An open letter to my former teammates

No matter what team I’ve been a part of, I have had teammates who have transcended into more than just individuals who were in the same uniform as I was. They became friends and we were family. From AAU, to college, to professionally in England, my teammates were a huge motivating factor to work hard and an incredible reminder to have fun.

Throughout my career I have been blessed with teammates who have encouraged me to keep going, pushed me to become better, and supported me through rough times. Many different lessons and life challenges were met with these teammates and although we may not speak regularly anymore now, they are all individuals I consider to be friends and family. 

That being said, I've also had a few bad teammates along the way. Although we may not have gotten along, we were able to put those feelings aside and step on the court with the same goals and work together. There is a solid chance I will never see or speak to you again (I'm sure you aren't reading this), but know that a short period of time, on the same team, has bonded us for life. 

I may not have known it at the time, but each teammate I've had has been able to teach me something which has helped contribute to the person I am today. I attempted to think about one or two former teammates in particular to talk about what made them great teammates, but there are so many that the job of narrowing examples down became overwhelming. With that being said, here are a few "Thank You" statements I would like to make, that touch upon some of the lessons that have stuck with me:

*Thank you to those in the "yellow" - for always being around to talk after a hard practice or game and to help encourage me to keep my head up and keep trying
*Thank you captain - for holding me accountable while also motivating me to become better on the court and to have fun along the way
*Thank you "new" teammates - for accepting me into your team quickly and making me feel like I'd known you for years
*Thank you senior - for showing me the ropes when I arrived and pushing me to keep going
*Thank you teammate who seemed to always be angry - For giving me a bloody nose after the whistle blew out of frustration...I learned then that I was capable of frustrating an opponent enough to make them make mistakes
*Thank you "Spanish" - you were some of the most supportive, caring and enthusiastic teammates I've ever had. Your love for the game and for life were astounding and impacted me greatly
*Thank you teammates who laughed WITH and AT ME - to those who laughed with me - we made some amazing memories that I will always cherish. To those who laughed at me - thank you for helping me gain a thicker skin and for ultimately fueling me to work harder than you, become better at the sport than you, and at the end of the day...have the last laugh. 

I hope if any former teammates read this they remember our fun times, good memories and consistent support from me. We have all gone on to make individual accomplishments in our lives, but for a brief time, we accomplished a lot together.

-Cat