I’M OUT OF TOWN ON VACATION SO I’D LIKE TO SHARE A GUEST POST THIS WEEK. THIS WEEK’S MIBE MESSAGE COMES FROM LINDSEY GERTZ, SENIOR SALES COORDINATOR AND MEMBER OF THE FOOTERS FAMILY FOR 15 YEARS! ENJOY!

Our 11-year-old son Landon plays lacrosse.  He started playing when he was 5 and we’ve loved witnessing his joy in playing the sport grow over time.  He changed teams this year and his new coach is wonderful and truly fosters a love of the game and strength in fundamentals. Landon has switched positions and is playing attack and midi, which means tons of running and lots of offensive opportunities. This season is all new compared to previous seasons and as a result, it’s taken some time for the new team to come together. 

This past Saturday, Landon’s team played their third game of the season which ended with a winning score of 16-4.  After two losses, it was incredible to watch the team crush it. In lacrosse, an amazing tradition is that at the end of the game, the entire team celebrates with the goalie. Goalie is a tough, challenging, and pressure filled position and win or lose, the whole team rushes the goalie, and jumps all over him. In doing so, they congratulate him for his role in the win, or build him back up if it was a tough loss.  It’s awesome to watch such an uplifting display of teamwork and camaraderie at the end of every game.  To our dismay, our son had a tough end to the game and didn’t participate in this ritual because he was upset and being hard on himself about a pass he missed and a goal he didn’t score. Instead of joining his team in celebrating, he walked off the field, head down, and as his parents, it was really hard to witness.  After talking about his feelings, we talked about teamwork and sportsmanship. The phrase we shared with him was “There is no I in Team” and it got me thinking about the leadership message I wanted to share.

In lacrosse and in life, there will be wins and losses, shots that are made, and conversely shots that are taken and missed.  Rebuilding a team takes time and sometimes things don’t gel immediately.  However, when you rebuild with great teammates, you should be able to navigate the missed shots, tough losses, and celebrate your wins.  It should become less about the individual player and more about the team effort and success. Maybe you didn’t score, but your teammate did, and when you can see the big picture and collective effort, that’s a winning perspective.

After a year of tough losses and hardship, like Landon’s lacrosse team, Footers is in the rebuild stage and in a place where we have an incredible opportunity to strengthen our fundamentals. We’re so fortunate to have welcomed four new team members to our sales squad and will be doing the same with culinary, hospitality and operations.  While we have core veteran players and amazing coaches that will help us navigate this new season and beyond, it’s all going to hinge on how we choose to come together as a team.  I know that I’m excited for the hard “games” to come.  There will be wins, losses, and probably some penalties along the way, but if we all commit to “No I in Team”, I believe we’ll win no matter what. 

Today, I challenge you to focus on how you can be a better team player, like our son is learning to be. Think about what you can do this week to encourage and celebrate your team.  Most of all, be sure that no matter what, that you get out there, tackle, and hug a teammate because team love builds everyone up.  Being part of a great team and the joy that comes with getting to play a “game” that you love is always something worth celebrating.