Teamwork makes the dreamwork

By Jasmine Sinlao

From the months of January through February, boys and girls basketball is in session. Each team plays at least ten games against other high schools that are in the same league as us. Currently, YB’s boys basketball is in B league with girls basketball in C league.

Last year, varsity boys basketball went 8-4, having 8 wins and 4 losses. Many of the boys on the team are in basketball because of the thrill it gives them. Some are in it for their love for the sport.

Aldo Barragan, a senior in Yerba Buena High School, is in the sport for the thrill: “I like playing basketball because I’m competitive. When I score or block someone, it makes me feel good.”

All teams, whether a sports team, a cheer team, or the debate team, require teamwork. Without teamwork it can be hard to fulfill the purpose of winning state regionals, or in this case, basketball games.

According to the article “The Psychology of Winning” from website Gale In Context, James Naismith- a Canadian-American innovator who invented the game of basketball in 1891- believed that the way the game was played was more important than winning.

Aldo agrees that winning isn’t as important, as long as the whole team plays like a team.

“The bond with your team is as important as winning. Winning isn’t everything. You can win games but you might hate everyone on the team, so it’s not fun anymore. But if you have a bond, even when you lose, you’ll still look back and say “Damn, that was fun,” he responded.

Majority of basketball players share this same mindset. Referring to the same article from Gale In Context, even Micheal Jordan had hard times working as a team. At first he would rely on himself, scoring point after point. His team still didn’t always win, but once Jordan learned to work with his teammates, they were able to win three championships in a row.

The boy’s varsity team has great chemistry together. Their bond isn’t just shown during their games. They have a bond outside of basketball. The chemistry these boys have is invulnerable.

After a win or loss, the boys on varsity would go out to eat in any near-by food place. “After a win, we chose a spot to meet up to eat at. Then, we just joke around and have fun. We talk about some of the good plays that we did and just keep messing around with each other,” Aldo described.

Not only is there a connection with YB boy’s basketball teams, but there is also great connections with girl’s basketball.

Jenna Phan, a junior in Yerba Buena High School, believes a great bond between players is what keeps the game going. “I find it crucial to have team chemistry because otherwise you won’t be able to connect with one another during games. It’s because of our close friendships that we know each other’s faults and strengths, and that allows us to know everyone belongs on the court,” Jenna explains.

The girl’s varsity team has great chemistry together. Jenna compares their connection like a family: “I believe that our team chemistry is very strong, all the girls get along very well, like our own little family.”

As any other team, there are still some arguments here and there. For girls' varsity, the arguments aren’t anything major, they get over it and learn from it.

“Most of our understanding happens on court during the game when something isn’t going the way we want it to. We take it out on each other but by the end of the game everyone knows to let it go. Whatever happens on the court stays there” Jenna explains.

A bond with your coach is also important: “The team’s relationship with the coach is actually very close. Although we respect her as our coach and guidance, we still talk and act like friends,” Jenna says.

Having a bond with a coach isn’t always on deck. Aldo backs up this statement: “We aren’t that close with Coach Tony. We’ll joke around with him and he’ll joke around with us, but other than that we aren’t that close.”

Last year, during the 2018-2019’s boys basketball season, it was obvious that j.v had a great bond together. It’s almost as if the crowd can tell that the players have a good bond by their behavior and interaction with each other. Such behavior includes supportive game yelling from the players, joking around and motivating each other, and overall just helping their teammates out.

Orlando Cabrerra is the current coach of j.v. He has been coaching at Yerba Buena for seven years. His input for last year’s season was straightforward.

“I think the bond last year is that we practiced better, we communicated more. There are clear leaders on the team” Orlando explained.

According to the article, “How many leaders does it take it to lead a sports team?” athlete players can exert significant influence on the group by taking on the role of leadership. This means that being a leader can easily influence the team to do better and be better.

A bond might be needed for a team, but it’s not always easy to form. When asked about how he feels about his team, Orlando responds in an affirmative manner. “I feel that we’re a great team but we’re not playing together as a unit. There’s a lot of disfunction amongst the freshman and the sophomores that we need to work out on, and I think once we work that out, we’re going to have a good season.”

A coach’s job is to train athletes, add on to the players knowledge of the sport, and more. An important job of a coach is to maintain the good sportsmanship between the players itself.

“We took our last practice and basically laid everything out on the floor and discussed the issues we had with players, with the team, with practices and the plays. Everyone had a say,” Orlando says.

During games, if there was a disagreement between players, Orlando would make sure no one from the crowd would notice it: “I make sure they understand that it’s a team environment. We win like a team and we lose like a team.”

It’s perfectly normal for teams to break out in disagreements. There is almost no such thing as a perfect team.

Majority of high school sports teams struggle with connections between the upperclassmen and lowerclassmen. Such a thing exists in YB.

“We get along with them. We’re just not as close with them as we are with each other, seeing as they’re lower classmen,” Aldo explains.

Jenna mentions something similar: “There’s definitely not as strong as a bond with j.v as the varsity girls have together, but I like to believe that we have somewhat of a connection with j.v. We all support one another and cheer each other on and that’s what is most important.”

This is usually because of the difference between these classmen or even from the separated practices. J.v and varsity don’t practice together, they mostly practice at different hours in the same gym.

Not having much of a bond between these two teams isn’t the worst thing in the world. These players still cheer the other team on, regardless of what grade they’re in. Although there isn’t much of a bond between the two teams, they still support one another.

Communication is KEY to an effective team. In keeping with Arkansas State University, players who know how to effectively interact with each other will work together better, forming a stronger overall team.

For example, a playmaker in basketball can inform a teammate about the next play in order to overcome a defensive strategy against the opponent team (Eccles 1). If there were no communication, no player would know which play to do, thus resulting in a mess of confusion.

Overall, team bonds is very important. In YB’s basketball teams, not every team is foolproof. There will be arguments, whether with the coach or the players themselves, and struggles in team coordination. However, with the right communication and the same amount of love for the sport, any team can overcome its difficulties.

“Great teams do not always have team chemistry, and good chemistry cannot make a bad team into champions. But if players like each other and are united in going for the same goals, they are more likely to have greater success than expected,” (Yancey, 2011, para. 21.)