Indiana University Athletics
A Learning Experience to Remeber
8/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
August 23, 2002
Bloomington, Ind. - The field hockey team returned last night from Bradford Woods mentally and physically exhausted. From problem solving activities, rope courses to rock climbing, the Hoosiers did it all.
The team started the day off with ground initiatives that were designed to help them get to know more about each other and how to communicate with one another. The team learned a valuable lesson through this activity.
"Some of the problem solving activities were tough, and at first we were a little frustrated," head coach Amy Robertson said. "The way that we interacted at Bradford Woods was very similar to how we react on the field to certain challenges. We definitely need to work on listening to one another and talking one at a time."
Ginna Irwin felt that this part of the day was the most challenging.
"I feel that the problem solving activity was the most difficult part of the day," Irwin said. "Everyone had so many different ideas. We needed to focus on just one, test it out, and if that didn't work we needed to move onto the next idea, and so on."
The second activity was a low rope course. The team had to pass each person through different holes in a spider web made out of rope. Why is this challenging? Because they could not touch the web.
"It took a long time and we panicked here and there," Robertson said. "But we made it through."
The day concluded with an activity that symbolized the team's vision. Each person strapped on full rock climbing gear and climbed up a tree to a platform that was 40 feet off the ground. Once they reached the top, they jumped off the platform and grabbed a handkerchief.
"Being on the platform was much scarier than it looked from the ground," Robertson said. "This required some risk taking and trust in your support team. A few members were scared of heights but they tried it anyway. They all tried their best in spite of the their fears."
The day fulfilled its purpose and was even better than expected. Many of the players stepped-up into a leadership role and demonstrated their communication skills.
"The day progressed well as a team building activity. A lot of people emerged and showed leadership skills," Kayla Bashore said. "As a whole, the day was what I expected; however, some of the activities were more complex that I thought."
Taking a day to concentrate on team building is something that coach Robertson feels is significant to the success of her program. The activities that Bradford Woods offers makes a group realize their strengths and weaknesses.
"I was proud of the team and the way that they persevered through some frustrating activities," Robertson said. "We are better at reaching our goals together than we were a year ago but, we still have some work to do. I think that we can learn to make this team even more powerful by listening and utilizing the strengths of all our individuals and not just a few."
