Playing as a team requires bonding as a team

(Wacky Friday Practice)

I decided it was time to give an explanation to anyone who has ever seen my teammates at or headed to our Friday practices. We’re those girls dressed in ridiculous clothing that you want to take a closer look at, but do not necessarily want to stare. And, yes, there is a reason behind it.

Being a team consists of so much more than practicing and playing together, it’s enjoying one another and laughing together. With so much pressure in today’s sports world, finding time for these things within your team is more important than ever. Bellarmine teams, all around, know the importance of having experiences that extend beyond the courts and fields. Every team seems to have their own ways of laughing together.

My large track and field team of over 60 athletes has to find ways to bond as a team. We all practice different events at different times and come together as a team once a week for three and a half months of the year. Fortunately, the team has developed a number of traditions that make our team unity extend beyond the track. One of my personal favorites, which my short distance group of girls has developed, is our traditional in-season “Wacky Friday” practices.

Wacky Fridays were started last year. Since Saturdays tend to be meet days, the most we ever do on a Friday is an easy jog from Knights Hall to Eastern Parkway and back. Because this run is not meant to be strenuous, we like sticking together as a team. We used to tease certain members who tried to pick up the pace on these runs and on one of these occasions myself and a fellow teammate joked about the idea of dressing silly. Then, we thought, no one will ever want to run faster than the pack, because if you are dressed weird with the group at least it looks like there is a purpose. If you are dressed weird running by yourself, well, it just looks weird.

That’s when it began. From that point forward, the practice before a meet we would dress in clothes we would never wear in public, let alone wear to practice. We have started counting the number of honks and yells we get during our leisurely jog towards Eastern Parkway.

Walking to and from practice has to be one of the most entertaining parts as we have multiple students trying to figure us out. Someone in the group always gives a smile and says, “It’s Wacky Friday,” as if it’s the most logical explanation in the world. Our coaches have even started looking forward to our Friday practice attire. You should have seen the look we got from Athletic Director Scott Weigandt the first time he saw us.

Getting an inside look at an athletic team, to know what goes on beyond the tiring conditioning, practicing and playing, is something we do not always get. It is often times these other forms of fun that a team finds time for that truly create a team spirit. I look forward to investigating Bellarmine athletics further to report how other teams are furthering their camaraderie