Team Bonding

How the girls’ volleyball team creates a connection on and off the court

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Jiana Kopp

The varsity girls’ volleyball team huddles before a game. The girls are preparing for the game by positively encouraging each other, which is done before each game. CV played chatfield later this week. “Your team will always be there for you so it’s important to create strong relationships with them,” Thornburg said.

Many would agree that team bonding is often an overlooked component to creating a good team. Building a relationship off the court or field can translate into a better connection and easier communication during games. Especially when it comes to the different maturity levels on a high school team some might wonder: why is team bonding so important? Senior Macy Thornburg and sophomore Addison Humphrey, both members of the volleyball team, have stressed the importance of the activity.

“Team bonding is very important because you need to know who you’re around and it connects you better on the court and off the court as well. It helps you know who you’re playing with and forms a more personal connection,” Thornburg said.

In order for a team to form a deeper connection than just simply the sport they participate in, certain teams will go to dinner, watch a movie, or even go to castle view events together. The volleyball team often varies their methods of team bonding.

“We usually do team dinners, we try to do it once a week. Last season we did an escape room but this year we want to do a group art painting,” Thornburg said.

Being able to separate the competitive mindset of sports and the friendship aspect of a team, and then utilizing them together on the court, can really benefit each player. This builds trust in your teammates during games, practices, and even in real life situations.

“It helped me get to know my team a lot better. I was the youngest on the team so it was really intimidating at first but, team bonding brought us closer together and taught us to trust each other,” Humphrey said.

Team bonding builds up different aspects of a team’s relationship. Not only does it build up the relationship between each and every teammate, but it can strengthen friendships even outside the sport itself. The athletics program values team bonding and prioritizes deeper connections for teammates, creating closer relationships outside of volleyball.

“I’ve definitely created closer relationships, especially with the younger girls. We are way closer to them because of the team bonding and dinners, and even just driving the sophomores around, we all get to jam in the car and just have fun,” Thornburg said.

Encouraging a team to bond can help each player feel more included and less intimidated. It grows the trust between each other, and strengthens the connections teammates form. It creates more compassionate teammates, and even more importantly, unbreakable bonds.