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Teammates Matter Fighting for Something Greater than Self
A true story about coach Jim Valvano and the founding of the "V" foundation
213 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
7 people are currently reading
69 people want to read
About the author
Alan Williams
63 books22 followersAlan Williams worked as a script editor for the BBC, working on Absolutely Fabulous, Birds of a Feather and Keeping up Appearances amongst others. He went on to edit Writers' Monthly and now publishes two influential films and television magazines. He lives in Blackheath, London, has won awards for his short stories, and includes dieting and chocolate éclairs as his hobbies.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 8, 2022
my coach made me read this book and after rereading it truly shows what perseverance and being a good teammate take :)
September 21, 2019
Teammates Matter is a first hand account of Alan Williams’s experience as a walk-on to the Wake Forest Men’s Basketball team. I enjoyed reading about and learning from the various experiences Alan depicts, but three points stood out to me: the togetherness of the team, the moments when leaders chose to intentionally steer the culture in a different direction, and the humility, vulnerability, and courage of Alan.
There are 3 instances where the head coach or a star player overrode the already existing culture within the staff that walk-ons aren’t important. The first is when a staff member didn’t prepare the walk-ons’ jerseys for the team picture and didn’t give the walk-ons a team travel bag. The players knew the assistant coach didn’t respect walk-ons, but when the head coach found out, he inconvenienced the team and made everyone wait 20 minutes to give the walk-ons time to go back to their dorm and change into a suit. When Robert O’Kelley, a star player, realized Alan didn’t have a travel bag, he gave him his own.
The second event is when Alan sat in a leather chair instead of a stool in the locker room. Josh Howard, another star player, usually sat in the leather chair. An assistant coach asked Alan to move, but Josh immediately intervened and insisted that Alan sit in his chair.
Third, Alan talks about when the head coach, Coach Prosser, always remembered where he came from, took the team to Ground 0, organized team pediatric hospitals visits, and would put perspective back into the sport before every practice.
Alan’s experience also depicted the strong bond within the team, where they “run behind one another,” in basketball and in life. They triumphed together, whether it was winning games or crossing the finish line together during a track workout. They also hurt together: crying with a teammate when his mother passed away or huddling around a player who made a game-losing error. It is evident that their togetherness translated into success on the court.
Lastly, I appreciated Alan’s vulnerability to portray the rollercoaster of events surrounding his time at Wake. The tenacity and relentlessness that he showed as he pursued basketball was very inspiring. I enjoyed how Alan’s faith was interwoven throughout the book; it’s evident that his humility and resilience originated from the promises made by Jesus Christ.
Teammates Matter is a book for teams and leaders at all levels, and depicts a model team where the team members have become “the kind of teammates that their teammates need them to be.”
There are 3 instances where the head coach or a star player overrode the already existing culture within the staff that walk-ons aren’t important. The first is when a staff member didn’t prepare the walk-ons’ jerseys for the team picture and didn’t give the walk-ons a team travel bag. The players knew the assistant coach didn’t respect walk-ons, but when the head coach found out, he inconvenienced the team and made everyone wait 20 minutes to give the walk-ons time to go back to their dorm and change into a suit. When Robert O’Kelley, a star player, realized Alan didn’t have a travel bag, he gave him his own.
The second event is when Alan sat in a leather chair instead of a stool in the locker room. Josh Howard, another star player, usually sat in the leather chair. An assistant coach asked Alan to move, but Josh immediately intervened and insisted that Alan sit in his chair.
Third, Alan talks about when the head coach, Coach Prosser, always remembered where he came from, took the team to Ground 0, organized team pediatric hospitals visits, and would put perspective back into the sport before every practice.
Alan’s experience also depicted the strong bond within the team, where they “run behind one another,” in basketball and in life. They triumphed together, whether it was winning games or crossing the finish line together during a track workout. They also hurt together: crying with a teammate when his mother passed away or huddling around a player who made a game-losing error. It is evident that their togetherness translated into success on the court.
