A New Second Family
photo by Sky Stockton
Every athlete knows who they’re on a team with matters. Teammates spend copious amounts of time together, from try-outs and practices to camps and travel games. The team someone plays for becomes a huge part of their experience, and for some, a second family.
Madison Scott, 12, has been running cross country since she was in 6th grade. During her time spent on the team, she’s had teammates of all different ages, grades, and social groups. But no matter what differences these athletes had coming into the season, they all grew together through being on a team.
“The cross country team is very close-knit. Even though it’s individual, we’re working together and pushing each other at every practice,” Madison said.
Being part of a sport is all about the connections between teammates, and team bonding plays a huge role in this process.
The cross country team at regionals huddles together as they wait for their race.
“Cross camp is always super fun and an interesting experience, especially your first years. You’re getting to know a lot of new people—who, for the most part, you haven’t known before this—while pretty much living with them for four days,” Madison said.
During camp, the team spends a few nights at Warner Camp. They go on runs, have kayak races, do team building exercises, and spend lots of time getting to know each other. This pre-season time brings the group closer together so they can excel during their season.
A team that supports and roots for its individual athletes boosts both morale and performance. Furthermore, it creates a closeness on the team. Lots of athletes use sports as their outlet, so the bundle of a sport they love mixed with a team that supports them creates the feeling of family.
Claire Caplea, 9, joined the cross country team this year. While transitioning from middle school to high school, she had a summer of cross country practices—a perfect opportunity to meet new faces before the school year started.
“I feel like all the kids on the cross country team are very welcoming; we’re like a family and involve everyone,” Claire said.
During the season, Claire met both new best friends and role models to look up to that she wouldn’t have if not for cross country.
“Our captains did a really nice job of involving the freshmen, the new-comers, the runners that are faster and slower, and everyone in between. We were all able to come together as a team,” Claire said.
On the other hand, Troy Pratley, 11, moved to St. Joe at the start of his junior year. He had to join an already well established football team and figure out how he would fit in.
“It was a lot of proving myself, doing it all over again,” Troy said. “Proving myself to coaches, to other players, to students and parents. It was difficult but kind of fun at the same time.”
Once the initial pressure was through, Troy quickly grew to know his teammates and became very involved with the team.
“We did a lot of team bonding in the summer—more bonding than actual football stuff. I got to know the guys as people instead of as football players before the season started, which was nice,” Troy said. “The guys were great and we had a good year.”
For most football players, a lot more goes into the sport than practices and drills. The team unites themselves throughout the year with various activities. From their summer camping trip to “Monday night football,” an off-season tradition where the team gets together once a month to play games and catch up on life, the team has lots of time to grow closer together as one family.
No matter what sport an athlete plays, they know that win or loss, they have a team to fall back on. A group of friends to face intense practices with and to celebrate big victories. In a teenage world full of stress, schoolwork, and drama, escaping to the comfort of a team is something that unifies all sorts of students. The bond of a family-like team and the lessons learned through them are irreplaceable to athletes everywhere.