THOUGHT: What messages do we give when we honk from behind?”
On a sports team, the upperclassman are usually the captains and the underclassman do not have much say about what goes on with the team. If a freshman tries to tell a senior how to perform a skill, they are not doing the play correctly, or that they are cheating their sprints, the senior is not going to be happy. Do you feel like this is right?
“If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.
This is symbolic to a team. Teams must take turns being the big “L” Leader and little “l” leader, because we all have our moments when we are tired and worn out. We must be able to rely on others to keep the pace. A team must ‘honk’ or encourage each other to stay united and keep the pace. When a player falls out of line, a team does not let them go alone. Other team members must be supportive and go with the fallen teammate until he/she finds the strength to meet back up with the ‘flock.’”
This unknown author explains how everyone is a leader on a team very well. It does not matter what you are ranked on the team, how much playing time you get, how long you have been on the team, or if your stats are better than anyone else.
You are on a team for a reason. There is no ‘I” in team and the team cannot function properly if only one person is the leader.
Look at Lebron James. He is the best player on any team he plays for and it shows. It also shows that he is the main leader on the team. No one else feels the need to help him out because they think he can handle it all. Well, their teammates are failing to realize he cannot do it all.
Look at the 2016 NBA championship when he was on the Cavaliers and they played against Golden State. He started off strong and his teammates followed behind, resulting in a (4-3) win. Feeling confident, Lebron was ready for the next year championship.
The year 2017 rolls by, Golden State wins (4-1) making the Cavaliers look like a joke. Lebron was trying everything to win these games but his teammates were not stepping up at all. They were not “honking” for encouragement and definitely did not take a leadership role when he started to become worn out.
During the 2018 championship, the Cavaliers play Golden State yet again. At this point Lebron has done everything he could possibly do to be a leader, but his teammates failed to be leaders once again. This resulted in Golden State sweeping (4-0) the Cavaliers for the championship.
Moral of this blog, help your teammates out. If someone is injured, encourage them to keep at the rehabilitation. It will make them feel like they are still part of the team. Help out the upperclassmen and mentor the underclassman. Everyone should be working together as a team and “honking” from behind.
Written by:
Sarah Grippi
Basketball Mindset
Information came from:
http://volunteerairdrie.ca/blog/2016/08/14/the-parable-of-the-flying-geese/