The Great Intangible -- Being a Teammate

This year's squad.

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  When you're on the sideline, you tend to notice the little nuances about your team. You see the things that make it 'tick'. The good, the bad, the ugly. It amounts to being an outsider, with inside information.

  You see interactions and chemistry in a new way. Not being on the court during games and practices gives you a different perspective. The emotion of the game is taken out of it, so you can see things for what they are.

  It also makes you see and remember all the things it requires to be on a great team. And miss all the things you don't have.

  I guess it's true: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."

It's Not a Right
  I look at being on a team as a privilege. It's not a right. Especially as you grow older.

  As a kid, everyone is on a team. You sign up, you get a jersey. Easy as that. As you get older, maybe you have to try out. Teams get a more selective as the talent gets better and better. But as a pro, and even as a collegiate athlete, they ask you to be on their team.

The Intangibles
  I think there are two qualities that make or break your chances of being a member of a team as you get deeper and deeper into your playing career: 1) talent, of course, and 2) being a great teammate, having the intangibles.

  If you have both of those qualities, it's very likely you'll be asked to be a part of quite a few teams in your day. Your career will be a long one. There won't be a team out there that doesn't want you on their squad.

  If you're a talented athlete only, and not a stellar teammate, chances are you'll still be sought out quite often to be a part of a team. Pure talent overrides attitude and intangibles in many cases. But after time, your reputation will catch up with you, and the well will run dry. People, coaches, managers, etc will catch wind of your unwillingness to be a teammate first.

  On the contrary, if you're just an okay athlete, but a great teammate, your career will be just as long, if not longer. By being a great teammate, you can make up for any downfalls you have as a player. 

  What makes a great teammate?

Probably the best 'team' I've been a part of.

Positivity
  Having a positive attitude is A, number one. I think it goes without saying, but you'd be surprised how often athletes are mired in negativity. Through thick and thin, a great teammate remains upbeat, and encouraging.

  Seasons are long, and there are a lot of ups and downs. Whether you're playing well, or not (or maybe not playing as much as you'd like). A great attitude can push you towards playing even better (or more).

  Looking from the outside, a negative attitude (pouting, disinterest, lack of effort, etc) is the fastest way to get yourself a selfish player label. 

Tireless Worker
  Great work ethic and positivity go hand in hand. And often times, they're both contagious. You talk, your teammates talk. You go out of your way to help a fallen teammate up, they're going to be more apt to do the same. You see your teammate working their tail off, you turn it up a few notches, to either match their effort, or surpass it.

  And a hard working team can't help but be successful. 

Make Your Teammates Look Good
  You make your teammates better players. I think it's a teammate's responsibility to do everything they can to help their other teammates succeed. Rotating over to help out on defense (there's nothing worse than seeing an opponent stroll in for an uncontested layin because no one rotated to help). Setting a solid screen (even if it hurts). Making a perfect pass, so all they have to do is put the ball in the bucket.

  Being a great teammate is also the willingness to go the extra mile (or kilometer, since I'm in Europe) for your teammates every time you step onto the court.

  Each member of a team has a role. No matter how big, or how small , for a team to be successful, those roles have to be fulfilled each and every time the ball goes up. You want to pull your own weight, do your job and not let your teammates down.

  Look at your role as your job. In order to do your job, first, you need to know your role. What is expected of you? What are your team's strategies, both offensively and defensively? To me, letting down a trusting teammate is the worst feeling on the basketball court.

Intangibles lead to celebrations -- Como.

Team First
  Putting the success of your team before your individual success. Are you trying to win the game, or are you trying to score 20 points?

  Sometimes you have to sacrifice a little personal success for the betterment of the team. Whether it'd be playing fewer minutes, making the extra pass, taking a tough defensive assignment, or maybe playing a different role than the one you initially had in mind (all the while keeping a good attitude), there are numerous ways to sacrifice for the good of your team.

  You cannot play with yourself, and only yourself, in mind. If you do, you might as well go play tennis, or golf.

Trust
  Through all these elements, you and your teammates develop a trust. A trust that you'll be there when the chips are down. Whether you're tired, hurting, or on the contrary, completely healthy, you'll be there. They can count on you, and you can count on them. It has to go both ways.

  And trust, to me, is the crucial key to playing on a successful team. But it all starts from you striving to be a great teammate first.

  It's not always easy, but it'll be well-worth it!

  Playing on a team, and having great teammates, is a special situation. I think I've taken it for granted when my teams have had 'it'. But not every team has it -- where each member is striving to be a better teammate. It's what separates good teams from bad. And great teams from good.

