Are you a good teammate? Or is the jury out?
Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash
I didn’t even want to open the envelope.
Didn’t need to. I knew the letter inside would include two of the most dreaded words in the English language.
“Jury duty.”
To be completely transparent, I had two distinct thoughts when I received my summons to appear:
Why me?
How can I get out of this?
But I went. I got picked for a jury. And I served.
Now that the trial is over, I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. I saw the justice system at work from inside the jury box, and I learned a great deal about human emotion, behavior and memory recall.
During our downtime and recesses, I thought a lot about young athletes and coaches. I realized there are plenty of similarities from my court experience that relate to the sports world. I’d like to share a few of them with you today.
Why me? How can I get out of this? — Have you ever felt that way when a coach asked you to play a certain role on the team? Maybe you had your heart set on being a point guard, but the team would be better with you on the wing. Maybe you thought you would be a starter, but your coach thinks you can provide a spark off the bench. The truth is, we all have roles to play for the good of society or the good of a team.
We’ll all be challenged to perform duties we’d rather avoid. At one time or another in your athletic career, you will be asked to sacrifice to meet a need. Both you and your coach will know exactly what that means. But the ultimate decision rests in your hands. Will you accept the challenge?
You may have to wait your turn — I sat for hours in the jurors’ lounge while panels were being selected. You might be in that position right now. Maybe you’re practicing hard, doing everything your coach is asking of you, but you aren’t seeing any playing time.
I know it’s not easy to deal with, but be patient. Keep plugging away. Keep asking questions and working on your physical and mental skills. Your time will come. And when it does, be ready to shine.
You’ll need to be a good teammate — If you aren’t familiar with the justice system, a verdict must be unanimous in a criminal trial. That means everyone — all 12 jurors — must be on the same page. You start deliberating with a common goal of finding the absolute best resolution to the trial, and whether it takes 10 minutes or 10 hours, you must work together to reach that point. That’s teamwork. That’s trusting your teammates. And that’s essential to being a winner.
You might be asked to lead — I didn’t push for the job, but I was elected to be our jury foreman. That means I was essentially the captain of our team. My role was to keep the discussion on track, help others examine all the evidence and testimony presented, then guide everyone toward sharing their thoughts on the matter. I then got to read the verdict in the courtroom.
So, if you’re asked by your coach to be a team leader, accept it as an honor and a privilege. And don’t fear. It doesn’t mean you’ll need to be the best player or even the smartest guy or girl on the team. It just means you’re an extension of the coach. You’re in charge of keeping your teammates focused on the goal at hand.
In essence, you’ve bought into your coach’s system and he trusts you to persuade others to join in.
Make sense?
OK, now that I’ve presented the evidence for what it takes to be a good teammate, there’s only one question left to ask:
Are you guilty or not?
Only you know that verdict.