Professor Wilson
English 111
25 September 2014
A Team Player In some point in life, everyone is part of a team. Whether you’re on a sports team, in a group for a project, or part of a team of employees. But, how does someone act as a team player? In order to be a team player do you have to just be a part of the team? Or do you have to actually participate? Being a team player means reaching out to your other team mates, and working with them to help your team better at what they do. A team player is defined as “someone who willingly works in cooperation with others.” Some people also say that a team player is someone who goes above and beyond in all tasks. But, it’s much more than that. I think in order to be a team player you not only have to cooperate with others, but you have to be able to listen, be helpful, be there for your other teammates, be open-minded, and be committed. Not acting as a team player could have a huge effect on your team, because every single team member helps make a team, and without a certain player, a team might not be a whole. A good example of a team player is Babe Ruth, and he once said “The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club wont be worth a dime.” This helps us understand that one person can’t make a team and that everyone must be involved; In order for everyone to be involved the team mates must have a connection, and in order to have that connection, the team mates must all act as team players. Another key factor to being a team player is a good attitude, and a good personality. Without a good personality, the team might not be able to have a good connection. Also, having a good personality includes being friendly, positive, and motivated. Being friendly can help your team out when another teammate is down, or not in a good mood. Having a good personality and attitude can help lift them up, and help them see that being positive will help them with any situation they encounter. Mia Hamm stated, “I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.”Although she’s saying the team is the ultimate champion and not the individual, each individual needs to act as a team player in order to be an ultimate champion. If a team player is always positive and motivational, it will help with their team’s outcome. As I have grown up I have been on multiple teams between sports, school, and work. I have realized that it doesn’t only mean that I have to cooperate with others. I was on a soccer team when I was younger, there was a girl that I played with that didn’t act as a team player; But she was still called a team player, which did not make sense to me. It seemed unfair that the other girls and I had to do all the work and put in all the effort, but she was still praised by our coach and fans. This girl cooperated with our other teammates, but she was never there when we needed her. She didn’t show up to practices, and she wasn’t someone we could go to when we needed someone to talk to, or help us. Although she was part of our team, she was definitely not a team player; but why did she call her self a team player? Why did our coach call her a team player? What made her think that she actually did anything to help our team? People assume that just because they pay to be on a team, or get accepted to be on a team that it means that they can do whatever they please, when really they need to participate and get involved with their other teammates. However, paying to be on a team does act as being a team