Loyalty Part 2

As the season progresses and more and more stories are told about the goings on of a season we're reminded of one of the most important lessons in team sports. Loyalty.

Lack of it will destroy a team, a program, and individuals. Human beings are always seeking for a way to make themselves seem more important than they really are. One way for team members to feel this importance if they're not getting a lot of playing time, or are simply a walk on is telling tales of the inner workings of a team. They do this to make others think they're "on the inside", to enhance their self worth, or maybe it's just to get laid and be cool. Sometimes there is a profit motive involved, writing a tell all book or worse getting involved with gamblers who then take that inside information and bet with it.

The consequences of telling tales out of school are irreparable. Coaches, players, teammates, friends, and other members of the team all start looking at each other differently when stories of the behind the scenes inner workings start appearing in newspapers, blogs, and gossip mills. Trust is eroded and the effects on a team's ability to be unified going into a hostile environment are diminished.

Trust is tantamount in all team sports. Players must trust the coaches decisions are correct, they must trust that play calls will work, they must trust the instructions given to them aren't wrong. Coaches must trust players to execute the plays, know their responsibilities, to do what they need to do in order to perform at a high level. Players must trust other players to perform their responsibilities and to give it their all.

If trust is eroded then all of these simple decisions are questioned. Maybe a player doesn't extend into the passing lane to deny a pass because they don't trust their help. Maybe a coach doesn't call a play for a player because they don't believe that player has worked on their game enough. All of these scenarios and hundreds more are team killers.

While you're affiliated with a team, you may think that it's cool to tell stories of the inner workings to outsiders but that lack of loyalty diminishes your true understanding of team and eventually your place in it.