Becoming A Team
Written by Cindy Clough, Coach of the Brainerd High School Kixters, MN
Owner and Executive Director of Just For Kix Camps

As a high school dance team coach, each season I hear dancers comparing past year to this one, and inevitably I always hear...."We're just not as close as last year......we just aren't the same type of team." What the dancers don't realize, is that you can't compare the bonds a team had at the end of a season to those at the beginning of a new season. It would be like comparing the relationship of a couple on their first date to a couple who had been married for years. The closeness and trust just doesn't come over night.
Following is a piece a wrote for my team in mid season....to let them know that "No we aren't the same as last year, because each year is different and unique in it's own way...but we are becoming a TEAM.
WHAT MAKES US A TEAM???
We have worked so hard, and bit by bit we are becoming a TEAM. We all play a role in this organization. Some of us are the ones pushing, some of us are the ones pulling, some of us are the ones hanging on for dear life, some of us are the ones who dust off those who fall, some of us give the pats on the back, some of us are the smile to a team mate in need, some of us are the kick in the butt when we need it, some of us are the dance team police....keeping everyone else in line, some of us are the nodders (giving positive affirmation to those leading), some of us are the cheer leaders who try to get everyone revved at practice, some of us are the comedians who keep us all laughing, some of us quietly go about the business of dancing...we don't hear you often, but we always know we can count on your dedication and presence. It takes a lot of different people to make a team....but we have all the ingredients. Try not to judge and fret over where everyone fits in, or who is doing what. JUST DO YOUR PART AND THAT TEAM FEELING WILL HAPPEN. TRUST ME!!