The Teamwork Spirit

Buse was a good volleyball player on her high school team. She had started playing two years ago and took the sport very seriously. While competing in interschool matches, she realized that her team wasn’t strong enough to beat other teams. She believed that if she improved herself, she could lead her team to victory. With this in mind, she began playing for an amateur club during the summer break. Her biggest dream was to achieve good results in amateur leagues and win the championship for her high school team. To achieve this, she committed to a rigorous and challenging training schedule for three months. She had a big goal: she had to lead her team to victory this year. She was determined to do whatever it took to win the championship. Training, extra matches, motivation, team harmony, and physical balance were all topics she worked on tirelessly. She was even willing to sacrifice her entire summer break for this goal.

Although she hadn’t gone to the summer house with her family or spent time at the beach, she had made significant progress in volleyball. Achieving this progress required her to endure many challenges. For instance, the atmosphere in the amateur club was nothing like her high school team. The cheerful environment, friendships, and mutual support in her school team were her sources of motivation. On the other hand, training sessions at the club were rather dull. Nobody laughed or joked around. The players barely spoke to each other unless absolutely necessary. Buse struggled to adapt to this environment, so when the summer break ended, she decided to pause her club activities. She thought she would continue solely with her school team for a while.

When school started and she resumed training with her high school team, Buse immediately noticed that her team was weaker than she was. When her team lost the practice match at the end of training, she couldn’t contain her frustration and spoke to her coach in front of everyone.

"Coach, no one takes this as seriously as I do. Playing on such a weak team has lowered my performance too. Let’s face it; we can’t win the championship with this team!"

When Buse finished her words, she noticed the silent gazes of her teammates and realized she might have gone too far. Then, her coach's response struck her deeply.

"Buse, volleyball is not a one-person game. No matter how strong and talented you are, if you can’t adapt to your team, you won’t have a team to play with. Your lack of harmony can make you the weakest link in the chain. A good team player strengthens the team as they grow stronger. They share their knowledge and skills with their teammates. Together, you can succeed. But if you demoralize your team because you think you’re strong, you’ll all lose together."

When Buse quietly said, "You’re right, coach," she realized there was no one left around her.

Her coach continued in a softer tone:

"Now go and make amends with your team. Try to regain their trust. I also want you to think about the difference between 'true success' and 'ambition' by tomorrow. If you want to be a good athlete, you need to understand these concepts well."

Feeling embarrassed, Buse nodded and replied, "Okay, coach," before heading toward the exit. She was so ashamed of facing her teammates in the locker room that she briefly considered going home without changing. But she decided against it. "The longer I delay, the harder it will be!" she thought and turned toward the locker room to apologize to everyone.

In life, we all strive to be successful. Sometimes, we become impatient and overly ambitious in achieving our goals. Some goals can be easier and quicker to reach alone. However, there are other goals that cannot be achieved without unity and teamwork. While climbing a mountain alone may take less time, reaching the peak of a very high mountain is impossible without a strong team. Coming together isn’t always easy, but it’s highly rewarding. Once a person learns to progress as part of a team, they can go far beyond what they could achieve alone. After all, only those who unite can rise.

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                      Experiential Design Teachings and Decision-Making Themed Blog

Experiential Design Teachings aim to give purpose to a person's life.

To be happy and successful in life...

"Since the existence of humankind on Earth, the greatest friend and foe have never changed. The person in the mirror..." 

Yahya Hamurcu 

Who’s Who? The Art of Understanding People 
Mastery in Relationships 
The Psychology of Success
Mastery in Avoidance
Designer (Strategy Design)

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