Team Chemistry. Just like real chemistry, every team needs their pieces to work together in order to succeed. When I say succeed, I don’t mean just winning, I mean more of being able to function together as an actual team. I believe team chemistry is not just the skills and teamwork displayed ON the court, many other things contribute to it as well. Some may feel they don’t have the best athletic skills, but contribute to the team by cheering them on, giving helpful game advice, boosting their team’s morale, or even making that one crucial defensive play. Just like school chemistry, all these elements come together to form that final compound that you’re trying to produce (Is that how it works? Chemistry wasn’t my best subject :P).

 

Now enough of boring school stuff. I’m going to use a professional sports team as an example, the Golden State Warriors. Some of you may know that I’m a huge Warriors fan (I liked them before they won the championship, so I’m not a bandwagoner!), but the reason is not just because they’re good. If you watch their games, they just seem to genuinely have fun with each other and enjoy each other’s company. I’m going to get into a bit of stats here, the Warriors have the highest assists per game in the whole league right now (assists are when you pass to a person, and that person scores within 2-3 seconds). That clearly shows the team chemistry they have sharing the ball with everyone and how unselfish they are!

Here is a picture from the game a couple of days ago, where I love how you can see the excitement on their faces for their teammate Klay Thompson (one in white on the very left) as he took the impossible 3 point shot from the side. By the way, Klay had 40 points the first half that game! That’s something I love seeing on teams in Pentasport, where teammates are cheering each other on and happy for each other’s success.

 

Lastly, team chemistry is something that can be developed off the court as well. I’m not sure if they still do this, but during their championship season 2 years ago, whenever they had games away from home, they would almost always eat together. Yup something as simple as that can help develop your team chemistry! When away from home, most professional teams have their players doing their own thing, exploring the city off on their own or in their little groups, but here you have the Warriors, a PROFESSIONAL basketball team, having “team bonding” time at lunch and dinner. I really believe this was a huge help to their chemistry on the court as they developed closer relationships, learned more about each other, and just enjoyed each other’s company whether on or off the court. Someone on their team said, “Chemistry is not something you can fake. You either have it or you don’t.”, and that’s so true. With that being said, I do see team chemistry on every team in Pentasport and I highly encourage Pentasport teams to have some off-court bonding time as well to improve your team chemistry even more! Just have a nice dinner together, “team bond”, and transfer that into your sports games =)

With the mention of team bonding, Pentasport would not be possible without each and every single team that’s in the league, so that means you, me, everyone! This means we’re all part of the PENTASPORT TEAM! So here’s another advertisement of our social that’s happening on Tuesday, December 13th, 6-8:30pm @ Lord’s Love Church. It’s still not too late to inform one of the Committee members if you want to attend! This is an awesome opportunity for all of us to “team bond” together as members of the big Pentasport Team!

I will end this post with an unbelievable shot from Stephen Curry of the Warriors that I will never get tired of. Enjoy!

Play Hard. Laugh Harder. Shine Brighter.

About the Author

Jackie is a Pentasport veteran, playing in the first 3 seasons on team Bingo Bongos. He loves all sorts of games, video games, ice-breaker games, boardgames, but most of all, sports games. His favourite sport is basketball and loves both playing and watching it. Jackie feels very blessed to be part of such a great Christian league and hopes he can play in it until he’s 50 years old.

“WHY is the other team so aggressive? THIS IS A CHRISTIAN LEAGUE.”
“I CAN’T DO THIS. I MAKE CRAFTS AND PLAY MUSIC.”
“SORRY I LOST THE BALL! AGAIN. I’m sorry. Sorry!”

