TrueSport Ambassador and two-time Olympic gold medalist DeeDee Trotter shares the three most important things about being a great teammate.
Video Transcript
I’m DeeDee Trotter, three-time Olympian and Olympian gold and bronze medalist, and I’m a TrueSport athlete. I want to talk to you guys today about teamwork, and there’s three things you have to know about teamwork.
Number one, you need to appreciate the roles that your other teammates are playing. Make sure you respect them. Number two, you also have to improve your own skills so that you can be the asset to the team that you need to be. And number three, make sure you remember that teamwork is not about you. It’s about the team. So who gets the credit? Doesn’t matter. As long as the team reaches their ultimate goal.
I can attest to that. As a member of the 2008 Olympic Team, my team had to work together to make sure we brought home the gold for the United States of America. Unfortunately, during that year, I had a knee injury and I had to make a decision right as we were getting ready to go out on the field whether or not I can run, and I had to ask myself, “If I go out there and I don’t make it around the track, will that hurt the team?” My decision was, “Yes, it would.” I had to let one of my other teammates run in my place and she was prepared to do so. It wasn’t the easiest decision, but it was a decision that I had to make for the team. Doing that allowed us to bring home the USA Olympic Gold Medal.
So remember, teamwork is key to reaching the ultimate success. We were TrueSport athletes, you got to be a true sport athlete too.
