Your team needs this during training camp
Soon, high school and college athletes will enter the most intense phase of their seasons: fall camp. Teams will hit the field early in the morning to beat the high temperatures later in the day. Training camp for any sport is a crucial yet grueling period often called "the grind" due to its intense and demanding nature.
Players face the anxiety of constant evaluation by coaches to secure more playing time or fight for a spot on the roster. Since school has not started, teams have much more time to practice, lift, watch film, and practice again. I'll always remember the plastic tubs of ice water for players to use after our first practice to help their legs recover before we started again in about an hour.
Fall camp is tough for players, coaches, trainers, and everyone involved in the programs, and it's the same for programs all over the U.S.
But, one thing that you can do to be different is to make a moment for your team this training camp.
One of my favorite books is "The Power of Moments" by Chip and Dan Heath. They emphasize the importance of creating meaningful, memorable experiences that can profoundly impact individuals and teams. Coaches often talk about wanting their team to be close-knit and free from cliques and jealousy, all of which come from our "look at me" society. Instead of just hoping for these things, we need to create moments that foster the bond teams need when the season's storms hit soon.
I have several examples of moments we created for our players to help with the pressure and grind of fall camp I can share with you:
The 'big weigh-in', where we celebrated our strength gains over the summer
Our yearly karaoke tournament that players and coaches participated in
Fall Camp Olympics, where seniors drafted team members to compete in low-stress games like the egg toss, Spikeball, and free throws.
But...
If I were to poll my former players, all of them who took part in this would say, without a doubt, that this experience would be their top moment that they won't soon forget:
"What's going on out here? This practice is hard to watch!" I shouted as we began the day's second practice in the heat of early August. The sun was blazing down on 100 players giving their all, but today, none of the coaches were satisfied.
"Coach Bishop, have you ever witnessed this kind of effort before?"
The coaches were all in this moment and were also playing their parts well.
"I haven't, coach. We won't win many games practicing like this," he replied.
After a few more minutes, I gathered everyone and said, "I love you guys, and we've had a great camp. I know it's day ten, and we're sick and tired of banging on each other. I also understand we're gearing up for a scrimmage tomorrow, but we cannot accept this level of effort."
This is the condensed version, but after a few more minutes of the coaches expressing their discontent, I instructed the team to remove their pads, gather outside, and load the buses that would be waiting.
"We're going to board these buses. They'll take us a mile or so away, and then we will jog back to the field and begin this practice again."
After a short drive, we stopped in a parking lot and disembarked.
"When we reflect on this day at the awards ceremony in January, we'll view it as the turning point where we pulled together as a team. We can give more than the effort we displayed for those few minutes of practice two, but hopefully, this will fix it right now."
Then, I paused and changed my tone. I looked around and asked, "Does anyone know where we are?" One of the players responded, "Yes, sir, we are at the school's Natatorium."
"Oh really?" I responded, acting surprised. "Well, in that case, let's all go for a swim and have hot dogs instead!"
The guys erupted with cheers and excitement!
We had a long season ahead of us, but they were all like elementary kids playing with sheer joy this afternoon. Booster club members arrived beforehand and provided everyone with food, drinks, and hugs.
What a moment!
The players will never forget it, and just recalling the smiles on their faces as they swam and enjoyed ‘breaking bread’ with their teammates fills my heart typing this now.
I understand time is limited and the grind is right around the corner. If you're a head coach, you have a million things to handle right now but make an effort to create at least one BIG MOMENT for your team during camp.
It will be worth it and then some.
Please email me if you have a terrific 'moment' idea for a team or want more details about the big weigh-in, karaoke, Olympic games, or the 'swim surprise.'
