Youth Sports
What makes someone a good teammate?
It’s not just playing well. Some of the best players in the world are terrible teammates. And some of the players who don’t score much are the best teammates on the team.
Let me give you the short list of what a good teammate actually does.
Read this passage slowly.
Be kind and compassionate to one another.
Ephesians 4:32 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Good teammates cheer for each other. When someone on your team scores, you celebrate like you scored too. When someone makes a mistake, you say “it’s okay, get the next one” — not with a face that says you’re disappointed in them.
Good teammates pay attention. You listen at practice. You know what your team is trying to do. You show up ready to work.
Good teammates are honest. If something is wrong — if you got hurt, if you’re struggling, if someone is being mean to another player — you say something. To a coach, to a teammate, to someone. Good teammates don’t just ignore hard things.
And good teammates keep going. When the game is hard, when you’re losing, when everyone is tired — good teammates don’t quit. They keep running. They keep trying. And that attitude is contagious. When one person keeps going, it helps everyone else keep going too.
Be the teammate you wish you had.
Which one of those things — cheering, paying attention, being honest, or keeping going — is hardest for you?
The honest answer points to the growth edge. Don’t shame the answer — affirm the honesty.
Be the kind of teammate you wish you had.
Consider having kids pair up and tell their partner one specific thing they will do to be a good teammate this week.