Team Dynamics

Cross country and track are often thought of as, and sometimes seem, like individual rather than team sports. This line of thinking arises because when runners are out there racing on the course, they are not just competing against the people in the different colored jerseys. They are competing against everyone out there that day pushing their bodies to the limit alongside them. This includes their teammates. And one might think that teammates would not purposely try and compete against each other, given that their points all count together and it doesn’t matter to the team score who passes who in the last 100 meters of the race, but to the teammates involved, it is often not seen that way. To beat a teammate can selfishly bring one much more pride than passing the random person from a school 60 miles away whom they are most likely never going to see again until maybe the next year at the same course. This is because one knows what their teammates can do, they know what level their teammates are at, and when they beat them, it feels like a slightly bigger accomplishment.

But be clear in the message I am trying to send, it is perfectly acceptable to be proud of yourself after a race in which you finally got a long awaited record and passed the runner on your team who is always a few seconds ahead of you each race, but your main goal in the race should not just be to beat a teammate, it should be to beat yourself. The distinction comes in to play for instance if you beat a teammate, but you both didn’t have very good races and you didn’t put the 110% effort in, you just had a slightly less sucky race than your teammate. Don’t get me wrong, it is perfectly normal to have those off races, but in this case you should not rejoice in the fact that you beat your teammate, because you really didn’t do anything in that regard to be proud of. So to reiterate, I feel that it is a worthy strategy to use your teammates as goals in regard to measuring your growth as a runner, but it is important to understand that being ahead of someone is not always something you should be solely happy about in it of itself. 

What I am trying to get at, is that although your teammates are also your competition, you should be there to support each other and lift each other up when you have bad days. Teammates should work toward helping their friends get back on the track to reaching their goals and remind them that (I know this sounds extremely cheesy) they shouldn’t beat themselves up over a bad race because the important thing is to have fun and enjoy what they are doing. If no one is there to remind you of this when you need it, running can become a very dark topic for you, and practice can seem like a frustrating part of your day that you just want to get over with as soon as possible. This is clearly not how it should be, practices should be a safe place where you can hang out and train hard with your friends. Your sport should not be a source of sadness and disappointment, and teammates are there to help others realize this when they need it the most.

In addition to helping each other through the bad times, teammates should also celebrate with each other during the good times! When someone on the team gets a PR, it is something that they should be recognized and congratulated for, because they have reached a personal milestone for themselves. When running becomes solely a competition with your friends, it can muddy relationships and harm the confidence and perseverance of others. If a teammate that is normally behind you has an amazing race and beats you, it can be hard to feel happy for them in the moment, but you should never be mad at your teammate for passing you! You have a right to be upset, but not at them! They were just going out there to race and do their best, and the only person that one can be a little mad at in this situation is themselves, because they were not good enough that day. Use it as motivation to fuel your training in order to surpass your current level of fitness and to reach toward a new PR, and use the other person as a training buddy so that you guys can both push each other during races! But do not be angry with the other person, because you do not want to win just because they let you, you want to win because you had a better race that day, and it is not right to be mad at someone for trying their best.

So although team relationships can sometimes get a little tense in the wake of such a competitive sport, remember that you are all in the same boat and are there to support each other. After all, track and cross country are team sports, and teammates are around to be friends and help each other thrive to the best of their abilities.