Lastly, I appreciated Alan’s vulnerability to portray the rollercoaster of events surrounding his time at Wake. The tenacity and relentlessness that he showed as he pursued basketball was very inspiring. I enjoyed how Alan’s faith was interwoven throughout the book; it’s evident that his humility and resilience originated from the promises made by Jesus Christ.
Teammates Matter is a book for teams and leaders at all levels, and depicts a model team where the team members have become “the kind of teammates that their teammates need them to be.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 10, 2020
Phenomenal book. Alan Williams is a rare type of person. His story is incredible for many reasons, but not necessarily what you think of in a good sports book. Instead, Alan Williams delivers what it means to be a good teammate. And, as a former college athlete, I was not. I cared more about myself and my playing time. I wanted to win, but only if I got my playing time. Alan Williams shows how to be a true teammate and indulge in others’ success. Making matters more impressive, he was a straight up baller in high school. He had D1 scholarships but wages to be a part of the Wake Forest team and walked on. He didn’t have to be on the end of the bench but he did so, and did it with the type of attitude that I can’t even fathom possessing. It showed me a lot about what it means to be on a team.
October 8, 2018
I feel that this book was very interesting and it took a different approach on a typical sports story. Instead of the usual happy ending with them being very successful it showed the hardships that a person might go through if they do not get a scholarship somewhere and decide to walk on. I feel that a lot of kids and teenaers can relate o Alan nd that he does a good job of portraying a good role model for them to look up too.
February 7, 2020
Read this book for a leadership class. I know very little about basketball and virtually nothing about college ball. While his story was heartwarming and sentimental (a tribute to his team, coach, and tons of effort), it skipped around a lot, which made it hard to follow at times.
April 12, 2022
The “Rudy” basketball guy’s journey on the verge of being cut from the 2000-2004 Wake Forest basketball team. For the WHOLE 4 years. Pretty inspiring and entertaining to read.
August 20, 2014
Seeing the Bigger Picture
Alan Williams discusses the difficulty of living as a walk-on at Wake Forest University. This is a story about hard-work, patience, and perseverance that he faces during his time on the basketball team. Also it is a story about the everyday world, because others look over people who aren't in the same social, financial, or racial class or if someone isn't close to their "status". Alan goes through many obstacles in this inspiration novel but without one of his friends on the team he probably wouldn't have made it to the end.
In one of the chapters Alan said something like, "I feel like I don't belong around here sometimes". And by that, he meant the difficulty of not being treated like everyone else and he couldn't understand why people were like that. For him to finish all the way through until the end is quite remarkable, many think they couldn't go through like he did. But if you truly think about it, you have either treated someone like this or have been treated like this and not have thought about it at all. That is the bigger picture Alan is trying to get out in his novel about 'basketball'.
I do not enjoy reading that much, however this book was really interesting and I would encourage others to read this.
Alan Williams discusses the difficulty of living as a walk-on at Wake Forest University. This is a story about hard-work, patience, and perseverance that he faces during his time on the basketball team. Also it is a story about the everyday world, because others look over people who aren't in the same social, financial, or racial class or if someone isn't close to their "status". Alan goes through many obstacles in this inspiration novel but without one of his friends on the team he probably wouldn't have made it to the end.
In one of the chapters Alan said something like, "I feel like I don't belong around here sometimes". And by that, he meant the difficulty of not being treated like everyone else and he couldn't understand why people were like that. For him to finish all the way through until the end is quite remarkable, many think they couldn't go through like he did. But if you truly think about it, you have either treated someone like this or have been treated like this and not have thought about it at all. That is the bigger picture Alan is trying to get out in his novel about 'basketball'.
I do not enjoy reading that much, however this book was really interesting and I would encourage others to read this.
March 15, 2013
You can view this book one of two ways. One - it's a story about perseverance when many would have given up. Two, it's a story about a guy who put himself through hell just so he could wear a Wake Forest basketball uniform.
