PASS THE BALL, MO!

Why becoming a great team player is a must- if you wish to become great at anything at all.

“Pass the ball, Mo!” Coach Emma keeps repeating.

Mo keeps failing in passing to his teammates, no matter how badly he wants the ball to reach them. Mo needs to pass higher, but he is not good at it. Mo is the shortest basketball player on the team.

Mo is the hero in David A. Adler’s book series for children. However, facing a challenge regarding our capacity to contribute to a team- and therefore, really enjoy the process of practising, working, creating with others- is an experience not limited to the pages of a book. In fact, participating in any kind of team seems to come with challenges. But why is it so hard to be a team player?

Think for a moment of all the great minds, athletes, artists, activists, politicians- any kind of role model you had while growing up. How many of them are remembered as brilliant loners? How many of them are famous for participating in teams, sharing projects, using their superpowers to create the perfect mix of minds and souls to create something of value?

You see what I’m getting at, right? The narrative of the lonely, super gifted persona has been told and heard, written and read again, and again, and again. But what about the story of the superpowers (aka soft skills) one can get only by participating, creating, sharing, growing in teams?

No surprise that kids nowadays are (still) often encouraged to try becoming brilliant alone, even if they face challenges regarding teamwork.

When someone is working individually, most of the time they are rewarded for what they can do and how they can win. Therefore, educational targets, as well as professional fields, later on, are based on individual metrics. It seems the education system itself also creates a competitive environment, where the best thrive. And here is the miss.

Proud of our child’s achievements, we all remain happily ignorant of the lost possibilities, skills, and opportunities this kind of egocentric growth results in.

You know why? Cause we still tend to avoid what we cannot control. And others acting next to us, with us, is something unpredictable. Teamwork is a challenge. But a challenge that brings great benefits. Who are we to deprive kids of them?

Let’s begin with the basics. Mo wants to pass the ball.

All we need to do is encourage him. Practice with him. Try to become better team players ourselves.

There are plenty of reasons to teach your child how to be more of a “Go team!” person. The best teams are made up of people who work together and are willing to make sacrifices. A team with kind players who support each other will generally perform better than a group of individuals who work in silos. Communication, social, and emotional skills are all strengthened when children learn to work as a team, which improves their self-esteem, confidence and ability to be empathetic. Children experiencing success in their projects when working in a team reinforce their ability to commit to a goal, as well as their ability to compromise.

On the other hand, children lacking teamwork skills might show a more restricted way of thinking when it comes to interpersonal interaction- and an inability to communicate well with others. Also, teamwork helps children feel like part of a community, which is important to their mental growth and well-being. If teamwork is not present in one’s life, so is the feeling of belonging to a group- often resulting in lack of a part of self- imagery vital to building healthy relationship foundations.

In David A. Adler’s book Pass the ball, Mo!, our hero practices and practices- for the sake of his team. He practices with others. He practices alone. And then, the great game comes. Do you wanna know how the story ends?

Mo passes the ball- way too high. So high, that it passes over the heads of all his teammates. And it reaches the basket. Mo wins the game for his team.

“Great shot,” Mo’s parents tell him.“But I was trying to pass the ball,” Mo says.Coach Emma laughs. “It was a very bad pass. But your bad pass won the game”.