National Be A Good Teammate Day | July 22
Good teammates make being part of the team worthwhile! That’s why every year on July 22, National Be a Good Teammate Day recognizes the sacrifices, kindness, and generosity of these selfless individuals.
Whether it’s sports, family, community, school, or work, everybody is part of a team. Use this date to show your appreciation to those willing to put the needs of their “team” ahead of themselves.
Teamwork may make the dream work, but good teammates are what make the team work!
History of the Holiday:
The two most anticipated days in almost every child’s life are usually Christmas and that child’s birthday. Unfortunately for some children, those two occasions happen to occur at the same time.
Lance Loya was born a “Christmas baby” and can personally attest to the frustration of having to share your birthday with a major holiday.
Receiving a Christmas/birthday gift from a relative or having his birthday present wrapped in Christmas paper always left him feeling slighted, as did never being able to bring cupcakes to school to celebrate with his classmates or have a sleepover on his actual birth date.
When he got older, he came to understand why Christmas birthdays are challenging for families. Finances are tighter, time is more limited, and logistics are a nightmare. Christmas birthdays amplify the stress of the holiday season.
But just because he understood the issue didn’t mean he stopped feeling slighted. One day, his girlfriend—who eventually became his wife—suggested that he compensate for being “cheated” by picking an alternative date to celebrate what she called “Lance Day.”
Her suggestion seemed like a good idea, so he picked July 22 as his day. No other holiday fell on that date, and it was spaced far enough away from Christmas to provide some reprieve. The numerical date (7/22) also coincided with his high school football number (7) and his high school basketball number (22), which made it easy to remember.
He enjoyed celebrating “Lance Day” over the years. But the more he immersed himself in the art of being a good teammate, the less happy he became with the occasion’s premise. He grew to want the date to be associated with something bigger than himself.
So, he successfully petitioned for July 22 to be officially recognized as National Be a Good Teammate Day.
How to Observe:
On National Be a Good Teammate Day, make an extra effort to express your gratitude to team members who go above and beyond the call of duty. Honor their contributions to the team with a boisterous “Thank you!” or a well-deserved high five or hug.
Other ways to celebrate:
• Make an unsolicited “good teammate move” (i.e., a selfless act of kindness) for someone on your team
• Take a teammate to lunch
• Gift a teammate a copy of The WE Gear
• Write a handwritten note letting a teammate know what specifically you appreciate about him or her
• Reconnect with a former teammate and reminisce about fun times of the past
• Gift your team a 30-minute teambuilding workshop from The Good Teammate Factory
• Share a photo of you and a teammate on social media and use the hashtag #NationalBeAGoodTeammateDay
One final note…
If you are the type of teammate whose selflessness and kindness goes unrecognized, reward yourself on July 22nd with a slice of victory cake. You’ve earned it!