Since college, I’ve been fortunate to have had a slew of phenomenal teammates, a lot of whom I consider my closest friends. Once again in my career, though, the meaning of being part of a team has shifted for me.

Earlier this season, I went with the Seattle Reign FC to see a play called “The Wolves.” I’m not an avid play-goer (although I did take my fair share of drama classes in college, mostly because they were easy) and the idea of watching a play based on a soccer team made me very skeptical about the whole experience. The play was funny—it caught us all off-guard with very graphic and profane language, extreme events, and an interesting depiction of what we, as players, do every single day.

“The Wolves” shows a group of young women who embody everything I feel is valuable about a team - they make one another laugh, they ask tough questions, they express insecurities, and they come together surrounding tragedy to pull each other forward.

We all have our various “teams” in life. It may be an actual sports team, family, friends, work colleagues, internet folks, or even pets. I’m reminded all the time how tough life can be. I have a number of close friends facing struggles of all sorts. And no matter our struggle, everyone needs a team. It can be a team of one or a team of thousands, but more important than the size of the team is the support it provides.

This year is the first time in my career that I’ve been a member of a team and not physically able to contribute to the team’s mission. Through my battle with an Ulcerative Colitis flareup, (you can read more about that struggle here), It’s been tough for me because I’m new to the Seattle Reign FC and I want to contribute, but a lot of days I haven’t even been able to go watch training.