This whole new age of a rampant social media presence has been a pivotal driver to the scope and amount of information people can access - global issues, the latest music, and all Kardashian family Instagram accounts included. The most exciting part for me in all of this, has been the quick and easy access to all sports news and highlights, making it easier to stay up to date when there are 87 games broadcasting, but you can only really watch one.
Within this new world of social media, the demographics for people who own smartphones seems to become younger each year. As someone who used to substitute teach, I have seen a lot of Grade 6 students with a newer Iphone than I have. Is this a problem? I’m not exactly sure, but I do believe it has had an effect on our future athletes. There are so many Instagram and Twitter accounts that post “Hoopmixtape” highlights for pretty much anybody, and I’m not sure if any sports videos compares to the pure ridiculousness of some basketball highlights I’ve seen. As a fully self-aware basketball player, I enjoy a lot of these “Ballislife” shenanigans, but from a perspective of pure comedy. I have often debated whether or not these videos have even come from real basketball games. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) circuit in the states is well-known for sometimes being equivalent to the Fresh Prince of Belair’s idea of what basketball looks like (Thanks Will Smith). Kids are becoming very educated on how to do a Shammgod crossover, but their team basketball IQ has also taken a major hit. My favourite Youtube video of all time is the 2014 San Antonio Spurs tribute, where it outlines literally one of the greatest displays of team basketball ever seen in an NBA season. The Spurs have always attributed this to the unselfish character of the guys on the team, and always emphasized that the chemistry they had extends from having a team full of superior teammates. Our youth players are unintentionally, or perhaps subconsciously becoming less than desirable teammates, because they have more access to instruction on how to be a good 1-on-1 player than they do on how to be a good team player.
Was I a great university basketball player? Not exactly. Was I a damn good teammate? I’m going to say sure. You can’t be a good team without good teammates, which sounds obvious. What is not obvious, is HOW to be a good teammate for a lot of younger players. I think back to my 5th year playing for UNBC, achieving the university’s first ever playoff win, none of which would have happened without 15 guys who were willing to sacrifice everything for each other, just to have that success. I want every kid who dreams of playing college basketball to realize that you can’t have success without understanding what it takes to be a part of a winning team. I was blessed to have teammates in highschool who sacrificed so much to make me look good, and it’s probably the only thing that got me on a University team. Those boys helped me realize what it takes to have a team operate effectively, and how I could do my part to help UNBC succeed, even in my first year getting limited minutes. These values are what the next generation of athletes (not just ball players) need to understand. Great teammates create great teams, and great teams create great players. I’ll never forget our playoff runs at UNBC, and every kid deserves to have moments like that in their career. To me, a winning culture is developed by having these certain values:
Check Your Ego at the Door
Confidence is a key part to being an elite athlete. That being said, all athletes have an ego, and having control of it is what makes you successful. I have no problem with trash-talking, or obscene competitiveness. Neither of those attributes make you a bad teammate (Patrick Beverly is a good example). The problem is if those traits are from a place of privilege, because ego-fueled outbursts are very different from ultra-competitive behavior. When you walk into the gym for practice, there should only be one thing on your mind and that’s getting better as a team.
Competitive nature helps practice stay intense, and the more game-like intensity you have, the better. Having a unified goal, (ex: that we’re going to work our asses off to be the best team we can possibly be) helps to develop a winning culture. Concerns that are outside of practice must be compartmentalized. Thoughts like: the minutes you’re playing, stat averages, and other individual aspects of the game can occasionally create an egotistical player. Are some of those issues ok to have? Absolutely, but practice time is team time, not your time. Elite players speak with their coaches outside of the gym about individual issues and goals, and it’s almost a guarantee to have some form of issue with how your coach views your personal play. These issues shouldn’t even get to enter practice, and it’s good teams that realize the value of their time together, and how to use that time to benefit, TOGETHER. I remember my dad (my high school coach) once saying to me in practice that “this isn’t about you, this is about us, it’s only about us right now, it can be about you after practice”. I don’t remember what I did, but it probably had something to do with a 35 ft three-ball I hoisted.
