The Importance of Team Spirit and Self-Reflection: Jessica and Basketball

"The fact that I genuinely enjoy this sport wholeheartedly is my main motivation. I did not play basketball to impress anyone else or for some other external motivations, I simply loved playing the sport with my teammates and friends." - Jessica

Jessica is currently a junior at UC San Diego. When I first met Jessica in sixth grade, I was immediately caught by her charisma as a helpful and friendly upperclassman. Throughout my teenage years, both in middle school and high school, Jessica has always been my role model. I admire her not only for her academic achievements, but more importantly, for her always "chill" personality and a stable spirit. I remember that she often greeted me with a smile on her face, and underneath that smile I somehow saw a person of firm determination.

I am very glad I had the opportunity to ask the person I have looked up to for so long about her athletic passions. Back in high school, Jessica played varsity basketball for a few years. I was curious about how playing basketball shaped her personality and how it enriched her life during her high school years.

The Team Spirit

Jessica shared many of her insights as a team player. She particularly mentioned how collaborating with teammates on the team well would lead to the success of basketball games.

"I chose basketball as my main focus because I loved my team. I loved the team culture and atmosphere we have established. As a team, we rarely developed arguments against each other. We were open to each other’s criticisms, hence we comfortably expressed our opinions. I am a competitive person. I not only wanted to win games, I wanted to get better in terms of my skills. This is why I loved the culture that we built as a team because we genuinely appreciated each other’s feedback as we knew that these words would make us better players and a better team."

Jessica’s team exemplifies the concept of "psychological safety," where there is a shared expectation among team members that no one would be embarrassed or judged upon for speaking out and sharing ideas. She worked closely with her team every day after school during the training session, supporting, encouraging, and facing challenges together.

"During our practices, the coaches always told us that if anyone of else failed to complete the suicide run within the time limit, then that run would not count, and we could only rest when everyone finishes the run within the limit. Everytime we heard the word “conditioning” or “suicide”, there was a nauseas feeling within us because we were absolutely terrified. At the same time, the team was always there to support each other. Even when someone failed to finish, we would all just laugh about the fact that we would need to run again."

That’s the team spirit. Albeit each member having distinct characteristics and diversified point of views, they are all unified towards one common goal of bettering the team.

It is not difficult to see how Jessica is able to commit to such a vigorous sport for so many years: a supportive team fosters a genuine comradeship, not to mention the sense of belonging “I did not play basketball to impress anyone else or for some other external motivations, I simply loved playing the sport with my teammates and friends,” Jessica said.

Queens of the Court

Looking at the big picture, Jessica and her teammates have a more ambitious goal besides just enjoying themselves. “We don’t want to be seen as weak, or just girls who are playing this sport for fun. We are competitive as well.” It took sweat and tears to get this message across.

“My identity as a female is part of the reason why I try my absolute best in conditioning and training. Our team trained really hard after school and proved that we are capable of the same level of competitiveness as anyone else.”

In the process of showcasing the trophy of girl’s power to the world, Jessica caught a glimpse of her self-reflection. “This is when I learn something new about me: that perhaps I am capable of something more and I should not constrain myself under the limit that I have imagined.” Following the exhaustion of an intense game is the ecstasy of yet another mountain conquered.

Outside of the basketball court, Jessica is a full-time University student double majoring in Mathematics joint Economics and Data Science. Sounds formidable? Ironically, basketball is exactly what helped Jessica to reach where she is now.

"One of the things that I am the most proud of would be how this sport transformed me into someone who is very resilient under pressure. I think knowing how to cope with the stress coming from expectations from the audience, friends, and coaches when we played was a very important experience. Now that I’m in college, there are definitely stressful times that I need to deal with (projects, exams, etc.). My past team experience playing sports really helped me understand where my limits are and how I should cope with pressure."

*Thanks to our blog writers Daisy Ding and Kaylynn Yu for composing this article together!