Gabi Haberfield: How to be a great team-mate

What do you value most in a team-mate?

A hard worker, who communicates well and keeps a stable, positive mindset, is the best team mate. Support is key: whether encouraging during tough games or celebrating success, knowing your team-mates have your back is everything.

Good communication is so important. A great team-mate gives and receives constructive feedback, keeps the team together on and off court, and makes sure everyone understands what we are aiming to achieve.

I appreciate team-mates who bring positive energy. Staying calm and focused in tough times helps keep the team confident and motivated.

Finally, I love to see hard work. If you give everything during training and games you will improve yourself, and inspire the rest of us. When everyone commits to working hard and supporting each other, you truly become a team.

 

What do you work on to be the best team-mate you can be?

As well as concentrating on developing myself, I always try to contribute. Both at training and beyond, I want to constantly improve and never let my team down. This includes maintaining fitness, refining skills, and learning all I can about the game.

Beyond the physical, I always see my role as being the positive, encouraging one. I enjoy inspiring and motivating my teammates. Mistakes help you grow, which we all need to remember. Success is built on confidence and trust: an environment where everyone is supported and valued.

I try to improve my communication skills, whether that’s giving constructive feedback, celebrating success, or inspiring teammates when things don’t go our way.

As well as pushing themselves, the best team-mates also help bring out the best in others, something I strive for.

 

Who do you most enjoy playing with, and what makes him or her a great team-mate?

Every team-mate brings something unique, so it’s difficult to narrow it down. Three I love playing with are:

Caitlin Kent-McConigley and I started playing together at the first East district training and have been team-mates ever since. We push each other to improve and always provide encouragement, which makes playing together both competitive and supportive.

Liam Day was a teammate in the 2023 Mixx team. No matter the result, Liam recognises and celebrates everyone, which is fantastic. I really appreciate his hard work and dedication. Liam inspires me to aim higher.

Youri Borrink was also in that 2023 Mixx team. What an amazing experience to play with Youri. In addition to being a phenomenal coach, Youri backed that up by being an incredible team-mate. Though we were a young team, he shared his knowledge in a way that felt more like support from a friend, rather than instruction from a coach. That made it easy for all of us to take what he had to offer and use it for ourselves and the team.

In the end, the best team-mates encourage you, push you to improve, and build a positive environment, which all three of these players has done for me.