Hopefully Smells Like Team Spirit got your attention and you probably have the Nirvana song in your head now. There are a lot of great things about sports, but the greatest is being a part of a team. Being a part of team through sports teaches valuable lessons and prepares our youth for the working world. No matter what professional career one has chosen, teamwork will be required. This week we’ll focus on the values that help foster teamwork and a great team spirit.
If you have not seen the ESPN 30 for 30 special Survive and Advance, please do. It chronicles the 1983 NC State men’s basketball team who won the NCAA tournament in one of the greatest upset victories of all time. The team is a great example of what can happen when true team spirit is cultivated. The coach of this team was the late, great Jim Valvano. With regards to teamwork, Coach Valvano said, “A person does not become whole until he or she becomes a part of something bigger than himself or herself.”