Be Competitive, and Leave it in the Gym
This section is entirely dedicated to my old teammate Jeff Chu, who was easily one of the best teammates I could have ever asked for. Jeff was seriously the most competitive guy I’ve ever met. It didn’t matter if it was a Halo free-for-all on the Xbox or a playoff game, the man wanted to win. Jeff is a tenacious defender and a well-known cheap shot artist, making it easy for him to get under other guys’ skin. He would do this in practice all the time, frustrating guys to the point of maximum anger. This was who Jeff was, and it made practices that much better because guys needed to play with an edge to be able to deal with him. Off the court, you can depend on him for literally anything. He routinely picked me up for team activities and was such a positive influence on my life. He had all the qualities that a successful team leader needs to possess. What we soon realized about Jeff is that we were blessed to have him on our team, and not be playing against him, notably due to all the hissy fits opposing teams would throw in response to him. The best part about Jeff was that as soon as we hit the locker room after practice, no matter what happened, he’d go out of his way to tell you how well you played, or how much better you were getting. This was always appreciated because he would usually have already given one of us the business for a full 2 hour practice, sometimes to a point of full mental and physical exhaustion. Jeff’s antics in practice sometimes led to scuffles and skirmishes, but after the dust settled, we would always look at each other and realized the absolute FIRE he brought out in our team. Jeff was the heart and soul of our team, especially during our school’s first ever playoff appearance during my second year of playing. He made us realize how to compete, how to play with an edge, and how to lead a team into war. Raise your kids to compete like Jeff Chu, but also raise them to lead like he did.
Band Together, No Matter the Circumstances
Every year in pre-season at UNBC, we would run intervals of the Prince George “Cutbanks”. The Cutbanks is a sand hill on the side of a cliff that is literally as steep as a double black diamond ski run. Freshmen routinely suck at this because they have no understanding of the pacing it takes to get through the workout, which results in them being on their hands and knees gasping for air and not moving. My first time ever running the Cutbanks, I suffered the same fate every freshman does, tiring myself out in 2 minutes. However, Charles Barton (one of our seniors) decided that he was going to drag me up that hill so I could finish the workout. I asked him why he’d do that extra cardio just so I finished in a timely manner, what he said changed my perspective on pre-season workouts. He said “I want to prove myself to you guys, I always do”. Chuck made me realize that it’s really about conquering that goal together, he always killed those workouts to set an example for us. I took that mindset and ran with it. I wanted to show my teammates how hard I was willing to work to make us a better team, and in turn they’d be willing to battle for me. We had so many workouts and 6 am practices that just sounded horrible on paper, and you could always expect a rebuttal from the team when those got scheduled. You’ll always have those ugly workouts, coaching decisions you don’t agree with, and weird practices. What helps you circumvent those issues is remembering who you’re fighting for - it’s not your head coach, it’s not the fans, it’s your brothers and sisters standing with you when the national anthem plays before tip-off. Come in every single day and prove yourself to your team, show them you’re willing to sweat and bleed for them, and they’ll give it back to you.
Be a Leader
Although I’ve covered this in different sections, that is because this is a concept that I truly think is the summation of what being a great teammate is. Leadership comes in many different forms, some have more weight and responsibility than others. Leadership has no age requirement. In my mind, if you’re a freshman who is winning runs, practicing to the best of your abilities, and listening and retaining information, consider yourself a leader. Vocal leaders are more of a rare breed, I can’t say I was ever a vocal leader until maybe my 5th year. I was always blessed to have guys like Dan Stark take on that role and perform it incredibly. However, I will always remember how Billy Cheng led our team. He was a special mix of all styles of leadership, with an emphasis on always sticking together. I remember having several rough stretches of practices/games in my 2nd and 3rd years playing on the team, and those sorts of situations can really bum you out. Every time I went through one of those slumps, I’d get an essay text message from Billy. This message was always gassing me up, talking about how much I positively impacted our team, and how good of a player I was going to be when I have that break out game. Was he lying to me? It literally doesn’t matter because I had my break out game almost immediately. Billy gave us confidence, he made me and so many other guys feel like a big deal. That same year Billy tragically tore his ACL, ending his University career injured and unable to compete in his farewell tour for UNBC. I personally felt horrible about it because it wasn’t the ending he deserved, even though he took it on the chin better than anyone else could have. Before our next weekend games, Billy messaged me again, this time it wasn’t an essay. He said “it’s your team now brother, go out and own it, we all have faith in you”. I hit 9 3’s the very next game. The most important part about being a leader is giving your teammates CONFIDENCE.
