that relationship outside of the locker room that kind of become like best friends.
[Chauncey]: So I think that's really cool.
[Cooper]: I think it's also really cool that we're able to see that.
[Cooper]: So I feel like you're able to see that on the field.
[Cooper]: Um, like Drake Maye and Stefon Diggs, for example.
[Cooper]: They're out there killing it on the field, but I think they're also pretty good buddies off the field, and you'll see them on social media hanging out.
[Cooper]: Or you got Drake Maye's wife baking cookies.
[Chauncey]: Baking.
[Cooper]: But, yeah, it's pretty awesome to follow along with those stuff and not only watch the games because you're able to see how their emotional, like, status is going into those games, like, how are they doing.
[Chauncey]: And guys, we're getting kind of close on time.
[Chauncey]: We're at the 19 minute mark.
[Chauncey]: I think we could probably wrap this up here.
[Chauncey]: I feel like we covered quite a bit of information and kind of gave good insight on our favorite teams and backgrounds.
[Chauncey]: So if you guys want, if anyone wants to lead the way here, we can wrap this up here.
[Erin]: Yeah. So today we learned how important relationships are when it comes to building a successful and winning football team.
[Cooper]: We discussed relationship characteristics, similarity thesis, support, attraction, and as well as team formation.
[Chauncey]: Well, I just want to tell the both of you guys, thank you so much.
[Chauncey]: And thank you to the class here who's going to be listening.
[Chauncey]: And enjoy your next episode of Chapter 9, Conflict and Relationships, where Sydney and Aiden will be covering Understanding Conflict, Emotions, and Feelings,
[Chauncey]: Power, and Influence and Conflict Resolution, and explain this chapter through Gregory Alan Isakov.
[Chauncey]: I think I pronounced, I hope I pronounced that right, Sydney.
[Chauncey]: And then Aiden will be talking about the Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which is a prequel to the Game of Thrones.
[Chauncey]: I'm actually kind of excited for that because I just finished Game of Thrones season six.
[Chauncey]: So I'm going to give that a watch after.
[Chauncey]: Thank you guys.
[Cooper]: Awesome.
[Erin]: Thank you guys.
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