This morning I read about a local Atom A hockey team, the Lasalle Lions,  that went unbeaten all year in 51 games and won their regional championship. The star player, Nathaniel Larivée, had the most points in the league although a few other kids on the team also were in the top level. Actually a line-mate of Nathaniel had more goals than he did but the star had more assists than goals. We are talking about 8 year old here.

I remember when my son played hockey at that age and passing was kind of rare. It was mostly a free for all and the best puck carrier usually hogged the disc.

What was interesting is that they interviewed the star player and asked him what he liked most about his season. Was it scoring goals and racking up the points? Surprisingly he answered none of that but simply what he enjoyed most was the team spirit.

This is interesting coming from an eight year old who had not been trained in teamwork and has probably not yet been sufficiently brainwashed to work towards the NHL and a star’s salary. What is still most important at that age is enjoying himself with his buddies on the team and that in his mind equates to team spirit. I am sure he enjoys winning but that is not what he expressed as the most important.

This is what we need to rekindle in our organizations as we move towards fixing our economy and solving the big problems like war, the environment, poverty, etc.  Without rediscovering true team spirit we have little chance of survival as a species because the causes of those big problems need to be solved through the participation and contribution of each person.

Stephen