Michelle Valencia
Staff Writer
When participating in school sports, it is important and even sometimes necessary to have good bonds with your fellow teammates. To do this, some teams have created rituals and team bonding activities that allow for more connections and motivation for each member of the team.
Teams such as the football team and both girls and boys basketball teams, all have their own traditions done in season or not. Whether it is a simple pep talk given by the captain or coach or an elaborate end of game celebration, all of the teams try to have some form of team rituals.
“I think that it is important to have team specific rituals or traditions because it brings us all together while also reminding everyone to stay motivated to keep going while playing as a team,” junior Margaret Fleming said.
Sandy sports teams are known to have a tight and unique family dynamic, this can be due to all the traditions that are constantly being done that have allowed for teams to fortify their connection as a whole.
“I love the bond that the football team has, both on the field and off of it. We have a lot of special rituals that we do as a team like before each game we made sure to say a prayer in the locker room, occasionally we all went out and ate dinner together, we even did a camping trip as a team over the summer,” junior Riley McVicar said.
While some teams have numerous rituals, only a few have continuously been used throughout various seasons.
“Since freshman year of school ball I remember having little things that we all partook in, like creating a circle and pushing someone in to hype them up before the start of a game,” Fleming said.
Outside of the court, teams are also getting together to form outside of sport connections.
“We also have team bonding dinners which is nice because we all have the chance to get to know all our teammates if we don’t already or if we do, to create tighter bonds outside just the game,” Fleming said.
Having special team activities and rituals can sometimes be the key to making the perfect team dynamic happen on and off the field.
“I know it can be cheesy to say but I consider the football team as family. In part I think it greatly has to do with being put in a team with other people that love the sport like you do but on the other hand I think the additional activities and team rituals we do are really the glue that makes sure to unite and strengthen the friendships between all the players,” McVicar said.
To have a successful season as a team, it is crucial to also have a working team dynamic by doing team rituals and team activities it pushes for more team bonds which will ultimately benefit the team.
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