our entire team has nicknames! we have nickname buttons that everyone on the team wears, (i.e. mine is Lexy, while my brother's is/was CrazyBear) if we dont pick our nicknames, then someone else usually chooses them for us; but for the most part the nicknames stick. especially if there are two people on the team with the same first name, the nicknames help distinguish whos who for the most part. we had a student on the team for all 4 high school years, and even as a senior (he just graduated last year) people still called him "stupid freshman" because that was his nickname.
we have a person on the team who always brings donuts, so ben will forever be known as "the donutman" i knew him by that nickname before i knew his real name. we call our coach, mrs. p, "grandma" (its a term of respect.. really!)
nicknames help keep us more of a close knit family type thing... although its mostly the students who have nicknames.