All across the country, high school weight rooms and locker rooms have three to five key words painted on walls, on signs or displayed above doors. Usually, these words are a vision for how the coach wants the team and players to act; hard work, sacrifice, brotherhood.

I always wonder, if a stranger walked into your team’s locker room and asked all the players individually to list the words, how many could? More importantly, if asked what the words mean, how many would give a definition that did not align with the coach’s vision when that coach posted them in the first place?

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I have often heard that when teaching there is ‘what is said, and what is heard.’ I am a believer in this concept and the importance of context and unified definitions. This is where the shared mental model comes into play. I think it can be an invaluable tool for raising performance and team unity.

The shared mental model was a concept one of my mentors shared with me. In their program, they worked with the players to list 10 singular words that represented a physical or mental action (and key, this is not about culture, but about action and performance) and explained each with a powerful and emotional definition.

These 10 words were then posted all along the facility and the definitions were shared with everyone in the program. To create a true team, this is also important. The coaches, players, managers, doctors, trainers and strength and conditioning staff were all to understand and know these 10 key words.

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During practice or on the game field, communication was streamlined and singular words were yelled to achieve desired actions or focus for the good of the team. One of their team’s examples was the word “bounce.” I have been to a lot of different practices for different teams in my current role at USA Football. Everywhere I go, if an athlete falls down, the coach yells, “get up, finish the drill.”

Where the shared mental model adds strength is by using “powerful and emotional definitions.” In this example, “bounce” meant, “relentlessly get off the ground and rejoin your teammates in the play.” Now, anytime a player hit the deck cries of “bounce” rang out, and players scrambled back to their feet to link up with teammates and make the play.

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Not just in practice, but in games, too, the sideline would yell, “Bounce!” Imagine the power of your team doctor along with all of the players who are in the bench area yelling, “Bounce!” after a player had lost their feet. Players are energized by the power of the group and a unified vision for what is to be done.

One that I have used in the past was, “Again.” Again meant to “capitalize on the emotion to dominate but refocus on the task at hand.” Let’s say it is second down and 6 and our defense makes a tackle for loss. The crowd goes wild and the players are celebrating and congratulating each other, even the sideline is alive with energy. Suddenly, one player remembers that we still need to stop them on third down to get off the field.

He takes a deep breath, steels his eyes and shouts, “Again!” The other 10 players hear it, they repeat it and all yell “Again,” they all take a deep breath and focus on the task at hand without losing the emotion or momentum. Again!

This is a simple tool that any coach can use, and it’s one I highly recommend. It can be useful for the coaching staff to come up with the themes or values of what they wants to accomplish this upcoming season, but it’s important to let the player have ownership over the words. By doing this, you're allowing them to create and choose words that are meaningful and powerful to them.

Work together on the definitions to create strong connections using powerful words that convey emotionally what we want to do as a group. Give these in handouts, insert them in your playbook, post them in the locker room, film room and weight room. Allow the model to be shared with all who are involved in your program and make sure everyone sees it and reads it so often, it becomes second nature.

The shared mental model is a simple and easy tool to ensure everyone knows definitions of actions and our values are shared. It's a great tool to drive performance by letting everyone know what is expected through streamlined communications.

Andy Ryland is senior manager of education and training at USA Football. A former Penn State linebacker and member of the U.S. men’s rugby team, Ryland helped develop the Heads Up Football and Master Trainer programs.