Track & Field Hosts Elite Group for Team-building Event
12/3/2018 12:50:00 PM | Cross Country, Track and Field
Winston-Salem, N.C. – The Wake Forest track & field team welcomed leaders from The Program to campus over the weekend. The instructors, consisting of prior and current military service members, put the athletes through extensive team-building exercises in accordance with their goal of creating more cohesive teams en route to being champions.
The student-athletes were put through tests of attention to detail, communication and mental toughness.
Along with their experience serving our country, instructors from The Program have also excelled in athletics; including college football and basketball, Ironman World Championships and professional baseball.
"I thought it was amazing," said head coach John Hayes. "To watch them move from where they were at the beginning, when The Program was introduced to them, to where they were after seven hours of instruction was unbelievable. To see how they handled things, it humbled me. I was able to realize some of the mistakes I've made from a leadership position."
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, Sam Cila, now The Program's Chief of Operations, served combat tours in Irag in 2004-2005. Cila was decorated with awards for valor in combat as well as a Purple Heart. He is a 2x member of the USA Para National triathlon team, a high altitude mountaineer and an Ironman World Championship finisher. Despite his successes, Cila made it clear to the student-athletes that just because you may not hear about failures, it doesn't mean they don't exist.
"The key piece, for me, is being honest with yourself," said Cila. "You've got to give yourself an honest evaluation on why you failed. I think when athletes can do that and take criticism, they'll have a better chance for success."
The Program stresses three core ingredients to becoming mentally tough...a trait that is crucial across all levels of competition: 1) Become as physically tough as possible 2) Develop and sustain championship habits 3) Have great teammates to your left and right
The common theme throughout the two-day event was accountability. With two standards of getting the job done and taking care of your teammates, the athletes learned quickly that holding each other accountable is a key ingredient to establishing a championship culture. From seniors down to the freshman, the proper course of action must be to set the example, go to work every day and DO. YOUR. JOB. Then, look to your left, to your right and hold your teammates accountable.
STUDENT-ATHLETE TAKEAWAYS
Mimi Smith, Senior
Initial Reaction
"The training style was new to me. I'm not sure how many athletes on our team have experienced something like that, but I think it gives you a lot of respect for that level of training. It was physically demanding, yes, but I think it was more mental than anything else."
On Leadership
"Trying to always be involved, even when you're not picked as a leader is important. I think, to their point, if we didn't complete a task at 100%, we were asked to do it again. It required input from everyone in the group and it wasn't the leader's sole responsibility. Everyone involved was depended upon."
Kaleb Bryant, Junior
Initial Reaction
"When you put someone into a situation, you tend to see when the best comes out of them. I learned a lot from the underclassmen. I saw a bunch of them step-up like I've never seen before. When Sam (Cila) gave me instructions, I took it upon myself to make sure that everyone around me knew what was going on. This experience is not a blimp on the radar. Some people might say that the military doesn't have anything to do with track & field, but I know without a doubt that the principles they instilled in us will benefit us moving forward."
On Accountability
"That's the term that stood out to me, for sure. I like the concept of, even though I'm a leader, I still need to be held accountable by my teammates. If a leader is setting the wrong example, then the entire mission could be at risk."
The Demon Deacons open the indoor season on January 11th at the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup in Chapel Hill.
Alva Hicks, Senior
Initial Reaction
"The hardest parts for me during day one was leading my team through exercises and having the humility, courage, and objectiveness to communicate everything clearly. To count clearly, to speak loudly, to correct when I could and to encourage those that feel like they aren't supposed to talk to speak up."
"What is the difference between injury and pain and how to choose to move forward? These were some key things that exposed our weaknesses. I was proud of myself because rather than giving in to the pain I was feeling in my hamstrings I knew that this was only pain and that if I went one more I wouldn't be doing anything stupid like hurting myself."
"As a result, I saw some of my other teammates who had decided to stop due to pain, come back to finish. I knew I wasn't done and what I could handle was more than I could have imagined that day. I learned that my grit is not easily broken and I have the strength to overcome adversity every day."
About The Program Athletics
The student-athletes were put through tests of attention to detail, communication and mental toughness.
