Teamwork

Sabakiball is The Ultimate Team Sport. Wow, what a claim! What makes Sabakiball different than other team sports that makes it The Ultimate? Teamwork.

To be on a team does not mean there needs to be Teamwork. Many team sports, professional and recreational, see a star emerge. That one person who dominates the field or ice or court. Of course it is easy for the star to take over. It's in his nature - that is why he is a star! And it's easy for the team to just pass the ball and let the star do his thing. But there is so much missed opportunity to involve the other players and build up their strengths too for the benefit of the team. 

Sabakiball was invented to create the NEED for the team. The players must pass the ball three times before attempting to score. This involves the NEED for multiple players on the court and the cooperation between them. Defensive strategies allow the defending team to "double up" on the star player stopping her from getting the ball or shooting. The offensive team has no choice but to utilize the "weaker" players who are not guarded. After watching, coaching and playing Sabakiball for over ten years now we have seen consistently the teams with a star player lose to the team that utilized Teamwork effectively.

We can learn a lot from Sabakiball - The Ultimate Team Sport. In life there are many situation that if we all worked as a team instead of relying on that star player to pull us through it would be so much easier and productive. Traffic - if we worked together to merge fluidly, change lanes without disruption and move at the same speed together we could reduce traffic jams and accidents. Work - if coworkers and leaders alike encouraged each other to act on each others strengths and "pass the ball" when someone else could do a task better, the office would harbor a supportive atmosphere and run smoothly. Family - if everyone contributed to housework, ideas and decisions of how the family unit functions, this team effort would make everyone feel of value and resource.

Our world, our communities, our families could greatly benefit from Teamwork. A complete cooperation of the "players" involved. We all have a common goal. Let's work as a Team to get there!