Not everyone can become a great player; everyone can become a great teammate.
Long ago our middle school girls lost a game against a team from Tewksbury. One girl stepped forward saying, "We lost because I played terrible." But her teammate Bella went to her and gave her a hug, saying, "we win together and we lose together." Great teammates support each other.
Teammates bail each other out on the court, too. Bill Russell said that John Havlicek bailed him out on April 15, 1965.
Great teammates have high character. Pumpsie Green broke the color barrier for the Boston Red Sox in 1959. That didn't mean that he was accepted. Many institutions were segregated. Green often couldn't eat in a restaurant with teammates, eating on the bus instead. But a young man himself, Bill Monbouquette, often grabbed a tray and ate with Green, because it was the right thing to do. My wife got that story from Monbo in a beauty salon where he accompanied his wife.
In Teammates Matter, Alan Williams discusses his walk-on experience at Wake Forest. He makes the team but doesn't get a black-and-gold Wake 'numbered' team bag that all players get. The equipment guy excludes him. But later he finds one in his locker, with the star player's number on it. And when he has to try out for the team again as a junior after a coaching change, his teammates come to support him.
Great teammates put the team first. Geno Auriemma shares a story about a player who came to UCONN with one thought, scoring. If she didn't have the ball, she wasn't engaged. So gametime arrives and he sits her for the first half. At halftime he asks her, how many rebounds did you have? How many assists? How many steals? "Zero, same as you had yesterday at practice." In the second half, she comes out and gets a triple double. She becomes a Final Four MVP.
Excellent teams share vision, share purpose, and share sacrifice. They attend to details that make each other better. They look out for each other. Remember the African proverb, "I can go faster alone, but we can go farther together." And find joy in being the best teammate possible.
Lagniappe (something extra). What is our commitment to greatness? "Leave the jersey in a better place" is a central theme for the All-Blacks.
Lagniappe 2. "Kids inherently want to be good teammates."
