TEAM BUILDING

Coach DeAngelo Wiser

Wiser Sports Leadership

It was a regular day in pre-season and we were introducing a team building session we had never attempted. I find those are often the most rewarding when there’s no preconceived idea how the team will react or respond. However, that’s the biggest obstacle for many, who want to manipulate and control every aspect. I had bugged our head coach several times about using large wooden posts, those used on horse and cattle farms, for groups to carry from the dorm to practice every morning. She had been a little reluctant, but some of that was because I had been a little vague about the details. After we decided it was best to divide the team into four teams with varying tasks using the posts she was comfortable with the setting.

After dividing the team, their first task was to write on the posts with markers, individually. The categories were:

POST #1-What do you most need from a teammate?

POST #2- Write your initials.

POST #3- What individual characteristics will give us the best opportunity to be ??????????????????successful as a group?

POST #4- What characteristic makes you a valuable teammate?

Remember you control the emphasis in your sessions, so focus on the team’s needs, and or what they need to see and experience.

Adding to our journey around campus was the fact we also secured four Gurney’s to carry our teammates. Why? It’s a physical challenge for two teammates to carry a teammate up steep hills and less than favorable terrain, but it metaphorically is carrying a teammate who may be having a bad day or bad game. Are we willing to carry them? As we moved from station to station each team was required to carry the posts and one other team. (We laid out 4 stations marked by cones or a shade tree). They were about ? mile apart and it was a hot day.

?At each station we had players discuss the choice or choices they used for:

1.???What do you most need from a teammate? Why?

2.???Write your initials on a post. Would you have preferred to write your name? Why?

3.???What individual characteristics will give us the best opportunity to be successful as a group? Can we agree on the top 5?

4.???What characteristics make us a valuable teammate? Can we narrow it to 3?

5.???What significance did the Gurney have for you? What did it represent?

6.???What about the posts? What did they signify?

?We also like to ask the players at each station concerning questions 1, 3 and 4:

Given some of the answers your teammates have given would you likely change your answer or leave it the same?

How did you arrive at your answer?

Seniors are your answers different now than they would have been as a Freshman? Why or why not?

?I wish you and your team the best this season! Look around as you plan activities for your team. Be creative and ask yourself, “How could I use this to make a point or explore what my players know, believe or want to share?” I have a couple of the posts in the fence around our yard. Believe me,you’ll never look at things the same.