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What Does
it Mean to be Part of a Team?
By JOHN
LEONARD
Executive Director
American Swimming Coaches Association
To become a part of a team
is a privilege. Few people ever get the wonderful opportunity to experience
the support of team mates and friends in the crucible of the competitive
arena. A team lifts and elevates the performance of an individual to heights
never before achieved. Each Individual must also recognize their
responsibility to the team.
A team is a collection of
individuals who have chosen to pursue one or more common goals. One of these
goals, by tacit agreement of all concerned, is the improvement of each
individual, which can result in improvement of the team performance. This is
true in swimming. We compete individually, but preparation for competition
is best accomplished in a team environment. No individual can create this
environment for excellence on their own. It takes a team.
There is no such thing as a
free lunch. If an individual wishes to benefit from the team, they must give
to the team. Successful teams nurture the individual, and expect the
individual to respond by also nurturing the team. Individual sacrifices on
behalf of the team are just as much a part of the team environment as team
accommodation of the individual.
The most successful teams
have some characteristics in common in terms of accommodating the needs of
individuals:
- They demand adherence to
the core values of the team. Outside these core values, they allow freedom
of individual expression. But the core values are absolute, and not to be
modified or bent for the individual.
- They recognize that not
every individuals every need can be met, but they bend over backwards to
accommodate the MOST IMPORTANT needs of each individual.
- They react positively to
the idea in action that each individual first takes care of their own
responsibilities, and then assists others in their needs.
Individuals on successful
teams also have some common characteristics:
- They give back. If they
want to be cheered for, they cheer for team mates. If they need special
attention, they provide special attention to others.
- They recognize that the
fastest swimmer and the slowest swimmer on any team have unique
responsibilities. The team will go no higher than the fastest, and will be
limited by the efforts of the slowest. The individuals put special effort
into assisting each to maximize their potential.
- They know that Rules do
not make teams, but traditions based on what it takes to achieve group
goals do make a team. The individual recognizes the power of peer pressure
when the object is right behaviour.
- Individuals recognize
that a rising tide lifts all the boats, and that it is better to make the
pie bigger than to fight for their small piece of the pie.
TEAM has been described as
"Together Everyone Achieves More". Anyone who has been on a good team will
agree with that acronym. If you are on a good team, be thankful. If you are
not, what are you doing to CREATE a good team from the one you are on
today?"
"The Team Takes Care of Me,
and I Take Care of the Team"
"Each member of a team has a responsibility to be better today, than they
were yesterday, as an athlete, and as a person. That's how teams get better"
"On our team, the fastest guys help the slower guys every day. Then when the
meet comes around the slower guys do better, but they also cheer so hard for
the fast guys that they'd bust a gut."
"Team means together. We do a lot of things outside the pool together. When
you know your team mates as people, it makes it a lot easier to support them
when it counts."
"A team is knowing other people care about you."
"We all commit easier to group goals than we do to our own. We want to not
let anyone else down....why else do we swim faster on relays than in
individual events?"
"I love my team, because they give me so much. I get to follow five other
fast women in practice each day, and that makes me faster. I get to spend
time with five other fine women outside of practice, and that shows me how
to solve problems and be a better person than I could ever manage on my own.
What's not to love? I gotta give it back, and repay my debts."
"It’s funner on a team"
"Teams double the pleasure and half the pain."
"I know people who think swimming is an individual sport. They've never
tried practicing alone."
"Swim teams are like families. It ain’t always pretty, but it's much more
rewarding to be in one." |
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