Teamwork (the first of many)

I had a dream about my old football days last night that reminded me of what being a team truly entails. Once upon a time, I decided to spend an additional year in high school to figure out what I really wanted to do in college. Part of this had to do with baseball. I decided to attend The Lawrenceville School because they accepted me and it was the best of the prep schools I applied to. Although I was initially opposed, I decided to play one more season of football because you were required to play two sports and I figured why not stay in shape to prepare for the sport I actually cared about. BIG MISTAKE. There is a reason the only football coach I ever listened to was Kevin Clancy at my beloved Strath Haven. He inspired you to optimize your natural gifts as a football player. And he demanded perfection. He put the best 11 on the field (and I only made the cut on special teams). No bullshit. No politics. No parents involved. This was all a time-tested formula for winning. And we always won. At Lawrenceville the formula was way off. Run a million sprints during three-a-days. Fine. I'll dog people in sprints so I can stay in shape. But why are we doing all this cardio in training camp? Shouldn't everyone be in shape coming into camp? Apparently not. Couldn't we be spending some of this time learning how to properly execute plays? What happened to details? Being a physically fit team means nothing if you can't execute and play cohesively. So after training camp I kind of took a step back and watched the team crumble. "It's the ghosts of Strath Haven," is what my coach at Lville would say when I screwed up. Damn right it is, they are trying to remind me what the fuck is going on here. We had some bright moments, but for the most part things went wrong. And for the two snaps I begrudgingly took in a meaningful game situation (the starter was down for a minute), I realized exactly why we sucked so bad. After the first play, I got the huddle together and before I could call the next play, the fat, immobile fuck of a center had the nerve to say, "What is he (coach) doing, put (starter) back in!" Really!? I mean I don't want to be quarterbacking you guys in the first place, but just because you like his hands on your nuts more than mine doesn't mean you can open your fat mouth about it. I bit my tongue, but if I had cared about that team I would have grabbed the center by the facemask and kneed him in his fat gut for that attitude. But I refrained. Because most of the kids on the team weren't worth the time. So, the starter came back in after that and we continued to lose that game. The moral to all of this is that in most team sports, especially football, you cannot win if individual interests are placed above what is best for the entire unit. Sure, some guys are trying to get scholarships. But if you are the type of football player who would rather achieve individually and lose than perfect your role and win, then you are no football player in the first place. Thoughts?