Assignment 2

I play on the women's squash team; a small group of about 12 girls, who have grown up with one thing in common- living on the squash court.
Squash in the US is looked at as somewhat of an "elitist" sport. Junior squash tournaments were a competitive atmosphere full of bmw's, anxious parents, and overachieving kids all fighting for the recognition of an ivy league coach. Not until I came here, did I realize how miserable that environment was. I am now in the minority as an American on the team, with 5 Canadians, 1 Mexican, and 1 Indian, all coming from interesting backgrounds where squash was actually a game, played for fun... who knew?

We all practice 6 days a week, averaging about 15 hours. Our contributions to the team, our inputs, can not solely be measured by our time spent on the court. As captain of the team, my input is slightly greater than other team members. Emailing the team, organizing practice, motivating the girls, is all part of my responsibility. Each member is expected to input a certain amount; a level of commitment to the team. By not meeting this input level, you are letting the others down, which degrades the team morale and motivation.

Our interaction process relies heavily on individual inputs. As I stated earlier, Our team is more diverse than ever, which Steiner, Hackman, and McGrath referred to as a “mixed blessing.” I whole heartedly agree with this statement. Some players are playing for a team for the first time. Isaac and Clarke (1987) stated that “It is difficult for individuals from divergent backgrounds to share a common enough language to communicate efficiently.” Although a struggle at times, the diverse skill and personality creates an exciting atmosphere and an extremely talented team.

Our ultimate goal is to win. Our outcomes however, include much more than our W’s. Squash is technically an individual sport, which makes our team spirit and interaction off the court that much more important. “Groups do better than individuals through two basic mechanisms—aggregation and synergy.” (Gigone & Hastie, 1997; Hill, 1982) Our aggression and synergy come in many forms; team spirit, motivating each other, determination on the court, working hard at practice- all of which we do as a team. Our wins/losses undoubtedly contribute to our perceived level of outcome, but we are a team that values hard work and dedication to each other. The satisfaction that we are all lucky enough to gain from such a group is irreplaceable.

We all practice 6 days a week, averaging about 15 hours. Our contributions to the team, our inputs, can not solely be measured by our time spent on the court. As captain of the team, my input is slightly greater than other team members. Emailing the team, organizing practice, motivating the girls, is all part of my responsibility. Each member is expected to input a certain amount; a level of commitment to the team. By not meeting this input level, you are letting the others down, which degrades the team morale and motivation.

Our interaction process relies heavily on individual inputs. As I stated earlier, Our team is more diverse than ever, which Steiner, Hackman, and McGrath referred to as a “mixed blessing.” I whole heartedly agree with this statement. Some players are playing for a team for the first time. Isaac and Clarke (1987) stated that “It is difficult for individuals from divergent backgrounds to share a common enough language to communicate efficiently.” Although a struggle at times, the diverse skill and personality creates an exciting atmosphere and an extremely talented team.

Our ultimate goal is to win. Our outcomes however, include much more than our W’s. Squash is technically an individual sport, which makes our team spirit and interaction off the court that much more important. "Groups do better than individuals through two basic mechanisms—aggregation and synergy." (Gigone & Hastie, 1997; Hill, 1982) Our aggression and synergy come in many forms; team spirit, motivating each other, determination on the court, working hard at practice- all of which we do as a team. Our wins/losses undoubtedly contribute to our perceived level of outcome, but we are a team that values hard work and dedication to each other. The satisfaction that we are all lucky enough to gain from such a group is irreplaceable.