Bringing Energy To Your Team, One Cup At A Time

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By Isabel Max for DyeStat

When the last school bell rings, the Summit girls cross country team locker room becomes a zoo. As more girls filter into the room, squawks and shrieks of greeting reach a crescendo.

We have all had different days. As a result, we all have different attitudes toward the prospect of a hard workout when we enter the locker room.

Inevitably, someone holds up a Bluetooth speaker and proclaims that it’s “MADONNA MONDAY!” “Like A Prayer” is promptly added to the ruckus.

Changing into our exercise clothes takes a long time because we are dancing. When we finally tie our shoelaces, the gap between our varied levels of energy has closed. We are united in our pre-workout excitement, anxiety and sense of duty. Our locker room has once again offered itself as a vessel for our teams’ secret drug: high energy.

We’ve been asked the question “What makes this team special?” a number of times since our NXN win. The answer is the way in which we approach each practice — that is, with a cup. 

When we run together, packed up on the trail, we are buzzing with excitement. Our energy is collectively pooled. Each member contributes to the “energy pool” each day, by pouring their part into the whole.

It is unrealistic, though, to assume that everyone can contribute a cup full of good energy each day. Not everyone comes to practice pumped for hill repeats on Monday. Life factors get in the way of focus and passion for running.

This is why each member on my team is responsible only for bringing a cup, regardless of the amount of energy in it. The cup we each bring represents our willingness to buy into the team culture. Some days, you have no energy left to give. On days like these, I will have to use the energy pooled by my teammates to fill my cup. My teammates, conversely, are more than willing to fill my cup. Most of the time, they offer a compliment or a laugh. Something as simple as “Your stride looks smooth as hell today,” has the power to bring up the average of the team’s energy. 

On an increasingly deep team, our pooled energy lets us have healthy intersquad competition, when it could just as easily be destructive. When put into practice, the collectivity lets us run together out of passion for the sport and team, not out of fear for the competition and our own spots.

The best part? Every team has the power to put my wacko analogy into practice: It’s no secret.