These are some classic lines you would’ve heard me mutter (or wail, really) if you had ever been near me on the court during a game at Pentasport. From trembling and nausea caused by sports anxiety (see Tiff’s too true blog post from Oct 14), to actually secretly loving it when my team passes me the ball after I fearfully tell them not to, to frustration with sportsmanship issues of those around me, to being in the midst of corporate prayer, fruitful fellowship, and a beautiful tapestry of worship with the same strangers turned friends, and to now having the gift to serve on the committee of this blessed ministry in which I was once nervous and unfamiliar, my journey with Pentasport has been one full of humble lessons, beginnings, and opportunities. Here are three things Pentasport has been and continues to be for me:

1. Space to practice GRACE.
I don’t exactly remember what my expectations were for this “Christian church league” when I first joined in season 1, but I definitely was not expecting the level of competition that came about over the seasons – both from the other teams as well as my own! I found myself getting frustrated quickly from both internal and external reasons (as in, “Man, I messed up again!” as well as “They’re playing so hard, they need to let up… We need to win!” kind of thoughts), and I suppose it’s really true when they say that sports sometimes don’t bring out the best in people. But what does this mean in the context of showing Christ-like love to one another, so that sports can be redeemed to be a place where the best are encouraged out of people? I am challenged and reminded to show grace to my opponents when they seem to be playing overly aggressive (because sports in many ways can be an unfiltered expression of how one could simply be feeling that day), grace for my team when we at times had put too much emphasis on winning, and grace for myself when I fear of letting my team down. It’s not an easy thing when our surroundings get us overly competitive, or when the other team seems to be unreasonable and harsh, or when we feel the pressure from our own team and ourselves to succeed, but grace does its job when we are able to say in the end, “Win or lose, it’s going to be alright – showing sacrificial love supersedes how my competitiveness will make me feel in the next 25 minutes on the court.”

2. Space to gain SELF-CONFIDENCE.
Before Pentasport, I had never been involved in an organized athletic team of any kind outside of mandatory P.E. in school. So much so that I found it so cute (and super exciting) whenever we huddled, or shared high-fives as a team, or hip-hip-hooray’d the other team corporately. Oh, and also the two teams’ lines of Good Game handshakes at the end of a game. Best part. Super cute. See, for someone who has only watched such team routines and practices from the bleachers all her life, I find it a blessing that I finally get to participate in them. Through Pentasport, I was able to come as I am, play as I am able with my inexperience and limited athletic skills, and be part of a team in an environment where there is grace and encouragement for those who may be more like stationary artists and musicians, and less like agile athletes. Pentasport gave me a means to try new things, meet and be in fellowship with new people, and ultimately explore different ways where I could gain confidence in areas I feared I would fail.

3. Space to participate in COMMUNITY.
Just as it is a space to show love to others and to oneself in a fun and active environment, Pentasport personally serves as a platform on which I am able to partake in a community beyond the confines of my church walls. Through this ministry I have been able to meet, play with and against, and serve alongside new and old friends whom I value in my life today. It is our sincerest hope as the committee that when you think of Pentasport, you think of Community – the big C Church. That you’re able to see the coming together of who would’ve otherwise been strangers from this and that church (or even from the same church in some cases!), and in the end be able to see unity and fellowship through sport. We also hope that you, as a participant of Pentasport, are able to think of times when you have experienced this sense of community on and off the court. Pentasport is meant to point to something greater than itself. It is meant to encourage relationship-building and bonding over something and Someone bigger than sports.

So, thank you everyone for making what Pentasport is today. Thank you for your presence and enthusiasm, and for choosing to be active and social on a Tuesday night instead of staying home to binge watch Netflix with a bag of chips (there are, of course, 6 other nights for that). Even after all the groaning and the insecurities I’ve had to get over to actually participate in formal team sports, I value Pentasport as a God-given gift. I have been able to learn so much about myself and the new church communities I’ve had the privilege to meet, and I genuinely hope you are able to say the same.

Let this be your invitation to come to our year-end social to celebrate the Pentasport season and to honour one another! Come out to Lords Love Church on Tuesday December 13th! There will be food, photobooth, worship, and prizes – tickets are $10 from any league rep.

Play Hard. Laugh Harder. Shine Brighter.

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About the Author

Jasiel, whose name rhymes with facial, spatial, racial, and glacial, serves as a league rep and committee member. She enjoys dumplings, trees, and doodling, and suffers from a crippling fear of sharks. She is humbled to be a part of this ministry and looks forward to when the Bingo Bongos can make a return for the trophy.