Teammates

A friend of mine recently passed along a newsletter from a business here in Omaha and wanted to know my thoughts. Since I felt so strongly about the information, I figured I would share it with more than just one person.

Here is what was written in this "tip" to their customers:

"Look at your teammates....when they are on the field, they are not your friend."

When I initially read this, I had to go back and read it over again to make sure I didn't miss something. Did this person really just say that your teammates are not your friend?!?

Now, this was an article about hard work, and what it takes to be the best. I am all for hard work, and absolutely getting after it in your workouts. I don't think most kids work nearly hard enough, and most don't even know what hard work really is. That is one reason why it's so tough to advance on to play collegiate sports, and even more difficult to play professional sports. Working hard is relative though, because if everyone worked hard, then hard would just be average!

With that said, I couldn't disagree more with the statement above. When you are on the field, your teammates are your teammates. You put aside your differences. Look at A-Rod and Jeter. It is no secret that they aren't the best of friends. You don't have to be best friends with everyone on your team, but when you get between the lines, you are working together as a TEAM to play the best you can. You pick each other up, you encourage each other, and you work together. There is an acronym about team that says, Together Everyone Achieves More. I love it. It is not just a bunch of individuals out for themselves. To me, looking at your teammates as your enemy is a great recipe for failure. I would hate to be in business with someone that felt that way, and even worse, I would really hate to be going to battle with someone thinking like that.

To wrap this up, I encourage people to outwork everyone else. I always tell my athletes that just being the hardest worker in the class, or in their grade, or in their school is not enough if you want to be great. That is very small in the grand scheme of things. If you want to be THE BEST, you have to outwork the rest. That means, in your city, in your state, in your region, in your country.

If you play a team sport, then be a good team-mate. Know your role for the team, and do it to the best of your ability. That is what sport is all about.