Teamwork and Trust

It comes as no surprise that League of Legends, a game about two teams fighting each other, requires teamwork. But as I sit here writing this, I'm having trouble trying to get out exactly what teamwork is. It might sound like a simple question, teamwork is where a team... works together. Shocking, I know. However I don't believe it is just that. There are many other games that require that people work together to achieve a single goal, such as the Red Orchestra series or Team Fortress 2 as examples. These games however, have large player teams on them. This allows one or two people to be bad, and the rest of the team can still succeed. League is not like that. There are two five player teams, meaning that if one is doing poorly or doesn't play quite right, it can cost your team victory. But you most likely already know this, so what exactly am I trying to get at? Well, this: in order for you to have a successful game, and to properly cooperate with your teammates, you have to trust them.

The keyword there is trust. This is especially true in ranked. Ranked is a blind pick, and blind pick is not exactly the best way to create a successful team. But if an ally gets a spot that you wanted, you have to trust them. And vice versa. In order to properly work together as a team, and achieve victory, you have to trust each other. And I don't mean just let him have the spot, no. You have to genuinely believe that he will do well in his selected position. Trust is the bridge to functioning as a team. Once you all believe that your other teammates will do well by themselves, you can properly focus on what you are doing rather than constantly thinking about what they are doing. If you worry about others, you begin to lose focus. And when you begin to lose focus, you start to waver in lane. When you waver in lane, you might begin to fall behind. All of this is a domino effect that can eventually topple even the best of teams. You and the rest of the team have to think as one, yet also be able to think on your own. That sounds confusing, but I'll try my best to explain it. You have to have the same central ideas and goals as your allies. You have to be on the same page for objectives, turrets, team fights, and pretty much anything else. But you also have to think differently when it comes to HOW you play. Everyone has to know their place. Each person is a central support to the entire team, and if one falls, so does the rest of everyone else. Even if a team is made up of the best players in the entire world, they can lose to a completely average team if they're thoughts are not aligned. If you are scattered in your thinking, you cannot hope to achieve victory. I don't really know if this makes any sense to anyone else, but I really just wanted to put my thoughts down on (digital) paper. If this doesn't really make sense coherently, I apologize. I simply wished for my ideas to be out for everyone to see.