  But it's those the teams, those seasons, you remember with a smile.

Decisions, Decisions

Playing in Poland.

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  Every Spring, about this time, my anxiety level rises to its yearly-high. Summer is quickly approaching, and my basketball season starts coming to a close. I'm sure you're wondering, what's exactly to be anxious about?

  The end of a season marks the end of another contract. And with the end of a contract comes decision time. Do I play another basketball season in Europe? And if so, where? It's the case where one question leads to another. And then another, depending on how you answer each preceding question.

  Decision time, it seems, is coming earlier and earlier each year. It used to be that I didn't even think about the following season until I was in the midst of my summer/off-season. I would play it by ear. See what opportunities arose, both in the US and in Europe, and go from there. But more-recently, I have found that teams are making inquiries about the next season earlier than they have in the past. Or maybe, it is me that is wanting an answer earlier and earlier every year?

Love my summers!

  On the one hand, it's great to have your destination for the upcoming season in the books. You can enjoy your summer, and not worry 'will I have a team to play for?' as the off-season progresses. Call it job security. You know exactly where you will be come September, so you're able to focus on your workouts, and enjoy spending time with the family and friends you miss-out on seeing seven or eight months out of the year.

  But if you're wanting to see all possible opportunities, both on the court and off, you want to try to delay Decision Day as much as you can. The further you get into the off-season, the more teams have contacted you, giving you more on-the-court possibilities to choose from. While you're fielding inquiries from potential teams in Europe, it also gives you the opportunity to put out feelers into the 'real' world, and see what the working world has to offer.

Beautiful -- Dunkerque.

  Networking and navigating the US job-market is a difficult thing to do while in Europe. The time change (I'm nine hours ahead of my home timezone!) makes direct contact a difficult feat. It's something you really have to be committed to. And relying on email isn't going to cut it. Taking into account the number of emails people receive each day, the likelihood that they want to answer your job-market questions becomes minuscule. So networking becomes far-easier when you're on US soil.

  Are these excuses? Maybe so. Maybe I just need to put forth more effort.

  One thing I can say without hesitation, is that I've always had a difficult time turning down a good contract. If it's a good opportunity/location, the money makes sense, and you still love to play the game, how can you say no? Especially when you have nothing else lined up (as in, nothing solid waiting for you when you return home to the US). I've never thought that was good business to turn down a job. Maybe I'm too cautious that way.

Great teammates -- Sweden.

   So how exactly do I go about making that yearly decision of whether to play another season?

  First and foremost, am I healthy? As a professional athlete, your body is your money-maker. And if you aren't able to cut it on a consistent basis, it might be time to find a new profession.

  Secondly, do I still love what I am doing? If you wake up in the morning, and you dread going to practice, or you no longer have the passion to put in the extra work, chances are you aren't
going to enjoy yourself as much as you should be.

  These are the two major questions I ask myself before I make any sort of decision. There are other factors that affect my choice as well, such as potential teammates, location of team, previous experiences, and so on. But health and passion for the game, will always remain the two deciding factors.

Germany.

  In all likelihood, you're not going to find something that tops the profession I have right now. I have to say it's a pretty great gig. But it isn't forever either. So when does it become the time to start writing a new chapter?

  Some people have their mid-life crises, or quarter-life crises. I, on the other hand, like to have my annual life crises. :) One thing that eases my mind is reminding myself that there is NO wrong decision. Whatever I choose, I will be successful at it, and I will be happy. But with professional sports, it's something that you want to be 100% sure about. When you're done, you're done. There's usually no going back once you've called it quits (unless your name is Brett Favre). So you need to be sure. And the contrary is true as well. You don't want to play a season too long, and not have your heart in it.

Fun experiences abroad -- Sweden.

  For nine years I have chosen to play 'one more season'. Maybe I should make it a nice round number, and go for season 10. What do you think?



 




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Team Chemistry: Still Learning After All These Years

Singing the CU fight song after a W.

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  As the team bus was pulling up to the gym Saturday night for our game against La Roche, I had an interesting thought: every Winter, since I was nine years old, I've been a member of a basketball team (that dates back to 1990 for those of you doing the math).

  And I thought, each and every one of those years has been like riding a roller-coaster.

  No matter how much experience you have, you never know what to expect because no two teams are ever the same.

  Even after 22 years (?!?!), I've yet to tire of being on a team. The basketball is roughly the same year in and year out, but the dynamics of a team are always changing, and always keeping you on your toes.

