No matter what your skill or experience level, YOU bring something special to your team. There IS at least ONE thing you do better than anyone else on your team. Make it a point to give whatever it is you have each and every day. If you don’t, who will?

Truth: After EVERY game you should know that you did something to help your team that day, whether you played every pitch or none at all. If you can’t think of anything you did to help then you didn’t do your job.

EVERYONE has something to contribute!

Posted by Toby on Facebook…

There is a girl on my daughter’s HS softball team, that has not gotten into any games, even the blow out games, who cheers on her teammates all the time. The other day my daughter Melanie told me that when she hears this specific girl yell out, “Sit her down Mel!” when she has a full count on a girl it gives her such a good feeling inside and it motivates her to strike out the batter…. You are so right about every teammate can give something to the team.

I have also seen this type of situation with my own eyes: players lacking in skills finding big ways to contribute to their team.

Find a way every day.

If they can do it so can you. No excuses!

The only difference is, in real life, instead of a win or loss being at stake, you may be talking about your livelihood. It may be the difference between having a job or not having a job, being able to put food on the table or not being able to put food on the table, being able to take care of your family or not being able to take care of your family, etc, etc, etc. I think you see the point.

In “real life” the stakes are much higher and yet, some adults just do NOT understand what it means to be part of a team effort. I can’t, for the life of me, understand why some insist upon making it about THEM. It’s not about you! Why can’t these people understand that if they do NOT put their own personal issues aside and work WITH the people on their team (whether they like it or not, whether they like these people or not), they may lose things in their life that are VERY important to them.

Isn’t it ridiculous for a team member to want to drum up sympathy for themselves because of something another team member did months ago? Especially when you have a potentially devastating challenge in front of you that you need everyone’s united efforts to overcome?

Why tell Cindy and Mary and Jane all about your sad story when the issue you have is with Jill? Only Jill can makes things right, the others can’t fix things for you. Going around to your other teammates to tell them about what Jill did to you way back when isn’t going to help your team accomplish their goals!

I’m not saying you don’t have a legitimate gripe with Jill. Maybe you do, but that’s something that needs to be straightened out with Jill, not with Cindy, Mary, and Jane. In fact, by spreading the word about this personal issue you have with Jill, you will probably take your teammates focus off of what they need to be focused on and that,obviously, will only hurt the team’s efforts.

Seriously. Can you imagine what a team would be like if everyone decided to sit there and grumble about every other member of the team who ever did something they didn’t approve of or who had ever wronged them in any way in the past? Talk about D-R-A-M-A! Yikes! That team wouldn’t stand a chance. If you don’t think it’s a good idea for everyone to be sitting around doing this, you can bet that means it’s not right for even ONE person to be doing it (not even you).

I understand that there will be times when you feel very wronged. I understand there will be times when you just don’t have respect for a teammate because of the way they conduct themselves or because of the choices they make or for any other legitimate reason. But these types of situations don’t only happen on the field, they happen in life too. The bottom line is, these people are on your team. When you are seen by those outside your team, you are judged as a WHOLE. No one on the outside knows who said what about who or who disrespected who in the past and they don’t care. All they see is one team that is either a strong unit or a weak, divided one. Are you helping your team be a strong unit? Or are you part of why your team is weak and divided?

Look, if you have a problem with Jill, talk to Jill. Your team gains nothing when you try to bring a team member down in the eyes of the other team members. That’s all talking badly about Jill with your other team members is going to accomplish. All you do is weaken that person as a member of the team, and you know what they say, “You’re only as strong as your weakest link.” So why try to weaken members of your team? Not a smart move to say the least. I just don’t get people who insist upon trying to get attention and sympathy for themselves by bringing down other team members. It’s not the best way to play this game. It’s not the best way to live life. I’m not saying you have to accept or condone all the actions of your teammates, but there are times when it’s necessary, for everyone’s sake, to put those things aside for the time being (not saying you have to forget about it forever), so that you can work together, be the strongest team possible, and accomplish the goals everyone on the team wants.

If you want to have a great season, if you want to do what’s best for you and your team…

Think before you act. Think before you speak. Everything you say or do either helps your team or hurts it. There’s no in between. Know what you want for your team, for your season and always think about whether or not you’re moving toward that or away from it with your actions and your words. Make sure what you say and what you do moves your team closer to it’s goals.