Scituate High School isn’t just a place for classes: it’s a lively hub of community, competition, and collaboration. From athletics to the debate team, SHS offers a place for every student to find their niche. But what makes a team truly effective? For club and team leaders, the answer often comes down to one thing: team bonding.
As a club leader myself, I wanted to explore how different groups at SHS strengthen their connections and foster involvement. I reached out to some of the school’s most active leaders to see how they bring their teams together.
SHS senior Alex Roche, one of the two varsity boys’ soccer captains, has a clear approach to building team cohesion: “Outside of practices and games, we do weekly pasta parties, occasional team gold outings, and even a team car wash at the beginning of the season to raise money.”
As a leader, Roche believes team bonding is especially important for a sports team, noting, “Team bonding is important in sports because, at the end of the day, you’re spending so much time with these people during the season. If you have a strong team bond, everyone’s more upfront and willing to communicate, making it easier to correct mistakes and strengthen performance.”
For Roche and many other team leaders, these activities can foster trust and familiarity, making the team feel like more than a group of players, but a strong support system.
Senior Molly Gould, one of the two varsity girls’ field hockey captains for the fall season and a Bates College field hockey commit, emphasized how team bonding and shared experiences strengthen her team. When asked why she thinks bonding is important, Gould responded, “When you spend time together outside of practice, you learn how to support each other and push each other to be better during games.” This advice has proven effective, given the success and recognition the SHS field hockey team has achieved within the past four years.
For the field hockey team, bonding often comes in the form of the classic “pasta party,” also known as team dinners. Gould sees these gatherings as more than just a meal—they’re a chance to relax, connect, and reset before big games, explaining, “It’s a crucial part of connecting with the team while also giving yourself a break,” underscoring how these moments off the field are just as important as the hours spent practicing on it.
To gain more perspective on team building—in a different sense of the word “team”—I looked to some of SHS’s most popular clubs: Model United Nations and the newly revitalized Debate Team. While not part of the athletics program, both groups rely on collaboration, trust, and connection to succeed.
When I spoke with senior Patrick McCarthy, one of the three head “delegates” of Model United Nations, he highlighted a different type of team experience — one shaped more by travel and shared adventures rather than traditional practices. He explained that because delegates are placed in different committees at conferences, Model UN isn’t always about functioning as a single unit but rather as a community of delegates. Instead, bonding occurs through what the team calls “MUN FUN” —sightseeing, exploring new cities, and sharing meals and new experiences together. “You just naturally bond by spending so much time together during these travel experiences,” McCarthy said. That sense of connection fueled one of SHS’s proudest achievements this past March, when Scituate Model UN won the “Best Large Delegation Award” at the Yale Model United Nations Europe Conference. To McCarthy, this honor wasn’t a testament to the hours of preparation alone, but also to the friendships and trust built along the way.
When I spoke with senior Katie Long, one of the two captains of the SHS Debate Team, she emphasized how small, consistent efforts can transform a group into a team. Every debate meeting begins with introductions and icebreakers, practices Long has made a priority to ensure new and returning members feel included: “Even just simple actions like these make the club feel more united and close-knit, even if we are just simply stating something we’re looking forward to or our favorite food,” she explained. For Long, the strength of the team isn’t built solely through arguments or research, but through the trust that grows from these moments of connection. By starting each meeting with a chance to share, laugh, and learn about one another, the Debate Team creates an environment where students are comfortable speaking up, taking risks, and supporting their peers. In Long’s eyes, that sense of belonging is what makes the team truly effective.
Although all four leaders have different approaches to bonding, they all agree that it is more than just about having fun: bonding directly impacts performance. When members feel comfortable and valued, they’re more likely to support one another, share ideas, and contribute to the group’s success.
As a club leader myself, observing these different approaches has been inspiring. Leading a club means learning how to foster connection while encouraging participation. Seeing how these four strong leaders bring their teams together has given me ideas to strengthen my own communities here at SHS, proving that strong bonds are at the heart of any successful team. At SHS, investing in one another is what transforms a group of individuals into a true community.