Coming together is a good place to start, keeping a group knit together is a process, and working together is a success. Sometimes, teamwork seems like a difficult day-to-day task. For sophomore Tim Kramer, this teamwork has become embedded in his personality.

Through teamwork, Tim has discovered new sides of himself that he otherwise wouldn’t have. He has been involved with many different organizations that involve partnership and cooperation. Through different sports, teams, and services, Tim has learned all about his personality.

Family has been a large role in Tim’s life. Tim has two older brothers and one sister, senior Colleen Kramer. Due to the closeness in age of the duo, they have always shared a close relationship.

“My sister and I have always been really close, out of my siblings, she’s been more of a friend than really a sister, although she’s always been there as a sister,” Tim said. “Being at the same school just feels right. We just seem so close in age because we’re always together doing stuff.”

On top of the close bond Tim shares with his sister, he also shares a different type of bond with his brothers. Due to his brothers, Tim has strived for greatness in different areas of sports. Tim currently is currently involved with both golf and ice-hockey. Tim credits his brothers and family for getting him involved with both.

While growing up, Tim watched his brothers play hockey and this blossomed an early interest in the sport for Tim. On top of this, Tim originally pursued golf due to his family. His dad and two older brothers always golfed with him, so he committed many hours to golf in the summer of 2017.

Tim has been involved with both sports for as long as he can remember. Each sport came with different levels of intensity; however, hockey has always been a larger commitment. Tim has been involved with AAA hockey and more recently joined the varsity hockey team at FHC. He has always had a passion for hockey, and it shows through his years dedicated to the sport.

“I grew up around the rink,” Tim said. “My mom brought me there for [my brother’s] games, and I have wanted to play since I was two.”

AAA hockey is a competitive level of hockey. AAA hockey helps players compete at one of the highest levels accessible in the United States.

Due to the competitive nature of AAA, Tim has found the shift to varsity hockey for the most part seamless. Although there has been a slight change in his competitors.

“I don’t want to say there has been a huge change,” Tim said. “If anything, these guys are bigger and stronger [on varsity teams,] but it’s fairly the same.”

Although there has not been a large change in the nature of his opponents, Tim has noticed a change in energy when comparing varsity hockey to AAA. The sense of community has created a noticeable change in the sport for Tim.

“The energy on the ice is so different,” Tim said. “Even when we were playing [Forest Hills] Northern/Eastern, we didn’t play a great game, but the energy was still there. It was crazy because it was a rival game.”

This first varsity season for Tim will come with struggles and hardship. This year, FHC hockey has a young team, and this season is all about getting the players into game-shape and the headspace due to the competitiveness that comes with the sport. However, Tim is excited for the promise the season holds.

Due to the variety of sports Tim plays, he has learned many life lessons he wouldn’t have learned elsewhere. He credits his sports for preparing him for the “real world” outside of high school.

“Our varsity coaches have really been all about not teaching us just hockey, but teaching us how to prepare for life, work, and being responsible for yourself,” Tim said.

The whole theme of teamwork has helped him create his character and develop into the person he is today. On top of teamwork, sports have helped Tim learn about giving back. Through his athletic teams, Tim has been exposed to unique volunteer opportunities. Tim and his family help train dogs for Paws With A Cause.

The Kramer family has helped prepare many different dogs for a life of service. Tim loves the process of helping to train dogs, but it comes with its challenges. The average Paws With a Cause puppy stays with a foster family for 12-14 months. This causes the foster family to become bonded with the dog, but it comes at a cost.

“It’s a great thing to give back to the community, but it’s also really heartbreaking for us,” Tim said. “We’re on our third dog, and we’ve had to deal with the loss of giving away two dogs already.”

However, despite the process being difficult, Tim has found it worthwhile.

“It’s really frustrating at times [when] I don’t want to have [our Paws With a Cause dog] Dory in my room,” Tim said. “She’ll just get into stuff or go to the bathroom. It’s frustrating, but it’s definitely worth it, especially because of all that we’re doing for the community.”

Whether it’s the Paws With a Cause team, a hockey team, or even his “family team,” Tim has been on many different types of teams. Each type of team comes with different struggles and different experiences. However, all these groups have developed Tim’s character. Without the element of teamwork in his life, Tim wouldn’t be the person he is today. Tim credits the teamwork for a large part of his development throughout his life.

“I think being on a team is really different,” Tim said. “You have to be accountable for yourself but also your team. You mess up, and your team has to do that too. I feel like it’s a lot of discipline too. You step out of line, you get in trouble, and you have to deal with the consequences. So I think it’s really preparing for real life.”