Friendships and sport at PC

by Graham Birt, Coach and Senior School Faculty

For me personally, the friendships I forged while competing on school teams were far more meaningful and longer lasting than on teams outside of school. Shared experiences bring people closer together, and while school teammates may not share all the same classes or exact day-to-day experiences, they live life each day under the same roof. When arriving at practice, there are inevitably conversations about how everyone’s day has gone, and often that includes a special event or Morning Meeting, or an activity in a class with a teacher that everyone knows. Everyone on a school team has many things in common, and there is a distinct comfort in that.

In many ways, the emotional rollercoaster provided by the unpredictability of sports is the perfect opportunity for teammates to collectively experience both disappointment and elation. Although it is often frustrating that an athlete can’t adequately explain the emotion experienced during a specific competition to someone who was not directly involved, the fact that teammates simply “get it” means that there is another connection that is impossible to replicate elsewhere. Some athletes will be able to recollect the most miniscule details about a competition even years later, which provide for amazing “remember when?” conversations. The pressure that athletes feel during competition is shared by their teammates, and one’s success is everyone else’s too.

At Pickering College, our student athletes know that they are connected with generations of others who have also competed for our incredible school. Looking at the Egan House banners, seeing photos and hearing stories of teams from years past help to connect all of us, and the pride in our school for athletes and coaches is tangible—especially when competing against another. The nature of our CISAA league means that teams often spend long bus rides with each other. Trivial as it may seem, some alumni specifically mention missing those bus rides!