Crew is a sport where teamwork is particularly important to success.
Team sports require so many things out of the players involved to succeed, not only physically but also mentally. One of these mental aspects that is essential to success is the ability to work with others. Without it, players and coaches alike will find themselves struggling to move forward toward the goal of the sport. For example, without proper communication in a sport like football, it is impossible to move the ball forward in a position to score. Along with communication, multiple key factors play into a team and its ability to work well with one another. Each of these factors will either make or break the results of a team.
One of these abilities which is quite important is the capability to flow together, or in other words to be able to understand what your teammates are doing without explicitly saying so. This can lead to the element of surprise when facing an opponent, so they won’t know what to expect. Not only is this ability useful for strategy within sports, but it also ties back into the communication aspect of teamwork.
Moving on, an important thing to note is that for a team to progress, each individual player needs to recognize that each member is working towards a common goal. To reach this, there needs to be some sort of sacrifice of personal success for that of the team. What separates a good team from a great team is the presence of a selfless attitude within each player. This is a vital attribute needed to be shown, and this means that players would rather have team success rather than individual accolades. A real teammate realizes that in the grand scheme of things, all that matters is the team’s growth and success. While personal achievements may feel great to produce, the only thing
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson (former coach of the Chicago Bulls).
Additionally, the feeling of your teammates giving their trust in your actions may help boost confidence during a sporting event. When a person knows that their team trusts them to the fullest extent, this can often lead to an increased level of performance. Some people may think that sport is all about skill or talent, but I would argue that confidence is as important (if not more) as pure talent. If an athlete has all the talent in the world but no confidence whatsoever, this will dramatically decrease their ability to perform at a higher level.
In conclusion, I believe that winning cannot be done at an individual level in a team sport setting. Every member of a team needs to add their own contribution in order for the team to function smoothly. However, all of this is easier said than done, and it can be quite a challenge to organize a motivated team of players to execute the things mentioned above. In the end, as long as the effort is made to build an effective team full of players who are motivated and committed to one another, I believe that is the greatest achievement a team can have.
“Group of Sports Players Huddled.” PxHere, https://pxhere.com/en/photo/1206210. Accessed 30 Jan. 2023.