"Gators on three. ONE, TWO THREE!"
Those words encompassed my four years of high school. My graduating class had 500+ kids in it, so it became pretty easy to just get lost in the crowd. I remember myself as a freshman, constantly being trampled on by those superior to me, and silently getting made fun of because of my dorky haircut. It was hard to make friends that way.
But I was fortunate enough to have a day that didn't end at 2:15 p.m. I was fortunate enough to haul an extra backpack that contained the smelliest of all court shoes, and throw it into a hallway alongside 25 other backpacks that carried the same thing. I was fortunate enough to be just as passionate about something as those 25 other girls. I was fortunate enough to be a part of a team.
On its most basic level, being a teammate means sharing a court for two hours with twelve other people, running drills that were meant to make us better when it comes to game time. But after almost twelve seasons of playing volleyball, I have come to realize that it isn't about wearing a jersey or a free pass to sweat off some extra calories.
Being a teammate means laughter. What more is there for someone to do when the ball cart gets knocked over? Or when a piece of the equipment just falls over due to brute force? You can't just turn around and sternly look at whoever committed the party foul. Practice is when we get the most laughter out of each other.
Being a teammate means memories. Spending an afternoon on a bus to play a school that's six hours away can get incredibly boring. In college, some of us use that time to be efficient, pocketing our flashcards for a quick study session. In more cases than not, it's a period where we start bonding, where we find that brother or sister that you're going to spend time warming up with. These memories create lifelong lasting relationships, and who knows — maybe they'll end up standing by your side at the altar one day.
Being a teammate means doing it for the family. Through weight lifting sessions or speed training, blood and sweat will be shed, muscles will ache, breaths will be painful. But then you realize that you're not just doing it all for yourself. You're doing it for the better of your family. You're doing it so the people sharing the court or the field with you can find someone to depend on when it comes down to the match point.
And that's exactly what wearing that jersey number means.
