Benched #2: on the team

This wasn’t my first choice of a bench today.  A Massachusetts state park I had planned to visit had a fee attached, so I let my GPS give me Plan B – a local park about which I knew nothing.

Which isn’t a bad thing. I find it ironic that in my effort to be more “in the moment”, I have pursued this goal with my usual analytical planning, quickly transforming light whimsy into heavy intent.  The state park had promised a lakeside view.  Lincoln Park promised nothing.  It was good to be rerouted.

What did I find?  A small, neighborhood park, just big enough for a baseball field, a couple of skateboard ramps and a neglected basketball court.  The local high school baseball team was warming up for what was, the coach later said in his address to them, the last game of their season.  I sat down on the line of benches facing the field, with my notebook and a conspicuously large camera, wondering if one of the more talented players might wonder if I was a college scout.  Or the local reporter.  I tried to scribble with thoughtful intensity, to look the part.

I watched them warm up, just one errant throw away from quaint Victorian houses, which lined the park on four sides.  I took in the scene with the pastel homes and the verdant grass, listening to the pop of baseballs hitting gloves and the whir of skateboard wheels behind me.



And I began to think about teams.  Not so much about organized sports – outside of a few church league softball seasons and my dozen years of coaching AYSO soccer, I have limited experience – but about the joy of working on a team of people.  Freelancing can be a lonely road.  The price for following your own vision is precisely that.  It’s your vision.  But the last few years, I’ve entered the world of purposeful teams – filled with skillful people intent on accomplishing very specific goals.

I found out what I had been missing all these years.  Camaraderie. Focus.  The sense that one can add a very significant element to the group. The elation of a job accomplished. Most of all, the appreciation of both the whole and the individual parts.  Whatever is ahead for me, I know that I want it to be a team effort.

“Batter up!”  It was my cue to leave.  They had a game to play and I had buzzing cell phone to deal with. 

Not surprisingly, collaboration was calling.