I see it as a mix of the two. Yes, Alan Williams persevered when many would have given up. At the same time however, he did it to himself. He could have gotten a scholarship at a Division II school and had a much easier road. Yes, it's hard to give up on a dream you have had since childhood but, sometimes you have to move on - have new dreams. At some points during the book, I felt that Williams was complaining about how hard it is to be a walk-on on a Division I team. He didn't get official WF warm-up gear, conditioning was hard, he didn't get to shoot in practice, etc. I mean, what did he expect? He was a walk-on.
On another note, I have a cousin who recently was a walk-on for the WF basketball team. He was even voted captain his senior year. :)
I see it as a mix of the two. Yes, Alan Williams persevered when many would have given up. At the same time however, he did it to himself. He could have gotten a scholarship at a Division II school and had a much easier road. Yes, it's hard to give up on a dream you have had since childhood but, sometimes you have to move on - have new dreams. At some points during the book, I felt that Williams was complaining about how hard it is to be a walk-on on a Division I team. He didn't get official WF warm-up gear, conditioning was hard, he didn't get to shoot in practice, etc. I mean, what did he expect? He was a walk-on.
On another note, I have a cousin who recently was a walk-on for the WF basketball team. He was even voted captain his senior year. :)
December 31, 2010
This is a good book with a great message. As a coach, it was encouraging and thought-provoking. It gave me some great ideas of how to encourage better team unity, and what I can do as a coach to encourage my athletes as individuals. This autobiography of his experiences at Wake Forest was inspirational and eye-opening. This is a great new perspective on what it means to participate in athletics. Beyond this, it was an excellent look at what is really important in life. I appreciate how the author keeps the focus on the truth of the Gospel, and how Jesus is the only One able to bring true success. He shows how the concept of TEAM exemplifies this truth. Very good read!
January 19, 2011
The description at the top of this page is incorrect. The newer editions of Walk-On: Life from the End of the Bench have been retitled Teammates Matter. It actually has nothing to do with Jimmy Valvano or the Jimmy V Foundation. Valvano is only mentioned once in the entire book and then only in passing. This is actually an inspirational book based on the author's time as a walk on at Wake Forest.
The book isn't bad, but honestly it feels like after the first chapter or two, there's no real reason to keep reading. The message has been stated and everything after that point seems to just be more of the same.
The book isn't bad, but honestly it feels like after the first chapter or two, there's no real reason to keep reading. The message has been stated and everything after that point seems to just be more of the same.
October 12, 2011
This book is really good. I liked it because it tells about a mans struggle to play basketball because he really loved it. He never gave up. Which this teaches you alot of stuff about never give up on something you love. This book relates to alot of people in the world. They want to give up on a sport or a job or something because they are not good at it. Well this book encourages people on not giving up.
November 27, 2012
I received this book as a gift from the publisher because I am coach. I thought it was a quick and enjoyable read. It shares the struggles and yet the amount of dedication it takes to play athletics at the collegiate level. I think the deeper message of the book, is one that we can relate too. We are all part of a team, in some way, whether at work, in your family, your friends, for sure if you are participating in athletics...how do we find fulfillment in the roles that we play?
January 16, 2017
good, quick read about working hard and putting life into perspective. Maybe unintentionally sounded like author was complaining a little bit at times but given to a high school athlete to read that inspires to play a sport in college, it could help them understand the college athlete life a little bit better.
July 16, 2011
As a high school coach this book had some good ideas to use with my team. It can be helpful for JV level players in getting them to buy into the team/bigger picture concept and give ideas of how to help them understand other roles on a team other than in the starting line up.
January 22, 2014
A very inspiring story which illustrates the importance of something greater than one's self. Everyone plays a part on a team that makes the team greater in strength. This includes walk-ons and bench warmers.
September 11, 2016
I really enjoyed this book.
August 3, 2013
Awesome book for any athlete
July 28, 2017
I had to read this book before my volleyball season starts, and I must say it was very interesting! It gave me a great perspective on what it means to be a selfless teammate, something that is very important to create a good solid team.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews