The Wabash soccer men experienced a first day of preseason much different than last year.  Not only was it because our freshman class of nine players is three times as large as last years.  Not only because we had much greater success on our fitness tests than last year.  But this year we wanted to incorporate a team building exercise that would be fun and memorable.  I think we accomplished that.

At noon on August 17^th, we traveled to Clement’s Outdoor Activity Center to launch our rented canoes into Sugar Creek.  The weather was beautiful, the birds were chirping, but the creek….the creek was a bit shallow.  We were told by the guide that two feet is the ideal canoeing depth.  We were rowing in a 10 inch average depth.  For a majority of the time it was smooth rowing and we could let the current of the creek handle most of the work.  But, the times when we would hit patches of low water, that’s when the teamwork kicked in.  There was lots of yelling “ROCK, LEFT”, “TURN RIGHT”, and a number of reluctant realizations, “Ok, time to push”.  One or both of the two people per canoe would have to get out, wade in the shallow water, and gently nudge (I write that with extreme sarcasm) the canoe off of flat creek beds, protruding rocks, and sandy shores.  I think that throughout the 2 hour expedition I got out to push and pull my canoe about 15 times.  What a work out!

Despite the less than ideal canoeing conditions, the team had a great time.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch on a sandy beach, had fun capsizing fellow teammates’ canoes over, and shared many laughs to share for the rest of the season.  At lunch the guys especially enjoyed pushing the other canoes down the creek, without the consent of the two who owned it, and watching the un-manned canoe float downstream.  Even though the water level was low, the team spirits were high!

As we are in our second day on the pitch, we as coaches can see the benefit of activities like this.  They allow teammates to get to know each other off the field and create a common experience that we can all look back and laugh at.  A team united is a team that will together, succeed.  We’re quickly working our way towards that unity, and the success is just on the horizon.

-Asst. Coach Jeff Oleck