Team Spirit
Swen Nater

There’s a difference between “teamwork” and “team spirit.” In sports, “teamwork” happens on the field, court, and rink. It’s physically doing what is required to help make the collective effort of the group successful. That’s my definition. (Webster probably didn’t play sports so he didn’t know.) “Team Spirit” is not so physical. Coach Wooden defines team spirit as, “An eagerness to sacrifice your own interests and glory for the welfare of the group.” If that is true (Who’s going to argue with Coach?), team spirit is prerequisite and foundational to teamwork. In other words, without an eagerness to put the team before yourself, you will never be a team player. You will, at some point, perhaps during a moment of pressure, take care of Number One and forget about the team.

Let’s analyze Coach Wooden’s definition of “team spirit” (which Webster couldn’t even get close to matching). He is saying, a person that truly has team spirit has done the math and came up with an answer. He has weighed self glory, which promises public recognition of individual talent and statistics, against being part of a team, where no one cares who gets the credit. He has done the math and made a decision that he would much rather have the latter than the former. He would much rather be considered a part of the whole body contributing to a winning effort, than a great individual player on a losing team.

Steve Garvey said,

“The difference between the old player and the new player is the uniform. The old player is concerned with the name of the front. The new player is concerned with the name on the back.”

When team spirit is not present, it leaves a void that is gradually and deceptively filled by a cancer called, “Ego Spirit.” I had a late start in basketball, not even being on my high school team. But in college and the pros, I played on a total of 11 different teams and for 14 different coaches. I’ve seen team spirit and I’ve seen ego spirit, and I can tell you, if you’re not careful, it can go from one to the other before you know it. Here are some ways to build team spirit and nurture it to full health. 

The 4 Dos and 4 Don’ts of Team Spirit

Do Obey the Coach
When the coach speaks, be quiet and listen with eye contact. Follow instructions and ask questions if you don’t understand. If you don’t agree with something, talk to the coach privately, between practices.
 
Do Work as Hard as You Can
Work hard and concentrate hard all the time. Make the effort to do your very best at all times.

Do Compliment Others
Give tribute to a teammate that beats you. Recognize the effort and accomplishments of others. What goes around comes around, and when it does, strong connections and respect between players begin to grow. This is the very fiber of team spirit.

Do Improve Yourself and Others
Improve yourself every day. Make the effort to be competitive so you challenge others and put their skills to the test.

Don’t Ever Say a Negative Word About the Coach
Never, never, never criticize the coach in front of your teammates or your parents. This is the most common way teams are destroyed from within. At times, there needs to be a coaching change. There are proper ways to handle those situations and the players should never be part of any such effort.
 
Don’t Try to be a Character; Have Character
You may think, being the team clown, is a role that you are called to fulfill, but don’t be fooled. You are going to be the one looking silly and stupid. Have the character to know, humor has its place.

Don’t be a Part of a Clique
Unfortunately, a team is naturally ready to be divided into polarized sections. There are the starters and the bench players, main scorers and the supporting players, one ethnic group and another ethnic group, rich players and poor players, popular players and not popular players. So, there is every opportunity to create your own clique. To do so will surely destroy a team. Everyone that is on a team is a member of that team. Fight against the urge to “be with your kind.” You are already with your kind—your teammates.

Use the 4 Dos and 4 Don’ts of Team Spirit to give it birth and to make it grow into a powerful force that becomes the culture of who you are as a group. Webster defines “Culture” as: “The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious or social group [that’s a team]” (Webster did better with that one.)

After reading this, you might say, “Swen’s a dork.” Webster defines dork as “foolishly stupid.” Well, maybe he got that one right.