Friendship, Professionalism, and Fair Play: Lessons Learned Off the Pitch

Author Code:	G.I.
Role in Project:	Workshop & Theory Coordinator
Solidarity Project:	Social Inclusion: The Power of Sports
Funding Programme:	European Solidarity Corps (ESC30)

Dimitris Alepliotis, ESAI EN ROI Youth Worker; Youth Leader

    ESC30 Solidarity Project   SOCIAL INCLUSION WEEK the power of sports

      20/10/2025 to 19/10/2026    025-1-EL02-ESC30-SOL-000348134

Youth Group: Dimitris ALEPLIOTIS, Genovefa IOAKEIMIDOU, Panagiotis KELELIS, Zoi-Viktoria VATSI, Angelos ALEPLIOTIS

Working with friends is a blessing, but it can also be a trap. Our Workshop Coordinator, G.I., shares an honest look at how "friendship bias" almost derailed our team coordination.

Our solidarity team wasn't a group of strangers put together by an organization; we were a close-knit group of friends who decided to make a difference in our city. We believed that our existing bond would make project coordination seamless. My role was to design the educational and theoretical side of the project—workshops on fair play, anti-racism, and respect in sports. But as we launched into the heavy workload of weekly sessions, our organic "we are friends, we will figure it out" approach began to crack.

The Friendship Trap: Blurred Roles and Burnout

In our first few weeks, we suffered from severe role ambiguity and an unequal distribution of work. Because we were close friends, we hesitated to assign tasks formally or hold each other accountable. We assumed everyone would jump in naturally. In reality, this led to massive confusion. Some members were overwhelmed with administrative, logistics, and on-field tasks, while others were unsure of how to contribute, leading to frustration and early signs of burnout.

Tempers flared, and for a brief moment, the stress of the project began to spill over into our personal friendships. We realized that our lack of formal structure was hurting both our project and our personal bonds.

The Intervention: Structuring Our Success

Recognizing the danger, we called an urgent meeting with our project Coach. It was an honest, emotional, but incredibly constructive session. We laid everything on the table and realized that structure is not the enemy of friendship—it is its protector.

We formally mapped out everyone's roles on a digital dashboard (using Trello and shared sheets). We established fixed weekly coordination meetings and clear ownership over specific deliverables. For my workshops, this meant I had dedicated support for printing materials and setting up rooms, freeing me to focus on creating interactive, impact-driven activities on Fair Play and diversity.

"By putting our roles on paper, we removed the emotional weight of coordination. We stopped guessing who was doing what, and started acting like a professional team."

The Ultimate Teamwork Lesson

The biggest lesson from our journey is that good intentions and personal friendships are not a substitute for professional organization. A Solidarity Project is a real-world enterprise that requires clear processes, explicit boundaries, and systematic division of labor from day one.

Once we embraced this structure, our team dynamic soared. We didn't just deliver a highly successful series of anti-racism workshops and tournaments; we saved our friendship and learned how to collaborate as professionals. To any group of friends starting an ESC30: build your structure first, so your friendship can shine