Bay Path Student-Athletes Attend Leadership Retreat
Story Written By: Stephanie Belsen, 2014
Over Labor Day Weekend, Bay Path College’s Athletic Department went on a student-athlete retreat to the Dan Duquette Sports Academy in Hinsdale, Massachusetts. While there, the athletes, coaches, trainers and administrators worked on discovering their own leadership styles and how to work cooperatively with people of different styles. They also spent time separated from their teams in order to build a relationship with various members of the department in the later half of the trip.
The first night was spent taking part in NCAA Programming, run by Sarah Maclnnis, that centered around leadership. During this, the student-athletes took the DiSC® Classic Leadership assessment test, where after compiling data, based on the symbols that you scratched off for each of the twenty-eight sets of words. Then it was determined what kind of leader you were in the general sense (D for dominance, I for influence, S for steadiness and C for conscientiousness) and then in to your specific pattern (perfectionist, inspirational, investigator, etc.). I found that the program was helpful in understanding not only the people on my team (field hockey), but also others through out the department in order to work better with each other both on and off the field. I also found that the field hockey team’s outcome was quite interesting. The results showed that we are even in the amount of D’s, I’s, S’s, and C’s, which put a visual understanding to how and why we work together as a cohesive and supportive unit where each of us knows that we can fall back on each other when we need to. The evening concluded with a bonfire at the lake across from the Sports Academy and karaoke inside one of the main buildings where the teams had an opportunity to spend time together
The following day was filled with various activities where we were placed into groups based on what fruit you were most like and then randomly placed with a group leader. This allowed for us to talk to other athletes that we otherwise would probably never talk to. Many of the activities were team based where each group had to work together to solve a problem, such as whale watchers where you have to get everyone balanced on top of a ‘see-saw’ and smoke stack where you have to see how fast you can toss of the balls into the top crate. There was also an army wall, a ropes course, and trust fall where we supported each other through over coming challenges that were presented in those particular activities. Afterword we had free time to go kayaking, play basketball, toss a football, etc. where we relaxed and just enjoyed the rest of the day in the, much appreciated, cooler weather.
Overall, I felt that the retreat was very successful. Through everything this past weekend, I was able to gain a better understanding of myself, my team, and my fellow athletes. I also met some extraordinary people that I otherwise probably would not have. This retreat was highly beneficial because you gain a broader understanding of yourself and the entire athletic department in a relaxed environment and it was, just simply put, fun.
