How to Break a Huddle
The tradition of the team huddle goes back to early American football. It was introduced by Amos Alonzo Stagg, a football player who went on to become a head coach. His coaching career lasted 57 years. Use of huddles quickly spread from football to other team sports. At the beginning and end of games and during timeouts, the team huddles together in a tight circle to discuss plays, to offer strategies and to inspire each other.
The end of the huddle is a great chance to fill the team with explosive energy and a sense of camaraderie.
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Instructions
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Break Your Huddle the Right Way
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Have all the players put their hands into the middle of the circle. Everyone's hands should overlap. This is a symbol of the team coming together and of strength in numbers.
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Give everyone a chance to offer any last bits of advice or encouragement before breaking the huddle.
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The coach or team captain will choose a cheer to end the huddle. In the pregame huddle this cheer is often longer and builds to a crescendo. Timeout huddles usually break with a shorter cheer, like "Go team" or "Hustle" or even just "Break." The end of the game huddle often breaks with a cheer of appreciation for the opposing team.
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The captain or coach counts to three and the team begins the cheer. Loudness is key. The goal of the huddle is to energize everyone, even the players on the bench. Everyone raises their hands together in the middle of the huddle as the cheer progresses and ends the cheer by dropping them back down forcefully---that's the moment when the huddle is officially broken.
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