What makes a team a team?

[Duke Henry]

In your opinion, what makes a team a real team? As in, what do you expect from the players to make the whole thing work?

I am interested in what people prioritize as the most important.

Let's go with 5 (ordered or not).

For me, it would be:

Dedication (be available to show up for regular practices, meetings, tourneys/scenarios)

Financial backing (either sponsors, fundraisers, or individual $$$, you need cash to play)

Co-operation (team must be able to play together, and have fun)

Organization (have a finalized authority hierarchy with specific roles when neccessary)

(I'll leave the 5th for later)

[IcantBelieveit]

Sportsmanship
cooperation
dedication
enthusiasm
finacial backing

[MicroB]

Dedication
Sportsmanship
Cooperation
Finacial backing
Team oriented(not individual performers)

[NiteWolf1138]

Financial Backing (no money, no play, period)
Co-operation (dissention in the ranks is destructive IMHO)
Dedication
Organization
Sportsmanship

I find it interesting how some of these aspects can actually flow into one another (with one you get some of another).

NiteWolf1138

[Temo Vryce]

For me there is only one thing that really means "team" to me.

The Ability to have fun even if you're not winning.

[govnamac]

The same jerseys :D

[shade23]

to me the five top qualities would be:

Commitment: (duh! they all gotta show up regularly, keep working towards team goals, and sometimes make sacrifices for the team, especially the captain)

Time (experience together): they need to stick together for a period of time so that trust and general knowledge of how each team member acts can be established

Finances: this goes more back to commitment, if they don't have the cash (like me) they need to be looking for opportunities to make it either for themselves or in team oriented fundraising.

Working Gear: Yeah its possible to do a good job when your team is down a gun but when your down to one gun on your side and 6 on theirs it becomes a bit more difficult (for other people not ME of course *wink*)

for me the fifth is THE WILL TO WIN.

Edit: on second thought the fifth should be sportmanship instead

[FooTemps]

Co-operation is of upmost importance on a team... remember it's a TEAM. It's okay if you aren't friends but you have to be able to co-operate with your team mates or you'll eventually end up screwing everything up. (ie: you screw up a play, back player doesn't call positions, etc)

Commitment is very important too. I'm on a hip hop dance team and we aren't going to compete at state this year because we didn't have enough commitment. You need people to be on time for practice and you need people who won't say "I quit the team, paintball isn't cool anymore".

Financing... Being sponsored, paying for yourself, having team funraising... You need money to play paintball, without money there is no way to practice or compete. You could do backyard ball but you won't have much paint or access to air unless you buy bulk cases and have tons of air/co2. Yeah that stuff costs money too.

Knowledge of the sport... This is a big plus if you have a team. If you have normal players who understand how paintball works you can get cracking on more advanced stuff. Starting from square one isn't bad but it will set you back if you have to teach half your team the basics while the others don't make any progress until later.

Organization is important in a team. An unorganized team will go nowhere since they won't know where to put their money or skills. You will need someone to organize events like practices, tournaments, and meetings. You probably also need a tactician on your team to figure out plays and watch other players to improve technique.

Yeah, I guess I'll toss in another...
COMPETITIVE SPIRIT! You don't want a team who doesn't want to win right? Heck, you might even want to compete between your own team mates to have to the drive to get better... You know, like "who can fire fastest contests" or something. Doing that will drive you and your team mates to learn how to fire faster and it will develop your trigger skills.

One more...
IDENTITY. You want yourselves to be identified as a team right? That means you work together, you have uniform, you have a team NAME. Without those you'd be more of a group of guys who practice together. Once you name your team something like "DurrR FactoR" or "Rated Sick" or "FP Assassins" you're on the way to making a name for yourself.

OK, and since hoppy just suggested it...(look at post below)
Yep, I agree with him, Sportsmanship is important. You don't want to be jerkwads towards newbs and you don't want to cheat and get a bad name either. Being a good sport about losing is good for image too.

[HoppysMag]

sportsmanship above all.


and in no real order
competitive spirt ( but still adhearing to sportsmanship)
cooperation
INTELLIGENCE
Realistic

[Fred]

Friendship!

If you're not having fun, its not worth doing. I can't think of anything else that can compare to that. :)

---Fred

[Brak]

communication, teamwork, friendliness, and shooting fast

[gadget68]

What makes up a good team is "Communication and Trust". Trust to be there when needed. To support each other and for each to pull their own weight.

A good team has a leader that knows when to trade off with another teammate when maybe his technique is not working.

A team focuses on one goal and that goal should be the same for every teammate.

When talking "Team" in terms of "sports". A good team is one who should "CONTINUE TO GROW" no matter how successful they are and share their knowledge and expiriences.

OK I am done. I hope this makes sence.
I work in an enviroment where teamwork is a crucial part of safety and the daily routines. In my job lives depend on tewamwork.

[spore 283]

time money detication
detication to yourself,your team,your sponsors,you have to really want it. you need guys that can cheer the the team up when they aren't playing well. guys that can talk to each other and solve problems calmly. guys that you always have fun with now matter what. i think thats were you start