I wish I had played team sports. I think every kid should.

Mo Rocca, with humility and honesty, once confessed: “I wish I had played team sports. I think every kid should. Teamwork builds character—teaches people about leadership and cooperation.” In these words lies not only a personal longing, but a timeless truth: that the lessons of life are not always found in books or solitary striving, but often in the shared struggles of the field, where hearts beat together and victories and defeats are borne as one.

The origin of these words is the recognition that individual brilliance, though dazzling, is never enough to shape a soul fully. Team sports, whether on dusty playgrounds or grand stadiums, are more than games—they are schools of life. They teach that no single person can triumph alone, that the strength of the one is bound to the strength of the many. Rocca speaks not as an athlete but as a man who has observed this truth in others and seen the gap it left in his own upbringing.

History provides us with shining examples. Consider the Spartan warriors of ancient Greece. Though fierce individually, their true power lay in the phalanx—a wall of shields, each man protecting his brother beside him. Their teamwork was their greatness; their unity made them unconquerable. Or recall the story of Jackie Robinson, who, breaking the color barrier in baseball, endured not alone but with teammates who chose to stand with him, showing the world that cooperation and courage together could overcome even centuries of division.

The deeper meaning of Rocca’s words is that character is not forged in comfort, but in the fires of shared effort. On the field, a child learns to win with humility and to lose with dignity. They learn to trust others, to bear responsibility, to sacrifice personal glory for the success of the team. These lessons echo far beyond the game: into families, into workplaces, into nations. A child who learns cooperation on the field is a citizen better prepared to build peace in society.

But let us not mistake his words for nostalgia alone. Rocca is issuing a call. For in an age where isolation grows, where screens replace faces, and where many seek only personal achievement, the value of team sports is more urgent than ever. They remind us that the human spirit is communal, that greatness lies in togetherness, that the heart is never fuller than when it beats in rhythm with others.

The lesson, then, is clear: let every child, and indeed every adult, experience the power of the team. For parents, this means encouraging children to join teams not merely to win trophies, but to learn life’s greater truths. For educators and leaders, it means recognizing that leadership is not commanding from above, but serving within and alongside. And for each of us, it means seeking out opportunities where our strength can be joined to others, whether on fields of play or in the struggles of daily life.

Practical action lies open before us. If you are young, join a team—any team—and learn to play not only for yourself but for those beside you. If you are older, find ways to engage in group endeavors, for the lessons of teamwork are never too late to learn. Support communities that make sports accessible to all, not just the privileged, for in those games lies the training ground of tomorrow’s leaders. And in every sphere of life, practice the discipline of cooperation, the humility of shared labor, and the courage to lead and to follow.

Thus Mo Rocca’s words endure as both confession and wisdom: teamwork builds character. It teaches us that we are strongest not when we shine alone, but when we rise together. Let us then pass this truth to our children, so that through the games they play, they may grow into men and women of leadership, of humility, of strength, and of love for one another. For the team is more than sport—it is the training ground of the soul.