Being a part of a team.

There's just something special about it. Having played a team sport for almost half my life, I can honestly say it's been one of the greatest blessings. Whenever I feel like I can't make it through a tough practice or a stressful game, my teammates are always there to have my back. A good teammate is supportive, motivating, a good friend, and a good communicator. They're tough, but also fair. Regardless, taking all of these qualities away, there's one specific trait that takes a good teammate and makes them a great one.

The most important quality a good teammate can have is being selfless.

There are so many different roles that a person can play on a team. Of course you have your starters-- you've got your all-stars, the human highlight reels, and the steady contributors. Then you've got the nonstarters-- the people who don't see as much court time, but show up to practice everyday just the same. You've got intense teammates, quiet teammates, and the comedic ones that are there to make the whole thing just a lot more fun. What most people fail to realize is that every single one of these roles is just as important as the next.

Good teams are the ones who win games and bring home championships. Great teams are the ones that make every single player feel like they matter.

Because in reality, they do.

You will never find a sports team that carries only the number of people that are needed to play. There's a reason why basketball teams carry twelve or thirteen players even though only five will be on the court. Not everyone is going to play, that's just a fact of sports, BUT those five players on the court would be useless without the other eight on the bench. You simply can't get better unless you practice. All of the practices are nearly pointless if you don't have good competition to push you forward.

After playing at a competitive level for so many years, I can honestly say without a doubt that I am ten times more grateful for the times I didn't play then the times I did.
In the end, those were the times that tested me and taught me more about myself, not only as a teammate, but as a person. It's easy to be a good teammate when you're having a good season or are just getting to play in general, but it's ten times harder to be a good team member when the harsh reality hits and your season means accepting that what you want may not come true.

We all want to play, that's obvious. Everyone wants to be in the role of the starting line up, but at some point in your sports career, you won't be. You have to be mature enough to understand that what you want isn't always what the team needs. Being a good teammate means always putting the team first. It's incredibly difficult, especially if putting the team first means before yourself. That's why good teammates are so hard to find. That's why they're so special.

When you learn to embrace every role of a team, even the ones that no one really wants, that's when you take a true step forward. When you realize that the team success is always more important than your own individual accomplishments, that's when you truly become selfless.

That's when you become a great teammate.