I have been a coach in some capacity for the following teams: 

Highschool: 

• Mount Sentinel
• Sentinel
• Southridge

Club:

• Thunder
• FVVC
• Focus
• Jr. Heat
• Kootenay

High Performance: 

• UBC WVB
• TWU WVB & MVB
• Capilano MVB
• UBCO WVB & MVB
• Team Canada WVB
• Team BC MVB

This made me think about the importance of a badge and if the team you play for matters. I haven’t been coaching all that long but I have a long list of teams of which I’ve been a part. So if being a good teammate/coach is devotion to the specific team then I’m doing a pretty awful job. I think coaches typically talk a lot about how it means something to wear the jersey. I have been questioning that lately. 

I care a lot about the 13 girls I’m coaching right now for Jr. Heat (18U club). Early on, I even talked about how playing for the Heat means something. However, I since corrected myself. Because that was a lie. I would still care a lot about these 13 girls if we were Sky or KVC (other local clubs). 

So I landed on this: a team is who you are. Not the badge you wear. 

We recently had a recruit come to practice with our Heat Varsity MVB team. He mentioned how close his soccer team was, how they always really cared for each other, and wanted to be the best at being a team. Their cheer was “1, 2, together!” 

I stole the “together” cheer because I think it means more than “Heat” or “Spartans” or “Blues.”

Jordan Peterson, in 12 Rules for Life, explains: “It’s appropriate and praiseworthy to associate with people whose lives would be improved if they saw your life improve.” I think this is a team; everyone wants to see everyone else’s life improve. Which makes their life improve by extension.

A team is a group of people who come together and care about each other. They do more for each other than they do for themselves. A team is “together.” They aren’t just the badge they wear. 

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”