We are a team, and we're doing this as a team!

[Sue Trubovitz, Turbo]

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Camaraderie and sportsmanship does not mean you have to like everybody on your team. It means you hold yourself to a standard. That includes everybody demonstrating our team's goal is greater than our individual indifferences.

While I pretty much liked everybody I was on a team with. There were some people I wouldn't hang out with everyday of the week. When it came to softball our teams hung out together, on and off the field.
No loners and no-one allowed to be separate.

When going and watching games
This stands out, how many times I see a team after a game seperate eventhough the tourny is not over that day. Everyone goes in their own direction. Some click up. Have their groups. There are the loners.

What happened to team?
Why is that different from team to team?

My thoughts, strength in numbers!
All teammates are important because they are part of THE TEAM !!!
That includes presence on and off the field everywhere at softball!
How a team interacts on the field is just as important off the field while at the event.

Whats the feedback on the experiences here on heybucket? Teams that stay as a team or the ones that separate?
How does your team grow
and develope team camaraderie and sportsmanship?

[jonriv]

My daughter graduated college in 2015. To this day she still hangs out with teammates that graduated 2012-2018. Now there are get togethers, weddings etc..........

Learning to act as a team, cooperate, depend on each other is one of the most valuable lessons from playing sports

[Backnine]

On a long game break or after the last game there always seems to be someone(HC's wife usually) that want everybody to go eat at (fill in the blank ). She on the phone making reservations, trying to get head count blah blah blah. IT is Sunday afternoon and I just want to go home, get in the pool and BBQ. We have spent enough time together. See you next week. Bye.

[Defty]

I think that camaraderie among players as well as parents can play a major role in the success or failure of a team. There have been many teams put together with a ton of top talent that just can't get it done at the end of the season because, among other reasons, A) they never learned to work together or B) the players burn out because they dread showing up.

If the players look forward to being at games, practices, events, etc. I believe it can stay off some of the impending burnout because it won't always feel like a chore being there. And if the parents are content there is a good chance that there is less tension and bickering among them that would inevitably find its way to the players. As we all know, far too often parents complain to their daughters about how so and so doesn't deserve to be playing in a certain position, or how the coach is a bonehead.

As Backnine has expressed, hanging out after a long weekend isn't for everyone. Some families have more on their plates then others (i.e. more kids, an earlier Monday morning work schedule, a 2nd job, family events, etc.), and some people are just anti-social. If you aren't the type of person that can/wants to participate in the extracurriculars, it might help to let people know that you "have too much going on" and then maybe try to fit something in every now and then. It might prove to be a helpful way to contribute towards building a cohesive and happy squad.

[Sue Trubovitz, Turbo]

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To Jonriv's comment of his daughter graduating and still staying in contact with teammates. Nice! Its a great experience to develop lifelong friends. So glad my teammates graduating back in the late 1980s have stayed in contact all these years.
From alumni parties & hanging out watching college ball, to weddings, to children, then travel ball "again" for them,
teaching their children, and now college ball for my veteran teammates children.

RAD

ENJOY IT !!!

[Zoran]

Keep team together coaching decision that can bond players quicker. Useful tool with new teams each season. Helps break up clicks. Draws out shy personalities. Less issue's with players getting distracted between games.

[Schmick]

Take away their cell phones.
The girls on my kids team split in 8 different directions during game breaks .and all of then have their faces buried in their phones. Even when I go in to the kids room when she has her friends over, each one of them has her face in their phone.

I tell her over and over that when youre in someones presence and still looking at social media, youre telling the present person that you dont feel that theyre as important as the people youre not with and may not even know.

[Sue Trubovitz, Turbo]

Take away their cell phones.
The girls on my kids team split in 8 different directions during game breaks .and all of then have their faces buried in their phones. Even when I go in to the kids room when she has her friends over, each one of them has her face in their phone.

I tell her over and over that when youre in someones presence and still looking at social media, youre telling the present person that you dont feel that theyre as important as the people youre not with and may not even know.

Thanks for bringing that to the discussion Schmick.
Really an impact type statement.
In between games a team together on their cell phones is still a team?!
Do not care for cell phones on the field or in the duggout. Think that includes coaches also...lead by example.

However I am reminded of this little story with some irony in it.

A time when I was speaking to a catching student before our lesson and hadn't stepped on the dirt yet. While I was talking about important softball stuff. She did have her phone in her hand.
Then proceeded to start doing something on her phone.
I immediately asked
"What are you doing on your phone while we are having a softball discussion?"
She replied,
"Coach Turbo, I'm taking notes on what you are telling me!"

Cell phone softball tool...
If used for a right reason
applied appropriately, I'm okay with.
Probly doesnt show well tho,
especially in front of people who don't know what's going on and not in front of colleges.

[centurian]

I think that camaraderie among players as well as parents can play a major role in the success or failure of a team. There have been many teams put together with a ton of top talent that just can't get it done at the end of the season because, among other reasons, A) they never learned to work together or B) the players burn out because they dread showing up.

If the players look forward to being at games, practices, events, etc. I believe it can stay off some of the impending burnout because it won't always feel like a chore being there. And if the parents are content there is a good chance that there is less tension and bickering among them that would inevitably find its way to the players. As we all know, far too often parents complain to their daughters about how so and so doesn't deserve to be playing in a certain position, or how the coach is a bonehead.

As Backnine has expressed, hanging out after a long weekend isn't for everyone. Some families have more on their plates then others it, .e. more kids, an earlier Monday morning work schedule, a 2nd job, family events, etc.), and some people are just anti-social. If you aren't the type of person that can/wants to participate in the extracurriculars, it might help to let people know that you "have too much going on" and then maybe try to fit something in every now and then. It might prove to be a helpful way to contribute towards building a cohesive and happy squad.

See this happen also. Teams who have talent. Cant get it done. Team self destructs. Ditto coaching responsibilty. Someone needs to address problems. Resolve issues right away. Befor people dont want to show up. Worst scenario coach blind to it & no backbone. Listening to sports talk radio show heard a coach say he wouldn't let his players leave the field with unresolved issues. Ditto that.
Our home we dont go to bed angry. Takes a team to play like a team.

[xyzdude]

Don't you think that this is somewhat age related? At the earlier ages, team chemistry and bonding can be much more important in creating the fun and exciting atmosphere in which young people seem to thrive. But having fun doesn't always equate to winning it simply helps the environment be conducive to learning and development which can lead to winning. I've seen many teams at the younger ages be quite dysfunctional and still win a lot often because they have a dominant pitcher and enough offense to score a few runs. There are some teams that just seem to click. I would submit that those teams have a mix of talent, hard working players, nice parents who are comfortable with the coaching, and good coaching.

At the older ages when college recruiting comes into play, team chemistry often comes down to meeting the expectations of the player/parent when it comes to getting exposure to college coaches. A good team is one where those expectations are discussed ahead of time and the playing time philosophy is transparent and well known when you join the team.

I also believe that at the older ages, it is important for players, especially girls, to be pushed out of their comfort zone to some degree. They have to be taught to encounter new experiences and given the ability to join teams where they may not know anyone beforehand. I think that boys and girls relate very differently to these types of challenges and girls actually need to be taught at times that it is okay to not be best friends with all of their teammates and that they can play well and respect the playing ability of others even if they don't have much in common and are not going to be good friends. This is life and a particular area where it seems to me boys and girls have different natures (in general). This may not be PC to say - but in my experience it is true; I saw it with my daughters and with many of the players that I coached over the years.