Switching sports teams sounds like a normal thing to do from time to time. After all, you’re practicing in a different field with some new kids, that’s all. To someone who’s never done it before, it may seem like an easy thing to do, but in reality, it’s a whole different ballgame.
When you play on a team for years, and then you suddenly move to a another team, it’s a big step. There’s a certain level of trust within teammates that you suddenly lose after moving to a new team. It happened to me.
After I switched teams, it felt weird at first being the new kid, having new coaches, and playing on a new field, but over time, the new team started to feel normal again. I remember one day when my dad and I were driving away from the field one day and he told me about a tryout coming up for a team. Even though I didn’t want to join a new team, I knew that I had to at least try out.
During that season, I had a very bad coach who would yell at us a lot. It was definitely a bad environment. Walking up to the field the night of the tryout, I wasn’t so sure about the new team, after all I played on my other team since I was seven. Still, I pushed all of those thoughts out of my head and did my best. A few days later, we found out that I had made the team.
The Teams – The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
In sports, there are many different types of teams. There are some good teams with great chemistry. The kids get along and coaches never yell.
Then, there’s bad teams that have some good kids, but do not have the best coaches. And then there are the ugly teams with bad kids and bad coaches. My old team, the Hammerheads, was one of the bad ones, but when I switched teams everything changed.
As I walked up to the first practice, I was a little nervous about all of the new kids and coaches. But as I walked off the field, I knew that I had made the right move.
At first, being on a new team may seem scary and like you don’t belong. You may begin to ask yourself, “What if the kids are mean?” or “What if I don’t fit in?” Luckily for me, after I got to the field and met my new teammates, I started to feel like I fit in, and after a while I felt comfortable. So if you’re thinking about joining a new team, go for it! You won’t know whether it is good, bad or ugly until you try it.
