Looking a little nervous, senior Scott McIntyre stepped up onto the makeshift stage at the class of 2010’s senior retreat.
McIntyre surprised everyone as he said, “I want to tell you a little about the relationship I had with my football team.”
He proceeded to tell the seniors about how the summer training camps he attended with his entire team in 2008 and 2009 helped him to realize that his teammates were more than just players — they were part of a whole. His entire attitude changed and, with it, so did his playing.
“We learned how to work as a team, and be a team,” McIntyre said. There was also an element of confidence and trust that came through in these camps. When asked about what kind of activities and specific things he learned there, McIntyre said, “a lot of stories that I couldn’t even share with anyone.”
According to the National Standards for Athletics (NASPE), there is significant importance to “knowing the social and emotional motivations for youth participation in athletics (including enjoyment, improving skills and learning new ones, the excitement of competition, being with friends and making new friends and enjoying success and recognition)” that affects an athlete’s performance.
According to senior Will Puhl, who has been on the wrestling and football teams since his freshman year and has participated in rugby this past year, football was the one team that really became like a family. “Coach Rawlings stressed the point of family,” Puhl said. “Through the hard practices, we helped each other get through, push through.”
Puhl, who plays his best and is most comfortable when there is “a good team vibe” explained how being close with his team affected his playing and the game as a whole. There was more trust, and the the team “worked as a unit.” Being like a family “helped you rely on them to do their job so you could do yours,” Puhl said.
In a survey of 242 JC students, who participated in various teams including Equestrian, Swimming, Lacrosse, Soccer, Field Hockey, Track, Tennis, Cheerleading, Badminton, Volleyball, Wrestling, Football, and Rugby, 99% of players felt that their teammates were close and it affected their playing positively. Less than 1% felt that their team was not close, and less than 1% found being close with teammates to be a negative thing.
According to Todd Jones, writer of “The Sporting News,” “In order for a team to win, I think guys have to humble themselves enough to expose their weaknesses to their teammates.”
These football training camps did just that. While balancing schoolwork, jobs, and at the same time trying to get in shape, a single season is not nearly enough time for each player to learn about their other teammates and to form chemistry (According to senior football player Jimmy Schultz, being a dedicated member of a team requires a “sacrifice of social life.”) The summer training camps gave everyone this extra time together before the short season even began. And it really paid off.
“You can’t force chemistry. A team either has it or not. Chemistry is when a guy stands up in a players-only meeting late in the season and calls guys out for not doing their jobs, and no one gets angry. Chemistry is realizing that nothing is bigger than the team. I can’t think of a team that was so good it didn’t need good chemistry to win a championship,” Jones said.
Coach Tim Perry describes team building as “fun with a purpose.” “It gets them [the teammates] to work together,” Perry said.
At the end of his speech, the members of the football team who had experienced the training camp with McIntyre took the stage, and everyone witnessed the team unity that McIntyre had just spoken so passionately about.
Alex Bahr can be reached for comment at [email protected].