Maria Karlsson: Team spirit and teamwork


Teams spirit and teamwork. These two words mean a lot to me. I really believe in team spirit and teamwork and the cliché that a team never is stronger than the weakest link. Do I think like that because I’m usually not the player who determines games by scoring the winning goal? Did I choose to play a team game like football for that reason? How true is this cliché?

In the entrance at Balby Carr in Doncaster, where my team trains, there’re a lot of pictures with a lot of different messages about sport. One message better than the other, and one of the pictures that I really like has this message: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan.

I’m sure that there are players who don’t agree with this quote. Does that say something about those particular players or about the quote and message it sends? If I was coach for a team and I could choose which players I wanted, some of the most important characteristics I would look for in my players would be those with the best attitude. Along with that players who are  dynamic and prepared to work their hardest for the team in every second of the game. But isn’t it a dream for every coach to have players with these personalities and characteristics? I wish and hope that it would be like that, but sometimes through my career I have wondered if that’s the case.

I hope that my team here in Doncaster can show these qualities during this first year in FA WSL. And it would be fantastic to hear the audience say after our games that Doncaster Rovers Belles FC really is a team that works for each other with a brilliant team spirit.

Quote of the week: “Are we in Scotland?” Kylla Sjoman, when we stopped for food on our way to Glasgow.