In a country with such a political divide, it’s often difficult for Americans to find common ground. Throughout the nation’s history, however, one thing that has always brought citizens together is sports.
The bonds that people create through sports, whether it’s watching, coaching or playing, are truly unlike any other. A perfect example of how sports unite people is the Olympics. People from all over the world come together, despite all the conflict and tragedy resulting from wars in places like Ukraine and Gaza. The world can unite to celebrate these athletes and their accomplishments for something bigger than just a competition. While teammates work together to improve as athletes and as a team, they also can often develop lifelong friendships.
Kaneland High School teacher and football coach James Fuller has plenty of experience in the world of sports. Not only does he coach football at Kaneland, but he played during high school.
“With any sport, you practice with your teammates multiple days a week for several months,” Fuller said. “That extended amount of time together will naturally bring you close. Seeing your teammates every weekday will only grow that bond. I think that constant schedule is what separates sports from the bonds you make with other friends outside of extracurriculars.”
In school sports, athletes usually spend at least 10 hours a week together during their season. Generally, they spend even more time than that together. Throughout those times, they build camaraderie and push each other to grow, which doesn’t happen as naturally outside of sports.
For a lot of athletes, their best friends are the people that they play or have played sports with. Kaneland junior and varsity soccer player Noah McKittrick has had very similar experiences.
“I think sports bring people together in the aspect of being friends, but also to constantly compete with each other,” McKittrick said. “The constant friendly competition and pushing each other to be better benefits both people. Outside of sports, you can’t really get that competitive aspect, and you don’t normally push your friend to be better if you don’t play a sport together.”
However, teammates aren’t the only people who push an athlete. Athletes are driven to improve by their family, friends, opponents and coaches. The relationships between athletes and coaches are crucial to a team or individual’s success. On top of that, athletes and coaches can form some pretty amazing relationships. The coach of the Kaneland varsity boys basketball team, Ernie Colombe, has plenty of experience with forming relationships with athletes through his time coaching.
“Coaches and players both have to work hard and make sacrifices for the team to have success,” Colombe said. “Players and coaches can benefit from being a part of teams that are committed to a common goal. The rewards are great and can last a lifetime.”
