The spring sports season started about a week ago, and this year I decided to do crew (rowing). Before this point, I had always been able to distinguish team sports from individual sports, like basketball and soccer from golf and tennis. Nevertheless, I didn't realize until today, that the ultimate team sport is rowing.
In soccer, the team consists of 11 people, in different positions, responsible for different actions, but the scorer is always credited solo. The team wins, with the help of [insert name here]. Of course, there are people who assist the goal, and people who pass the ball through the defense of the opposing team, but they don't get as much credit as the last person to touch the ball before it flies past the goalie's hands.
In rowing, the 8 rowers, and the coxswain, all need to be synchronized, focused, and attentive. The rowers don't get individual credit, the glory is shared equally. A rower cannot row faster than the rest of her team to show off her skills, because she would mess up the other rowers, alter the direction of the boat, and cause harm to the equipment. Everyone works together, in the deepest meaning of the term, to reach victory. Everyone, is motivated by each other, and everyone is physically and mentally under the same pressure and responsibility.
There is no I in TEAM.*
*doesn't apply to school group projects
Lots of almonds,
-Belle