Learning Experiences 
  Basketball aside, you're constantly learning about yourself, and learning about your teammates. So that's why, to me, being a part of a team (any team), can be one of the greatest learning experiences you can have. You don't learn just about basketball, you learn about people, and through that, you learn about life.

Easter 2001 with my Buffs!

  I can still remember my first uniform ever--purple t-shirts from the YMCA. I'm sure everyone remembers their Y-ball days. My dad was our coach, and he taught us the basics about the game. You know: the fundamentals (how to dribble, shoot, etc.), spacing, the pick and roll, give and go.

  But we also learned the basics about teamwork, and how to be a good teammate: sharing, communication, encouragement, working together.

  Of course, as we get older, the game gets more intricate, and the personality of a team grows more complicated. But the most-important aspects of playing on a team never change.

  If you don't have the basic fundamentals of basketball honed and sharpened, you can't play the game at a high level. The same goes for being on a team. If you forget the basics of what goes into being a good teammate, chances are, your team won't be as successful as it could be.

Team Chemistry 
  You can never predict what a team's chemistry will be like. Just like you can never take it for granted. Team chemistry to me, is basically how well people get along on AND off the court. It's unrealistic to expect every person on a team to be best of friends. Personalities will clash; that's only normal. When that happens, it's important that differences are put aside for the betterment of the team.

  Many times, a team's chemistry is what allows it to overcome its opponent. Chemistry is immeasurable, but it might be the most-important intangible a team can have.

Having fun with my teammates in Sweden!

  Each team I have been on has been drastically different in that regard. But I've always found, the closer a team is off the court, the better they play together on.

  You'll go that extra mile, and work that much harder next to someone you like and have a mutual respect for, versus a teammate you don't necessarily get along with.

  The same way you can bring friendships and chemistry onto the court, you can also take what happens in games and practices, off the court. You can grow your friendships with teammates through the difficult, funny, or memorable situations that you face together on the court.

  Some of my favorite memories with teammates and friends have come after re-hashing particularly difficult practices, and being able turn those moments into things we can laugh about.

  By comparison, bad team chemistry, would be when you take a negative experience off the court and bring it onto the court, and vice versa. It's not rocket-science, but it's important nonetheless.

  Two of the most successful teams I've ever played on were extremely close off the court, and I believe it led to us working that much harder together, and that much better together on the court.

Close Team = Successful Team

Team dinner in Como.

  My Colorado teams from 1999-2003 grew from being a tight group of friends that lost more often than not (my freshman year), to a team that could get through almost anything together.

  We advanced as far as the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament, my junior year, and the Sweet 16 my senior year.

  The same can be said for the first professional team I played on in Como. Even though we came from all corners of the world, we enjoyed spending time with each other off the court, and we enjoyed working together on the court.

  What started out as a difficult season, losing games we necessarily shouldn't have lost, resulted in a team (that wasn't the most-talented in the league) that won the Italian Championship at season's end.

  Here are some other valuable lessons I've learned through participating on basketball teams throughout the years. Things I will always take with me, in every aspect of my life:

• I've gotten better at learning how to lose (that doesn't sound right). Maybe learning from failures sounds a little bit better. Losing is never easy, but it used to consume me. Now I try to learn from it.
• Win graciously. Act like you've been there before, act like you've done it before.
• While you learn from failures (losing), success (winning) is what keeps you going. You need to experience the positives along with the negatives to keep pushing yourself.
• I've learned what you CAN, and CANNOT control. Usually all you can control is yourself! You can try to lead your team to change, but a leader needs people to lead! Kind of sounds like the old adage: 'you can lead a horse to water...'

NCAA win -- nothing better!

  I've said over and over again, that being part of a team is one of the greatest, most-special experiences you can have.

  The friendships and camaraderie are the obvious benefits. But what you will learn from your teammates, and will experience is probably the most-rewarding benefit of them all.

  Do you think team chemistry can be 'fixed'? Or is just a natural thing, where, whatever will happen, will happen?

Your Experiences With Team Chemistry
  Is there an aspect about teamwork, or being on a team that I missed? And I mean any kind of team. Your team at work; that's a team! What things do you learn from your teammates or co-workers? And how important is chemistry in the workplace?

  I'm also wondering about the differences in the importance of team chemistry within men's teams, versus women's teams. I can obviously only speak from one perspective, but would love to hear the contrary!

CU Alumni game -- still all the best of friends.

  Please, let me know your thoughts and experiences about being on a team, and how it has benefited your life, and how you have grown from it.
 

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