Local Video
|
| Team building: Raider teams keep it together off the field |
By: Jeff Wald, Sports Editor
|
Posted: Tuesday, December 1, 2009 11:58 pm
|
 Email  Print
|
NORTHFIELD — Team building seems like a simple concept on the surface.
Get a team together off the playing field, away from distractions. Make food together, play trust games or just hang out away from the stresses of school and outside life. But there’s far more to it than meets the eye.
Coaches often say the point of being an athlete in high school is to combine physical ability with a sense of responsibility. If practice starts at 3 p.m., you are there, in uniform and ready to stretch by 2:50 p.m. With team building comes a bond that goes far beyond the playing field, it stays with kids as they head to college and eventually enter the working world.
At Northfield High School, virtually every athletic program has some sort of team-bonding activity. Coaches and athletes take time out of their stressful days to appreciate each other, get to know one each other and become closer. It’s often the teams that stress team building activities the most that are hoisting trophies in the postseason.
Girls soccer team heads north
An annual trip up north has evolved into a series of traditions for the Northfield girls soccer program. For between 15 to 20 players, a spot on the varsity team means a three-day weekend in Duluth.
Over the course of a weekend, the team plays at least two scrimmages to get ready for its upcoming fall season. On a more important level, the team has several activities it does for the players to get to know each other.
“It’s something that has become absolutely essential to pull off,” said NHS coach Troy Cohrs. “It builds the team chemistry early in the year.”
The team started going to Duluth every year in 2003 and just went for the sixth year this season. Cohrs said the team develops a new tradition every year, and there are now between eight and 10 team-building activities they do away from the field.
It starts with a bonfire on the beach on the first night. It is followed by some team rugby, then everyone gets thrown in Lake Superior, including the coaching staff. That is followed by a barbecue and eventually a fire where everyone gets to know each other.
There’s also a trip to Two Harbors, where there is a picnic on the beach and another leap into the lake. The players on the team spend one night crammed into one hotel room on their own, where they have their own activities.
“We’re just having fun and relaxing,” said senior Lauren Bubser, who hosted the team in her room this year. “It’s a really grueling three days with four or five scrimmages. The trip is the highlight of the season — other than winning a conference title or going to state.”
On the final day, the team heads to a Pamida store for some shopping. They’ve also had a last meal at Grandma’s Bar for the last five years before heading back to town. Cohrs said the team has had the same server at the restaurant the last five years, and that server now sends the team a card within days of leaving Duluth.
The sense of togetherness the program gets from the trip is something that Cohrs says can’t be received any other way.
“There’s a sense of identity that it gives to the program,” Cohrs said. “It’s more than just a high school sports team. It builds on the idea of family.”
Football team has post-game parties
Even before Bubba Sullivan arrived 21 years ago, the NHS football program developed postgame parties for its team.
After almost every Friday game, either a coach or a player’s parent hosts the team at somebody’s house for food, games and time away from the field. Two of the postgame parties this year were hosted at Jesse James Lanes in Northfield.
Becky Faust, mother of senior running back/defensive back Tristin Faust, hosted one such party this season. It was following a 19-14 loss to Hutchinson on Sept. 18.
“They talk, they eat and they hang out for a bit,” Becky Faust said. “It’s a nice place for kids to go after a game. All the players come, and they’re all hungry. For me, it’s a nice way to meet some of the other parents, too. The great benefit is that kids see each other as individuals.”
The team also gathers around a television set or two, taking in Friday night highlights from the KARE-11 Prep Sports Extra, hosted by Randy Shaver. They spend 25 minutes finding out if their game gets on the highlight reel, and who won around the Missota Conference that night.
Sullivan said the postgame parties allow the players to be together in a safe environment.
“It’s very dependent on the support of the parents. The kids like to go for the food and to hang out,” Sullivan said. “The No. 1 purpose is that it gives kids a safe place to hang out after the game, a place that’s chemically free. They get a chance to celebrate a win or console each other after a loss.”
Sullivan said the team chemistry starts well before the fall, with the incoming seniors leading weight room workouts. More team building comes into play with two-a-day workouts before school starts. He also stresses volunteering in the city and doing activities in small groups.
One of his biggest post-game team activities happens right after a game on the field. The team sits in a circle and players identify good things that happened in the game.
“The kids get really fired up for that,” Sullivan said. “It’s often a small play that most people don’t notice. Kids that don’t get a lot of public recognition get it there.”
Holiday Tournaments
It’s easiest to have team-building activities when a team is away from home for an extended period of time.
For many teams, it’s at tournaments over the holidays that require staying overnight at hotels. The Raider girls basketball team travels to Winona every year for a Christmas tournament. Last year, the NHS boys hockey team went up to Roseau for a Christmas tournament. The NHS girls hockey team goes to Austin for a holiday tournament.
The Raider boys basketball team also has traveled to Rochester every year for its tournament. Coach Mark Ensrud said it’s a week where there is a lot of team-building right in the middle of the season.
“It’s really helpful for kids to be together in a different setting. They can let their guard down, be kids and be together,” Ensrud said.
His teams have also gone to other basketball games, whether it be college or NBA, as a team-building activity. Tournaments, he said, have social events for teams as well as down time for his own team to be together.
“Usually it’s just sitting around and hanging out,” Ensrud said. “It’s not all about basketball, it’s about being together.”
A sense of unity
Regardless of what the activity is, it’s the sense of team togetherness that every program is after.
Winning is the easiest way to bring a team together, but the things that are done on a regular basis away from the playing field are what brings high school athletes together.
“It’s about the friendships. It’s a sisterhood type of bond that we need to create. We need to always be there for each other,” Bubser said. “You need to get to know your teammates on a personal level. Without it, you can’t learn how to work together.”
— Jeff Wald covers local sports. He can be reached at 645-1111 or jwald@northfieldnews.com. |
|
|
|
Story Comment Guidelines:
Registered members who identify themselves by name are authorized to automatically post comments to stories. Readers who wish to remain anonymous submit comments to a pending queue, where they will be reviewed for approval within 24 hours of their submission. To determine the author of a comment, click on the user name.
Those who identify themselves will be given broader boundaries to express their opinion. Only those anonymous comments that contribute to the conversation in a thoughtful, respectful, civil manner will be approved. The decision to approve or reject a comment is a subjective one and is ours alone. Authors of rejected comments will receive an email response.
If you would like to report abuse click here to notify us.
|
|
| Show Comments | Hide Comments
|
|
| Login and voice your opinion!
|
|
|
|
|
Top Jobs | Top Homes | Top Cars
09 Jetta
09 white Jetta asking $16,000
less than 48,000 miles
|
|
Digg
Del.icio.us
Facebook
MySpace
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!
