Practice. Games. Team bonding. Pasta nights. Lunch dates. Dinner dates. Hotel rooms. Different states. Different countries. Events. Fundraisers. Friendship. This all is a huge part of a team.
When you are on a sports team, you are committing to much more than just enjoying your hobby or talent with them. You are committing to a lifelong friendship that cannot be broken. A bond that cannot be explained. And many, many memories that stick forever.
Practicing 6 or 7 days a week for hours after school in elementary, middle, and high school adds up to so many memories. Even in college, the amount of time spent with the same people never gets old.
Practice makes some of the best times of your life. Laughing, crying, working hard, getting hurt, talking, encouraging, critiquing, it's all apart of the bond. Every day after school, each and every teammate would share their stories for the day. Each one of us would be with each other day in and day out, it became second nature.
Messing up in practice and pushing each other every single day taught us commitment, hard work, and teamwork. When you are with the same people every single day, you learn how to work well with them. Do arguments occur? Of course, but the bond between the team is unbreakable.
We are one.
When competition or game season comes into full effect, other things come into play. Traveling around the country or world with your team is definitely a huge asset to the concept of family. Sharing hotel rooms, having meals together, road trips are just a tiny piece of the memories.
During those trips, we made more memories than anyone could imagine. Your team gets to unite outside and inside of the sports aspect of it all. When competitions and games are in season, teammates learn the real definition of hard work and dedication. If your teammate messes up a routine, misses a goal, or strikes out at bat, you learn how to overcome the challenges faced and work together as a team.
Hard work. Failure. Commitment. Determination. Goals.
Your team becomes stronger with all of these qualities day in and day out. If you have the chance to become a part of a team, it will teach you many, many different things valuable for life.
As Michael Jordan says, "Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."
