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by Heidi Baran I have to admit to a few things that I am ashamed of. I used to think the whole purpose of coaching was winning. I am not sure how I developed this philosophy, but after examining American society in general I guess it comes as no surprise. In college when we were to select our student teaching assignment the only school I wanted to go to was York High School. Why was I so set on student teaching at York? One reason: they had one of the best cross-country programs in the country. I wanted to learn from the best so someday I too, could have a cross-country team that was first in the state. This is not something I am proud of. I wish I could say I wanted to student teach at a certain school for academic reasons, but I can not turn back time. A lot has changed since my student teaching days. I am still coaching, but I do it for more important reasons than simply to win. I blame this change on the adventure education bug....I was bit! For those of you who share my love for adventure education you know what I am talking about. Over the past few years I have been able to teach and coach with a new found meaning. After only a few years of coaching I was becoming bored because all I cared about was winning. I was not excited to go to practice or meets and I noticed some of my athletes seemed to share my feelings. In fact, I almost stopped coaching altogether. Then I decided to incorporate some of the adventure activities I was doing with my adventure education classes into my practices. At first my athletes looked at me as if I was from outer space when I told them I was going to tie them together and blindfold them. Some actually ridiculed the idea. When they successfully ran the entire cross-country course tied up and blindfolded something magical happened; they truly became a team and I became a true coach. I realized that negativity is contagious. I did not enjoy what I was doing and it showed. After I started focusing more on team-building and trust activities and less on winning, my whole attitude about coaching changed. Not only did my attitude change, but so did my athletes. When I started using adventure education activities in my practices, my teams naturally became more successful. I have used adventure activities in coaching cross-country and soccer. For those of you who want to try using adventure activities in your practices, but do not know how to justify them to the other coaches, there are many ways you can. They can be used to help condition and train your teams. More importantly they can be used to develop unity, communication, and trust amongst your athletes. Below I have listed a few of the adventure activities that were successful with my teams. If you need additional ideas open up any adventure education book and use your imagination. I know I have changed
as a coach and I am the first to admit adventure education has helped me
become a much better coach, teacher, and overall person. I also know
that my athletes have truly benefitted from the use of adventure education
in sports because at every end of the year banquet they never mention wins
or losses. They remember all of the "Crazy Coach Baran" games.
Adventure Coaching Activities Tie 'Em Up Soccer/Cross-country/Basketball: Get your team in a circle as close together as possible. Then tie them up with a medium length climbing rope. If you want to make it even more challenging blindfold some of the "leaders" of your team. Then have them attempt to score a goal, make a basket, or run their home course while they are tied-up and/or blindfolded. This sounds like a crazy activity and it is, but I guarantee you it is one that they never forget and it truly helps them learn to trust their teammates. Hoops: This activity is a great conditioning activity. You set up 4 hula hoops around a soccer field or basketball court or any wide area. I then place 20 pennies of various colors in the fifth hula hoop located in the center of the area. I divide my team into four groups and tell them in order to finish the game of hoops they have to have 5 different colored pennies in their home hoop. (Their home hoop is the hoop they start out at). They are allowed to steal from the other teams throughout the game. Basically they are sprinting the entire game and do not realize it because they are having so much fun. This activity teaches them how to work collaboratively in a small group. Giants, Wizards, and Elves: This activity is an old favorite from Karl Rohnke. Although it seems immature my juniors and seniors love it. I love the game because it is a great conditioning activity. Heidi Baran
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