Being part of a team – Insight by Ex-Manchester United player Luke Chadwick

Being part of a team is a fantastic feeling. I’ve been lucky enough to be part of many teams on my life’s journey to date, and I can honestly say I’ve loved being part of every single one. Of course there have been ups and downs and plenty of challenges along the way but working together with team mates and colleagues have even made the challenges something to relish.

There is something very special about working with others being able to support them and vice versa, the feeling of others having your back and comradery between a group of people is an inspiring one. As the saying goes ‘Nothing great is ever accomplished alone’ and even if it was, where would the joy in that be found without those around you to celebrate success with?

The first team I was part of was my grassroots football club Melbourn Tigers under 9s, I absolutely loved it, playing the game I adored with my friends, doing something I enjoyed and for the first time having a sense of comradery and pride every time I pulled on the kit. Every Saturday morning I would get up buzzing to play in a game with my teammates, those early memories will last a lifetime, it felt so good to be part of something with other people and learning so much together through success and failure.

I spent my whole adult life being part of teams as a football player and at times probably took it for granted and didn’t fully appreciate how lucky I was. In my time at Manchester United I found myself in one of the best teams in the Premier Leagues history which blows my mind that I experienced that, it was without doubt the best team I have ever been a part of. And of course full of extraordinary footballing talent,but what sticks out the most were the human qualities of hard work, honesty, and humility of the people involved.

Over the years after that I played in many more teams, obviously not at the same level in terms of success but I still treasured being part of every single one. Of course there were ups and downs and the dressing room wasn’t always a harmonious place, but out on the pitch you would stick together and have each other’s back, because that’s what a team is: a group of people working together to reach a shared goal. You feel joy together in success, and you learn together in failure which when you’re prepared to digest it and not make any excuses you learn the biggest lessons.

When I stopped playing football the biggest thing I missed was being part of a team and found a sense of loneliness which was very challenging, but through challenge comes opportunity and now I find myself in the biggest team I’ve ever been part of at the Football Fun Factory. I’m a team mate of over 80 Head Coaches and a head office team, and it’s so rewarding being part of a group of people that share the same passion and beliefs, which are seeing children having fun playing football.

Like any team we have people from vastly different backgrounds but the shared love of coaching football and giving children positive experiences in the game brings everyone together which is a wonderful thing. Whatever industry your team is in, when everyone is pulling together with shared beliefs in a positive environment there is no limit to what can be achieved and more importantly than that, you love what you do.