Commitment: How You Become Part of a Team

Commitment is defined as the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity or an organization. People who are committed to a team truly believe it’s important that they show up, follow through and stick with it.

 

Commitment Starts With a Promise

 

Not only are you making a serious pledge to yourself, but you’re making a promise to the team. By joining the Cedar Rapids Blue Devils, each player and their family commit to each of the other players and their families. Not only does commitment mean caring about your work, but as part of a team, it means caring about the team’s work, as well.

 

As emphasized in tryouts, it’s our expectation that each player—and their parents—maintain their commitment to our softball program. By committing to the team, you and your player are setting the Blue Devils up for success. We can only be successful and each player may only prosper if we can rely upon one another to maintain the commitment everyone has made.

 

Commitment Means Sacrifice

 

Commitment means you knowingly and willingly give up things you want in the short-term to potentially gain something of greater value in the long-term.

 

Sometimes we’d rather take it easy all night, but we have practice. A weekend away with friends at a waterpark sounds like a blast, but we have a tournament. Ultimately, committing to a team like the Blue Devils involves sacrificing fun non-school activities for the good of the team.

 

Commitment Promotes Success

 

Success starts with Commitment. We give ourselves an opportunity to succeed if each and every player devotes themselves to the greater good of the team. Traits like Hustle and Attitude (hyperlink that blog post) are essential to achieving your goals on and off the softball diamond, but without a solid base of commitment—without being fully dedicated to the team—we will not succeed.

 

In The Long Run…

 

When the season is over, you’ll look back at all of your achievements and the sacrifices you’ve made. You’ll remember the good times and the bad—the emotion and the laughs.

 

At that point, you’ll experience a distinct feeling. That feeling is called pride—and you’ll feel that because you sacrificed, you cared and most of all, you committed.

 

In the long run, you committed to being part of a team and became a better person for it.

 

“Everyone starts strong. Success comes to those with unwavering commitment to be there at the end.” – Howard Schultz, Founder & CEO of Starbucks