In my eight years of playing softball, I learned something special to me, which holds true today in whatever I pursue-the importance of the ability to be a team player.

I learned no matter how much players hated each other off the field, they were still teammates on the field. Impossible as it may seem for teenage girls, I’ve seen it happen.

I’ve seen enemies hug each other after a big win because they were able to put aside their differences and respect each other’s ability to play a game.

During one game, my coach told me to play a position I normally didn’t play. When I voiced my disgruntlement, he told me I was thinking only of myself and not the team.

I was to play that position with all of my capabilities because that’s what the team needed me to do. My focus was to be on the team, and not myself.

I always thought of myself as a team player, and that situation really opened my eyes to the sacrifices people have to make sometimes for the good of the team.

Even if you don’t like your role, it is a role which needs to be played, and no position is better than another. Have you ever seen a game with a missing link? It’s quite noticeable to the players, too.

I’ve seen teams contain so much potential, and yet still lose every game because they could not find a way to work together.

Individual players will have good plays once in while, but pieces of a puzzle mean nothing without the others connecting to it. Or, if the worst happens, (which I have had happen to me) the team is more than willing to work hard and have a great season, but they lack leadership.

A team without a coach is like a tree without roots. There’s nothing to stand on, there’s nothing to grow from, there’s chaos.

And the same goes for a coach without a team. You would think the coach would do everything within their power to keep that team together, and learn how to find success. I’ve seen a coach unwilling, and I know it doesn’t make sense, but it happens sometimes.

Without a designated leader, the team faces extreme difficulties in cooperation. When something is missing in a group, people find it unconsciously. It’s a survival mechanism.

But it’s up to the leader to decide if they want to or not.

Leaders who are shoved into the position do not lead well because deep down, they think of themselves as another follower. When it comes to leadership, inspiration derives from within.