I attended the University of Maine women’s basketball game against U-Albany over the weekend (we won, Go Blue!), and as I was walking out after the game I saw a bunch of familiar faces. There was the girls basketball team from George Stevens Academy, all in UMaine Black Bears gear and talking excitedly about the game they just watched.
Seeing this group of girls, together on a Saturday afternoon outside of school and the locker room, took me back to the many team bonding experiences I had on my own high school basketball team. We did everything from team dinners to movie nights, and even a couple trips to watch UMaine hockey games (a trek, from Fort Kent) and laser tag at Great Skates. I still have very vivid memories of all of these things, so many years later.
During the season, these players and coaches become your family. You are with these people for hours in practice, on long bus rides, on the bench and on the court during games. You see them in school, in the hallways and classes, some times even in study groups or for group projects. Some weeks, you see them more than you do your family at home. It is important, given the amount of time spent with each other, to like, respect, and support each other. That is where team bonding exercises come in.
Having time outside of the normal grind of academics and athletics allows you to become familiar with each other’s personalities on a different level, which can have some positive effects on the court. A knowing look from a point guard, for example, to the team’s center can set up a play in a much different way than calling that play out. After a few times down the court, the defense may catch on to what “Duke” means as a play, but that simple look can keep that defense guessing, which leads to more points, which leads to more wins in the win column. That sort of “telepathy” can’t exist without really knowing the teammates around you.
The players you are on a team with, and the coaches you play under, will undoubtedly stay with you countless years after you graduate. I cannot go to Fort Kent without bumping into someone I played sports with, or without giving a giant hug to my former basketball coach when I see him. Take the time to get to know them, to bond with them, whether it be over an enormous plate of spaghetti the night before a game, or in the stands at a sporting event an hour away. It’ll pay off in the long run.