Aug. 28, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Effective communication and teamwork are qualities sometimes overlooked in successful teams. For Georgetown's third-year volleyball head coach Arlisa Williams, it is not.
During the Hoyas three week training camp in August, Williams stressed strong communication and teamwork on the court, but was not limited to a volleyball setting to teach the lesson to her team.
Enter Glenn Putyrae, the second-year head coach of the women's crew team. Williams approached Putyrae about helping in the team-building process; he was more than happy to oblige.
"Arlisa asked if she could do something with the rowing team to do a little team-building and I asked some rowers if they would be interested in helping with that process," Putyrae said. "We got a bunch of rowers down there, they taught them how to row, took them out on the water and had some fun."
Beyond an enjoyable change of pace, Williams had specific lessons she hoped her team would learn over the course of the day.
"For the players it was nice to do something a little different," Williams said. "It was something to get them out of their comfort zone where they still needed to communicate effectively, work together and see what happens when just one person is a little bit off."
Lesson learned.
"We got a crash course in rowing, especially once we got down to the boats, but the crew team was very patient with us," senior setter Caitlin Boland said. "We were in an eight person boat and it was interesting to see how that feeling of being together and working together to achieve a goal and putting little things together over the course of time is the only way to see success."
"It was pretty difficult at first to get everybody in sync- people would miss the water on a stroke, try to keep pace with the wrong person, or every now and then, catch a "crab", meaning that the oar got stuck in the water and it rapidly swung towards your face," Annoni said. "Not an awesome feeling, but once we all started communicating and keeping rhythm with the coxswain we were able to really look like a team and move at a pretty good pace. I felt a great feeling of accomplishment once we finally got it."
The lesson was all in a days work for Putyrae and members of his team, as the same qualities taught in the team building exercise are key components that helped them to a fourth place finish in the BIG EAST in 2008.
"It's no different from anything we do everyday," Putyrae said. "We have to communicate and work as a team day in and day out, it's a part of our sport."
Still, grasping the concepts for the team and being able to move the boat in unison served as an accomplishment for the land-based volleyball players.
"I loved it," sophomore captain Paola Annoni said. "I definitely think it applied to our team dynamics because everyone had to work together as a cohesive unit in order to move forward; we had to talk to each other to keep a rhythm going and keep pace with everyone else in our boat. I think if we can apply that concept to our game and managed to work together like that on the court, our team will be very successful.