Play With the Cards You’re Dealt
Great teams have great role players, just ask the Toronto Raptors. Playing with the cards you’re dealt is a metaphor for finding a role on your team based on the talent and abilities of your team. Toronto is a great example of this, guys like Marc Gasol and Kyle Lowry are former all-stars who had to fill a role alongside Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam. Finding your spot on a talent heavy team is usually difficult if you are used to having more responsibilities. This type of sacrifice is the type of unselfishness you need to be a championship squad, being able to realize your position and role on a team isn’t easy to do. Self-awareness is something that escapes a lot younger ball players, as they struggle to visualize themselves inside a team system, as well as what they can do to contribute to playing within that system. What is often visualized more is “what move am I gonna go to when I finally catch the ball?”. This type of thinking is robotic, and unintentionally very selfish. Good teammates study the system they’re being put in, let the ball come to them, and make plays that are within their role. Keep in mind that everyone’s role on a team is different, some players have the green light to take more shots or be more of a playmaker than others. Do you want to have that top scorer role? Put the time in to earn that role. You want to guard the toughest guys in the conference? Show your coach how bad you want it. It’s unlikely that everyone on the team enjoys the role they have been placed in, and that is something you can discuss with your coach over the course of a year. However, when you are handed a duty to perform for your team, you must absolutely do your best to excel at it because that is the best way to expand your role on the team.
Steve Novak had a great quote on getting more reduced minutes when playing for the Raptors in 2013. A reporter asked him if he was mad about his minutes, to which he said: “of course I’m mad, but I have no right to be unprofessional about it”. In my last year playing for UNBC, we had a massive amount of talent sitting on the bench, that could be starting or getting big minutes elsewhere. They knew that, but they also knew how much support and positivity our starters needed. Those boys made the ultimate sacrifice for guys like me, and I know they’ll have an ultimate payoff for their sacrifice that season, high character and professionalism like that takes you far in life. Do coaches improperly place players in certain roles? Absolutely. Should you have consistent communication with your coach about role definition? Absolutely. An important aspect of post secondary sports is having a good relationship with your head coach, and choosing a school with a head coach that can share your vision (If you are blessed enough to do so). Aligning individual and team goals is important, having a realistic path of progression for yourself is also important. If you’re coming out of high school wanting to play post-secondary sports, make an effort to talk directly with coaches. Be proactive in finding your best path to success, and how your coach can help you get there.
Your high level goals in team sports cannot be achieved without the rest of your team, that concept should be simple enough to understand. Team players can always adapt, they take the situation that’s been presented to them and find out how they fit into the puzzle. Some puzzle pieces are bigger than others, but you can’t complete the puzzle without every single piece. University athletics is usually structured in a way where you have to serve your time on the bench, and prove your positive impact before you get to step into a larger role on the team. So when you’re ready to talk to your coach about your role on the team, ask yourself if you’ve consistently sacrificed for your squad. Coaches make mistakes, but your team deserves your positive impact no matter what you’ve been asked to do as a player. When you display the tendencies of being an outstanding teammate, you provide more value than you think. If you’ve put in the work then bet on yourself, your teammates will back you up.
Shoutout to my Timberwolves Brothers.
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