The Team

Nothing beats being part of the team...

Achievements are celebrated, but it is the team that gives them context and meaning. Teams are not defined by their accomplishments but accomplishments will never be realized without a team. 

We may refer to our achievements to help define what being a part of a team means but this is only because the experience is so personal that it is next to impossible to describe what it means to you.

Everything I am today is because of the teams I have been part of. So many beautiful and inspiring teams. 

My Family, My Friends, Widbrook FC, The Army Cadet Force, NetApp, United Services Portsmouth RFC, F5 Networks, Isilon, EMC and now BMC. These are the teams that have shaped and will continue to define who I am. 

Despite all of the great experiences I have shared with my teammates over the years, whether they be in business, sport or life in general, there are moments that I believe have impacted me more than others and there is one collection of moments over time which has remained vivid in my mind throughout.

I am not thinking of the deals I have closed in business, I am also not thinking of the tries I have scored in Rugby or even the beautiful family that I am lucky enough to have loved me every day. I am not suggesting that these are not beautiful moments, they are, and I think of them a lot but they are not the moments that take me back to who I really am. 


The moments that take me back to my core self are far less noteworthy and perhaps not really memorable at all - yet they have stayed with me and it is those moments that stir my heart and ignite my passion.

So what are the collection of moments?

I am referring to each and every moment before and after a game - Rugby or Football. Those many humble moments of self-reflection in the dressing room accompanied by nothing more glamorous than a dusty concrete floor strewn with mud and surrounded by a bunch of rickety old wooden benches. I am referring to those moments where you find yourself together -as a team- before and after you set out to test the strength of the bonds that make a team a team. Those moments of truth. 

You don't need to look at your teammates to know that they are there. The team transcends individual voices or actions and the dressing room becomes an aura of meaning and purpose that envelopes you. There are no boundaries, there are no shop-fronts or hidden agendas, only truths. 

Those 18-20 men are not in that dressing room because they have to be there, they haven't been paid to do it either, yet they are there - relinquishing their individuality to be part of the team. 

I haven't played Rugby or Football for a little over a year or so now due to injuries and life circumstances. I might not be sat in that dressing room anymore but I can still see that dusty concrete floor before and after every time I test myself in life. My teams still share my accomplishments - they just don't know it. The team lives on inside me, it drives me and it protects me. 

I can understand why some people may think its silly to play dangerous games like Rugby. Some people also don't understand why teams do stupid things to one another - the drinking games, the pranks, the 'peer-pressure', To these people, I say- try it out. See how strong the team makes you and see how long it stays with you. You will never be alone again.

This blog is dedicated to my teammates- past, present and future. Thank you for everything you have enabled me to experience- past, present and future :)


 Thanks for Reading,

Chancey

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