Shootin' It with Bergan
November 05, 2010 | Women's Lacrosse
Nov. 5, 2010
This week marked our second week in eight hours. Even though it does not seem like a whole lot of time, we were able to get the most out of it. Early Tuesday morning, the team woke up and met with a grand introduction to a team building seminar called 'The Program.'
The Program was created by a Navy Seal, Eric, who survived a tragic accident while undergoing a routine practice procedure. Only three men survived, Eric being one of them, and decided to create a scholarship fund in order to help pay for the college educations of all the men's children who died in his platoon.
The Program "develops student athletes and corporate managers to reach their highest athletic and leadership potential, respectively. The team is comprised of collegiate and professional athletes, academic and corporate leaders and military special-operations warriors. Training and mentoring are provided to every client during each phase of their athletic and leadership development. Integrity, discipline and confidence are instilled in each of our student athletes and corporate leaders."
Following Eric and Katie's introduction to the team, we met on our field later that afternoon for our first mission. Teamwork and accountability were the most important lessons to be learned that day. Some of the girls led in exercises and stretching before the missions started. Our day was split into four quarters that all needed to be accomplished with prestige, discipline, teamwork, and as fast as we can. The leaders the first day are credited to Emily Dashiell, Colleen O'Malley, Monica Negron and Jamie Ward - great job! We split into four groups and carried 40-pound sandbags on our neck to the restraining lines, and switched with our partners, while the other team members had a log above their heads, listening for commands. Everyone in the group had to carry the sandbags and we had to finish as a TEAM.
Next, we had to get partners and carry them in suicides up and down the field in a fireman carry position as a TEAM. This made the team aware of one another in helping out, strong communication skills and effective leadership. Our last mission of the day was like the second, where we had to carry the sandbags, however, this time the other teammates were doing sit-ups with logs on their stomachs. The last mission was different then the rest because it was a competition, and we ran our fastest times. The team who won followed the motto, "it pays to win" and therefore would be doing exercises on the field, not as punishment, but doing the extra work to be that much better.
Mission 1 was completed, but the team did not know what to expect for Mission 2.
We showed up at the Natatorium early early Wednesday morning, approximately 4:45 a.m. with our swimsuits on and ready to fight. Our first mission that day was a dynamic warm up, led by Lianne Bobal and Meg Ryan, which included swimming across the diving well as a team, and performing exercises on the side of the pool, such as push-ups, leg flutters, jumping jacks, mountain climbers and bridge. The key to the first mission was finishing each swim and exercise as a team, and with strong leadership.
The second mission of the day was one of our toughest tests we have ever had to face. We went into the diving well, led by Liz Lovejoy, with our sweatshirts on. On her command, we were to be treading water, and on Liz's commands, as a TEAM, take the sweatshirt off, hold above our head for 3 seconds, switch with a partner, and put the sweatshirt back on. This was a true test because not everyone on the team is blessed with the swimming talent. This made everyone aware and able to help one another out by holding them up and putting the sweatshirts back on while helping themselves. Completing the mission was not our goal, completing the mission with a standard that we set was our challenge. After a few attempts, we reached our fastest time, and were happy, but knew we were not done yet.
The third mission, which I led, was the same idea, only we added sweatpants to the equation. Now in a normal scenario, this could play mind games with the team and make them think that it is so much harder, but from the start, we knew that this was just a minor setback and it would not affect our mission in completing this goal. With only a few tries, we were able to complete this mission, a great feat for the team.
The last mission was an all out brawl. The team was split into two, led by Katie Oliverio and Jamie Redding. The teams had to swim to the middle of the pool, fight each other for 30 seconds, then swim to the other side as fast as you can, getting ALL of your teammates out. Katie Oliverio's team won, despite the numerous drowning attempts by Brooke Campbell.
After the Program, we had a debriefing with Katie and Eric and were given an overall synopsis of our leadership within our team. We learned a lot these past two days, and will definitely be implementing the lessons on the field. This can only make our team stronger and closer with one another. Not one mission could have been completed without every person from beginning to end, just like a game.
A special congratulations goes out to Liz Lovejoy for being an outstanding leader the two days, and Eleni Kozas for her athletic ability. I can't wait to see her sporting her new sweet mountain khakis around campus and at business casual events. Also to all the leaders throughout the program, it is not an easy position to be put in, but one that must always be filled. Thank you!!