Along with their experience serving our country, instructors from The Program have also excelled in athletics; including college football and basketball, Ironman World Championships and professional baseball.
"I thought it was amazing," said head coach John Hayes. "To watch them move from where they were at the beginning, when The Program was introduced to them, to where they were after seven hours of instruction was unbelievable. To see how they handled things, it humbled me. I was able to realize some of the mistakes I've made from a leadership position."
Retired U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, Sam Cila, now The Program's Chief of Operations, served combat tours in Irag in 2004-2005. Cila was decorated with awards for valor in combat as well as a Purple Heart. He is a 2x member of the USA Para National triathlon team, a high altitude mountaineer and an Ironman World Championship finisher. Despite his successes, Cila made it clear to the student-athletes that just because you may not hear about failures, it doesn't mean they don't exist.
"The key piece, for me, is being honest with yourself," said Cila. "You've got to give yourself an honest evaluation on why you failed. I think when athletes can do that and take criticism, they'll have a better chance for success."
The Program stresses three core ingredients to becoming mentally tough...a trait that is crucial across all levels of competition: 1) Become as physically tough as possible 2) Develop and sustain championship habits 3) Have great teammates to your left and right
The common theme throughout the two-day event was accountability. With two standards of getting the job done and taking care of your teammates, the athletes learned quickly that holding each other accountable is a key ingredient to establishing a championship culture. From seniors down to the freshman, the proper course of action must be to set the example, go to work every day and DO. YOUR. JOB. Then, look to your left, to your right and hold your teammates accountable.
STUDENT-ATHLETE TAKEAWAYS
Mimi Smith, Senior
Initial Reaction
"The training style was new to me. I'm not sure how many athletes on our team have experienced something like that, but I think it gives you a lot of respect for that level of training. It was physically demanding, yes, but I think it was more mental than anything else."
On Leadership
"Trying to always be involved, even when you're not picked as a leader is important. I think, to their point, if we didn't complete a task at 100%, we were asked to do it again. It required input from everyone in the group and it wasn't the leader's sole responsibility. Everyone involved was depended upon."
Kaleb Bryant, Junior
Initial Reaction
"When you put someone into a situation, you tend to see when the best comes out of them. I learned a lot from the underclassmen. I saw a bunch of them step-up like I've never seen before. When Sam (Cila) gave me instructions, I took it upon myself to make sure that everyone around me knew what was going on. This experience is not a blimp on the radar. Some people might say that the military doesn't have anything to do with track & field, but I know without a doubt that the principles they instilled in us will benefit us moving forward."
On Accountability
"That's the term that stood out to me, for sure. I like the concept of, even though I'm a leader, I still need to be held accountable by my teammates. If a leader is setting the wrong example, then the entire mission could be at risk."
The Demon Deacons open the indoor season on January 11th at the Dick Taylor Carolina Cup in Chapel Hill.
Alva Hicks, Senior
Initial Reaction
"The hardest parts for me during day one was leading my team through exercises and having the humility, courage, and objectiveness to communicate everything clearly. To count clearly, to speak loudly, to correct when I could and to encourage those that feel like they aren't supposed to talk to speak up."
"What is the difference between injury and pain and how to choose to move forward? These were some key things that exposed our weaknesses. I was proud of myself because rather than giving in to the pain I was feeling in my hamstrings I knew that this was only pain and that if I went one more I wouldn't be doing anything stupid like hurting myself."
"As a result, I saw some of my other teammates who had decided to stop due to pain, come back to finish. I knew I wasn't done and what I could handle was more than I could have imagined that day. I learned that my grit is not easily broken and I have the strength to overcome adversity every day."
About The Program Athletics
The Program was founded in 2008 with the goal of providing professional and collegiate athletic teams with the best leadership development and team building services in the country.
We
believe in personal development, leadership development, and team building through shared adversity. Experience has shown us that we only grow as individuals and as a team when we are outside of our comfort zone.
While our services are often intensely physical, we are NOT a strength and conditioning company, nor are we focused on improving individual talent. Talent is valuable, but it is good leadership and teamwork that enable reliable performance at the highest levels of competition.
Our objective at The Program is to help your athletes understand and internalize this reality, and in doing so elevate their performance to the championship level.
Click here to learn more
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