When is it time to say goodbye to your teammate? Never.
Throughout your athletic career, each of your teammates will be graduating and/or advancing to a new level in life. Even though they will not be officially a part of your team, your former teammates are still valuable to you and your team. Maintaining and building upon the positive relationships you have created with them, can contribute to your success and the success of your athletic program.
She’s a has-been.
She’s no longer a part of the team. What is she doing here?
We don’t need her anymore?
Once a part of a team, always a part of a team. When teammates advance to a new level in their life, apart from your team, they should always feel welcomed back. The relationships that you have built with them should be sustained, not discarded.
Remember, building and maintaining relationships is an important part of life. The best relationships are those between people who have shared good and bad experiences with for long periods of time. It is the people who you have these relationships with, who can provide the support you will need to help you transition from one stage of your athletic, personal, and/or professional life to another.
Who is better to fit this description than your former teammates?
Think of your former teammates as older siblings moving out of the house. Even though you may not see them as much, they are still there for support.
They are there to continue to cheer you on at your games.
They are there to encourage others to support your team.
They are there to financially donate to help your team.
They are there to offer you guidance.
They are there to connect you to future opportunities.
Former teammates can be your biggest supporters.
Therefore, I encourage you to keep the relationships with your teammates after they’ve advanced from your team. Do this by keeping in touch with them; encourage them to continue to come around you and the team; show appreciation when they attend games; show each of them honor for having achieved a significant milestone in each of their respective lives; respect them by realizing they are still valuable assets to you and the program.
One final thing, sometimes in your life, it will not be about what you know, it will be about who you know, who knows you, and what they know about you. Who have gotten to know you, your good and bad self, more than your former teammates? So, let all those wins, and loses, you’ve shared hold you together throughout your lifetime.
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Browse my website geralinelhandsome.com (Athlete’s Voice to Integrity) for more information about how to become a super athlete.
About the Author: Geraline L. Handsome has developed a passion to help high school and college athletes of team sports discover their identity. She is a former Women’s Basketball Player for the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). There she earned a B.S. degree in chemistry/mathematics. She has a MBA from the University of Phoenix. She is an Environmental Scientist and the mother of two. She is the author of the book Sins of One Woman’s Mind and was a Huffington Post Contributor.
Geraline L. Handsome has developed the Creating the Super Athlete Course (Audio/Video), a product designed to help parents and coaches help their athletes develop attitudes and character that will enable them to perform better in their sport, in the classroom, and in public.
