I'm on a quest this year to change my team from a group of individuals who train together to a cohesive unit. The few remaining upperclassmen and I (5 total) are trying to work out a system before the incoming freshman (5) arrive. So far, all we've agreed on is to:
Not leave the freshmen behind on easy days
Warm up together
Yeah, it's not much. Has anyone out there ever done this before? Any suggestions about how to approach this or things to add to the list?
The high school team I was on had good team unity, and we did just what your ideas suggested. We also would sometimes do stuff after practice including the whole team, like play ultimate frisbee, etc. It would also be a good idea to maybe have a cookout at one of the upperclassmen's house or something.
Are you trying to have team unity at the expense of a good team? You need to realize that people are at different training levels: a senior who runs 16:30 for a 5K needs to train differently (yes, even on easy days, because "easy" is different for different training levels) than a freshman who runs 20:00. You CAN have better team cohesiveness without dragging the thriving runners back to a slower pace or pushing the freshman harder than their bodies can handle for their training level. Instead, look for other ways for unity. Have team nights where you watch movies, watch sports games, go bowling, play ultimate frisbee, and discuss team goals and what is expected as far as training and dedication out of the team. That will promote team cohesiveness without sacrificing training.
do morning runs that will build unity
Have spaghetti dinners the nights before a meet.
gaynal sex usually does the trick.
I agree with chrisrun in that it doesn't make a lot of sense sacrificing upper training for keeping the group together for the sake of team unity. That pace could differ by 2 minutes.
Instead, go with the social outings that were suggested. My school cross team tried to get any xc member together to eat during lunch hour at school. It seems that every team has there different group, (punk/skater/goth/band geek/popular kid/so on), but when they all eat together at lunch, it builds some team chemistry.
Just a suggestion, good luck finding what works.
LilyFair wrote:
I'm on a quest this year to change my team from a group of individuals who train together to a cohesive unit.... Any suggestions about how to approach this or things to add to the list?
Don't sacrifice your training pace for that of the slower runners, but periodically double back, with every runner going back all the way to whomever is in the back to regroup.
Make sure to encourage the slower guys during hard workouts, and to recognize/praise them when they have a good racing or training effort. Coach must be part of this, too.
No hazing, no initiation, no status other than what is earned. And it must be earned by hard work, not seniority or speed.