Illusive Chemistry

2-6-89

Perspective:

Illusive Chemistry

It was a pretty good week for Cobber sports. The Cobber men's basketball team showed life in a win over MIAC- leader St. Olaf. The Lady Cobbers continued to roll and piled up 225 points in two lopsided wins. The hockey team retained hopes of a top-four conference finish as their season winds to an end. And each team strived, with differing degrees of success, for that illusive chemistry which, so often, distinguishes winning from losing.

This is the time of year when honest descriptions of winter sports teams all across the country become most rich. There is to be found, depending upon which team is being examined, pathos or joy, frustration or confidence, recriminations or credit-sharing, wide- spread antagonism or mutual respect.

Each athletic season, for every team, contains its own high drama. How the coach would put the pieces together, how the players would face up to their limitations and roles, and how the concept of cooperation would be meshed with the passion to be the best were all unknowns in the beginning.

But by this time of the year the sorting out is nearly complete. Many teams' early dreams have turned to ashes. Still other teams are seeking, through a miraculous finish, to resurrect something from an embarrassing beginning. Only a few find their early dreams still intact.

For some, the boundless optimism of the pre-season fall practices has been replaced with the somber reality of a mediocre won-lost record and too many hours together with too many people who have seemingly not lived up to early expectations.

For precious few others there is the sense of building something special that will be treasured for a lifetime. They are gearing toward a possible championship, bonding friendships that will endure, and finding unknown reservoirs of strength and talent in each other and themselves which they feared did not exist.

The sports world is filled with euphemisms. They stem from a sort of gentleness, or politeness, that pervades sports in this part of the country. Laziness is called only "a lack of intensity." Selfishness is referred to as "poor shot selection." Open warfare between players is usually described as a situation where the team "just isn't jelling." Eccentric coaches who swear a lot and go over the edge are called "colorful." And so on.

But bad team "chemistry" is hardly ever written or talked about, even with euphemisms. It's just too touchy of a subject by this time of year, like a divorce waiting to happen.

It has a familiar pattern. The seniors are playing for stats. The juniors are looking to next year. The sophomores and freshmen are convinced they could do it better. The coach is baffled and tired.

There is surprisingly little disagreement when it comes to the necessity of team chemistry. It may be hard to define but, as Chief Justice Rehnquist said in trying to define pornography, "I know it when I see it." It is clearly a cornerstone of success.

Losing coaches will often say that the so-called "good chemistry" on winning teams is the result, and not the cause, of winning. But winning coaches will tell you that the chemistry comes first. Learning to love and respect each other as people and athletes is usually a precondition of success.

Great athletes can sometimes form a winning team even when rancor abounds. The Chicago Bears come to mind. But in most of the sports world the athletic talent tends to be pretty even within a particular competitive level. And the edge the winning teams have is often in how they mesh rather than in how high they jump or how fast they move.

Let's appreciate good chemistry when we see it. Like in a good marriage, the easy-going relationship and cooperation we see are usually the result of a lot of selfless behavior and mutual respect. And love.

These pages are maintained by Jerry Pyle pyle@cord.edu. These articles are copyrighted © and may not be published or reproduced without the express permission of Jerry Pyle.

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