The bus shakes from the booming speaker as the boys lacrosse team approaches their opponent. Together, the boys bang on the seats, getting locked in for another decisive win. Whether it be the boys lacrosse team and their signature song, or the field hockey team and their gameday breakfasts, the community has countless timeless traditions.
While some members of the team may think their team’s ritual excessive, team traditions are proven to boost team morale and camaraderie. Not only will these routines boost team chemistry in the moment, but they also encourage team members to spend time together outside of regular game and practice time. Events like team meals are especially great because they often involve coaches, players and even parents, which fosters unity throughout the entire team.
“Before every away game, we turn on this Soundcloud audio called “Power Hour,” which has a bunch of motivational quotes and an EDM beat,” boys lacrosse player Ryan Magalik (’26) said. “Everyone bangs on the seats of the bus, and we all get really locked in and hype before the game.”
Magalik also stated this ritual greatly boosts camaraderie.
“It’s a kind of random tradition, but it helps the whole team feel much more connected,” Magalik said. “It makes you feel more comfortable around one another, which helps us trust each other on the field.”
Girls lacrosse player Elizabeth Cate (’26) commented on some of the team’s pregame rituals.
“Before games, everyone goes around and says their personal goals for the game,” Elizabeth Cate (’26) said. “It helps us get focused and motivate each other to push harder.”
Team traditions also help to establish leaders on the team. Often, the leader or leaders of a team are the ones who organize such events, helping establish a sort of hierarchy within the team. According to the National Library of Medicine, athlete leaders have been reported to positively increase cohesion, confidence, motivation and satisfaction of other team members. These ideas are not new to Madison. In fact, the captains of the swim team lead pre-meet chants, and the boys basketball team captains provide motivational quotes along with many other teams and their unique traditions.
Some teams have multiple traditions, girls lacrosse being one of them.
“Before we warm up, we all put our sticks in a pile,” Cate said. “After our warm up, we go up to the pile one at a time and try to take our own sticks out without moving anyone else’s.”
Conversely, competition between teammates helps push one another. Whether in practice, or fighting for a spot on the roster, teams undoubtedly need rivalry.
“Since the lacrosse team is pretty big this year, there are a lot of people fighting for spots,” Magalik said. “Compared to the past few years, there really isn’t one person who is a standout star. There are a ton of solid guys who all compete and push each other and I think that is what is going to carry us this year.”
A challenge arises when a team struggles to find a balance between camaraderie and competition. A team with too much rivalry will tear itself apart and often fall short due to a lack of team chemistry. In contrast, it is impossible for a team to have too much camaraderie. As always, the more team chemistry, the better; however, it must be matched by equal competitiveness.
“Our team chemistry really helps our team go far,” Cate said. “We all want to keep playing together which makes us fight harder as a team.”
