Team Chemistry

I am playing basketball in a summer league, and our record is 4-1. From practicing with my team, and playing together in games, we are a pretty deep team. All our team members can score, and we have some big game players. This is my first time playing for this team, so I do not really know anyone and do not necessarily have a leadership role. But the team has different personalities, and I do not think our coach took the time to have us get to know each other. He just had us start scrimmaging on the court to figure out how we all like to play.

But when it comes down to who does the talking, and who we listen to, there seems to be some varying attitudes about that. The main reason I look forward to playing organized ball, is playing as a team and learning how to help each other play their game, and improving as a team as well. The point of my post is that sometimes I do not see that happening. It was apparent to me that one of my teammates was disgruntled about his playing time or the amount of touches he got in a game. I can understand that too. He is 6 feet something, has good footwork in the post, and is in division where not too many people match up well with his size. He has been limited to playing defense. He is a bit younger than me, so maybe he has room to mature, but I do agree that he should get more touches.

As a result of his time on the floor and experience in games, he has not really displayed good attitude, but like I mentioned, I can see where he is coming from. The coach makes decisions where he thinks the players he puts on the floor will have the best chance of winning the game. But it is not just what happens during game time, but what also happens during practice. This is also a Christian basketball league, so if anything we should be "reaching out" to others to smooth out conflicts.

I definitely appreciate what all my teammates bring to the table in terms of skills, and all of us can improve in certain areas. I appreciate the fundamentals, and feel that they are seriously overlooked. And a team with good fundamentals can easily dominate a game in our league. Any way, I love the game of basketball, and I do get discouraged when I do not get a lot of playing time or the opportunity to play through droughts or tough spots, but I respect my coaches decision, and I just look forward to the next practice and game.

I <3 basketball, until my body breaks down....lol