Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Hoops Goes To Boot Camp
9/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sept. 17, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - When members of the Wake Forest women's basketball team showed-up Friday morning for their workout, they saw something not many college students look forward to seeing at 5:45 am. Wake Forest's ROTC was there, ready to put them through a workout.
"The girls had no idea what they were in for today," said Wake Forest head coach Mike Petersen. "We just told them to show up at 5:45 ready to go."
"It was a great workout though," Petersen continued. "It was something totally different for them. They used muscles they don't normally use and I know a lot of them have a different appreciation now for what our troops go through training wise. It was a good teaming bonding event too."
The morning started with a warm-up and then right into an upper body workout that included partner pushups, overhead arm claps, shoulder press with weapons and the circle of death.
The players then divided into two squads for the first of two team challenges. The two teams were the same Black and Gold squads as last week's "Deac"-athlon. In the team challenge, each team had to carry one person on a litter (stretcher) through a "minefield". Only one person was able to talk and all of the other litter carriers were blindfolded. The leader had to guide her blindfolded teammates carrying the injured person without hitting any mines.
After a lower body workout that featured squats with weapons, sit-ups and leg lifts with weapons, the morning culminated with a final team relay. The first stage consisted of a litter carry where each team carried one person from the goal line to midfield line. Then came a tire-flip from midfield to the other goal line.
The third stage was a water jug carry. The teams had to carry two waters jugs from the goal line to midfield and then each player had to do 10 dips between the jugs. Finally, each person had to put on a flak jacket, run up the stadium stairs and run down to the ramp on the side and back to the field.
The Black Squad - Brooke Thomas, Sandra Garcia, Erin Hall, Brittany Waters, Asia Williams, Kem Wilson and Patrice Johnson -- avenged its loss in the "Deac"-athlon last week by winning the relay by seven seconds. The Gold Squad then had to finish the grueling workout with 20 push-ups.
"It was a very entertaining morning," Petersen said. "Entertaining for me because I was only watching and it was a good competition. The players may tell you a different story. I know most of them are pretty sore but they had a good time. We want to that the ROTC for coming out and working with us this morning."
