If there’s anything that athletes share, from elite, Olympic-level stars and NFL Pro Bowlers to high school junior varsity field hockey players, it’s their love of the team and the camaraderie that comes — even for athletes in more individual sports, from practices and traveling to games to competing with and against one another.
It’s what makes going to practice enjoyable, knowing you’ll see your best friends and for a couple of hours everything else melts away. It’s what binds people for years, the shared experience of winning the Missouri Valley Conference championship or a gold medal or the Stanley Cup.