I have always held my teammates close to my heart. No matter what sport I have participated in, or activity I’ve chosen to become a part of, the team becomes like a family to me. On good days and bad, they have put up with me. They cheer me on through my successes and support me through my struggles.
Through wins and losses, we have grown closer and with each day of practice our bond grows stronger. They have seen me smile and cry, they’ve made me laugh uncontrollably, and they’ve probably made me mad a time or two. But through it all, my teammates have stuck by my side and I have created friendships that are unforgettable.
When I first started sports, I was fairly young. Like most kids in my small town, we all played any sport we could find. A lot of the teams were co-ed and I made friends with a lot of the kids that I would be going to school with growing up. Your first teammates are usually just blurry faces in memories, but the feeling of being on a team for the very first time with all of your friends is pretty unmistakable.
For both girls and boys in the community, sports were where you met your first friends that often times, led to who you would run around with for the rest of your childhood. As I look back on this, I can’t help but smile and recall those kids I grew up playing soccer, T-ball, basketball and doing ballet with. We wore baggy jerseys and crooked grins in all of our team pictures, with hats that were way too big for our heads, and awkward poses for our parents' button-pins. But those days are the first glance into what athletics are really about.
As time continues, sports start to take on a different role in your life. A role that is more time consuming, more competitive, where hobbies turn into passions. The one word that comes to mind when remembering this shift is: Tournaments. Spending weekends away playing sports with your teammates, that at this point were more like chosen siblings, were the best days ever!
We learned the true meaning of wins and losses in those first few tournaments, and we developed relationships with our teams that only come from long days filled with our sports. Whether it was playing eight hours of basketball, or going into extra innings in Cal-Ripken baseball, I’m sure most kids can recall what those weekends with your friends were like. Teammates truly took on the form of friends on these long weekends. And let’s face it, traveling around with a group of your best friends at age 10 was the coolest thing ever back then.
Your teammates in middle school and high school are probably a lot more prominent in your memories than anyone else. For me, most of my memories from those years all include some kind of sporting event with my teammates. Whether it was going to camps in the summer, or that very first time we got to swing up on varsity during basketball, I can still remember the long talks on the benches and the people I share those moments with.
My teammates helped shape me as a person, and allowed me to see the good and bad of my actions not only in sports but also in daily life. We learned more about each other through losing then we ever did winning. My teammates taught be how to lead, and how to follow; how to not be selfish and how to overcome challenges. They taught me that harder practices are better with someone you love by your side, and a mutual hate for a workout will somehow make everyone feel better that day. It's during this time in school and athletic careers that we begin to find our passions and are drawn towards the people who share those passions.
We talked about what sport we would go professional in, with absolutely no doubt in our minds. We experienced complete heartache when we lost our winning streaks and uncontrollable joy when making it to the championships of a tournament. Our friendships were built upon the base of athletics, and we began to be more than just teammates.
Now, while in college, the word teammate has a little bit of a different meaning for me, once again. I have brought up how teammates are like family, but until college I never truly understood the implications of that. I spend hours every day with my teammates and coaches. The coaches take on a roll of parents, and my teammates are like siblings. That first day of practices may have been the most awkward day of my life. Sure, we may know people on the team, but it would be a stretch to say that I had friends on day one.
As the weeks went by, I started to get to know people and develop relationships with people I may never have met if it weren’t for my sport. As I grew closer with my teammates I realized that I had never seen a truer form of friendship up until that point. College athletics is tough, and there are days where practice is the last thing you want to go to – but my teammates were my motivation. I wasn’t just doing sports for myself anymore, I was doing it for my teammates as well. That intrinsic motivation to support my teammates, and receive that same support from them has kept me moving forward time and time again.
We have had finals week where we show up to meets with our books, bus rides where tests are being taken, parties missed due to early lifts, and although it may not always be ideal…at least we’ve had each other along the way. My teammates have lifted me up through some of the hardest days of my life, they have shown me love and compassion in times where I may not have been on top of my game. Strangers have turned into family in a matter of a few short years, and the memories I have with these people are truly unforgettable.
My teammates hold a special place in my life that is hard to put into words. For many athletes, I think this is true. I have found my bridesmaids and wedding guests, the future god-mother’s to my children, the people I can’t wait to visit when we are all “grown up”, and the people I sure as hell hope I don’t grow apart from. Thanks to sports, I have a whole other set of family members, and friendships that will last forever. I have grown to be a better person because of my teammates, and I hope they know how grateful I am for that.
