Team-Building with Burlington High School’s Boys Soccer

Burlington High School’s boys varsity soccer team came out after school on a Friday for an overnight and a day of team-building.  This is the third time in four years that the soccer team has come to work on strengthening the team’s communication, leadership, and camaraderie.  Year after year this program is team-building at its best!

The boys are from countries all over the world, including Kenya, Somalia, and Bosnia to name a few.  Many of the boys speak English as a second language, yet they are able to patiently articulate their ideas and reflections.

The “Electric Fence” is a difficult challenge where all participants start on one side of a four foot high rope.  The challenge is to get the whole team on the other side of the rope by going over it without touching it at all.  To top it off, they must all remain in contact with one another the entire time.  It took a couple of tries to accomplish this challenge, where the boys would regroup and fine tune their plan.  This challenge can be very frustrating for participants and facilitators alike because it is so easy to touch the rope.  It was beautiful to watch them scale over the rope with grace, using only each other to get over.

Here’s to a successful soccer season!