THE REAL STRENGTH OF OUR TEAM

It takes more than five players to make a winning team.  The starting five may win the game, but it takes the whole team to win the championship - to go all the way.

The team is like an iceberg.  You see the starting five, but underneath it is that big, wide, strong base - the rest of the team.  This is the part of the team that builds the character of a lasting winner.

The more dedicated the player on the bench, the harder she works, the more she pushes and strengthens the starting players - the higher she pushes the iceberg out of the water - the bigger it gets - the better the team.

If she quits, doesn't give her all, or becomes complacent in her position, she erodes that strong base and erodes the character of the team.  She contributes to the error in a tense, close game.  She is partly to blame for the mental lapse in the final minute of a big game.  She undermines the total effort necessary for the team to come back from an unexpected 3-pointer in the final few seconds in the championship game.

And yet this player on the bench must be there - watching, waiting, and hoping - sometimes agonizingly - for the chance to use her special skill to better the team effort - to make the base of the iceberg stronger - to help build the character of the team.

Yes, agonizingly because she knows there is a chance she may not play.  She may even be the player that is hurt, but working twice as hard to be ready to play for the big games.  She may be the player on the bench that demonstrates to the fan that this team really has character from the bench to the court.

But even more importantly, she may be the girl that the player in the game looks to late in the game.  That player may be hurting, out of breath, and burning inside for that spirit, that push, that enthusiasm, and that love necessary to make the big play and win the game for the whole team.

When the game is over, when the season ends and all of the parents and fans are talking about the top of the iceberg, the stars and heroes, the players will know that the real winner is the team, the whole iceberg, especially the base - the players on the bench who build the character to make the team a lasting winner.

Good teams do not become great without the efforts of their role players.  I know your importance to this team…and I thank you.

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