Women's Teams Complete THE PROGRAM
8/24/2015 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
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HOUSTON â€" As a part of the Houston Athletics Women Empowered initiative, several of the women's programs completed a leadership development and team-building event hosted by THE PROGRAM over the weekend.
Houston women's teams participated in THE PROGRAM's Judgment Day activity and experienced a customized, two-day intensive program that pushed the student-athletes outside of their mental and physical comfort zones and trained them to achieve success through improved leadership and coordinated team effort.
"We're so appreciative to Sasha Blake and our leadership academy for bringing the program to Houston," Softball Head Coach Kyla Holas said. "I love how THE PROGRAM redefines leaders and teammates. It also has given our athletes a redirection on details, standards and goals. Removing the emotion for athletes allows them to think and react clearly in hard times."
Day one focused on challenging an athlete's tendency to rely on personal individuality and talent. This involves pushing each individual to the limits of his or her capabilities in order to drive home the core message that talent is not sufficient to win the day.
Student-athletes participated in many drills over the two-day program, such as the fireman's carry, which involves one person lying on another's shoulders while being carried, 21, 41, 61, 81 and eventually 101 yards at a time before switching roles and being carried back. The student-athletes learned how to work together as one, and to persevere when situations get tough.
The drill hit close to home for women's golfers Yuka Kajiki and Megan Thothong, who were partnered together during the fireman's carry. Due to an obvious size advantage, Kajiki, who is 5'8" in height and towers over Thothong, who is just 5'4" tall, volunteered to carry Thothong both ways. After carrying Thothong nearly 1,000 yards, an exhausted Kajiki could go no further. Help arrived in the form of two track and field athletes, freshmen Nora Monie and Maliya Evans, who had completed the drill and came to the aid of Kajiki and Thothong to carry them the remainder of the way.
"It was amazing," said Thothong. "Everyone was exhausted, but they were all cheering us on and encouraging us. Yuka was incredible. It was really special to see. It was great to have everyone together and to be able to help out and cheer for other sports."
On day two, athletes were presented with a new set of challenges and given objectives that could only be accomplished through the exercise of peer leadership and coordinated team effort.
The women had to come together and work as a team to complete a relay in which the athletes were split into five teams and had carry large bricks over 40 yards with a partner, before handing it off to their partner and having them carry it back. The trick to the relay was that all five groups of two had to remain within two yards of each other the entire length of the course. The race was used to build leadership skills and increase communication during stressful situations.
"It was a great experience," junior tennis player Despoina Vogasari said. "We've never done something like this before. It actually put things into perspective for us, because we saw two leaders that have gone through so many hardships and through so many real battles. We got closer as a team and more comfortable with each other. We had to be on the same page, not only with our individual teams but with 90 other student-athletes."
THE PROGRAM concluded with the awarding of the Douglas A. Zembiec t-shirt representing someone that has the power to influence others and be the difference maker. Junior track and field athlete, and SAAC President Bailee Logsdon was awarded with the gray t-shirt for showing those characteristics throughout THE PROGRAM.
"Getting that shirt meant the world to me," said Logsdon. "I took a lot of stuff they said to heart. When they were holding the shirt and talking about it, I did not expect to get it. When I did, it was a humbling experience, because I did go out and give 100 percent, and I did give it all I had. To be rewarded for that was pretty cool, and to have the t-shirt that they said sometimes they don't even hand out, and now I'm one of the few who has it in college athletics, is really special to me.
"It was hard for us at first, and we didn't really come together as one. We stayed within our teams. Then, by the end of the second day we realized that when we came together as one University of Houston, empowered women athletes, it made a big difference. It showed us that we can conquer anything that we set our minds to as long as we work together, and hold yourself accountable as well as holding other people accountable. We definitely learned a lot from it and saw how awesome it is to be a female athlete at Houston."
WOMEN EMPOWERED
Women Empowered is a new initiative created to support Houston Athletics women's programs. Through community outreach and fundraising, Women Empowered looks to provide for additional team needs, team unity workshops and future opportunities for international travel and competition.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
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.
They 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 their services are often intensely physical, they are NOT a strength and conditioning company, nor are they 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.
The objective at THE PROGRAM is to help athletes understand and internalize this reality, and in doing so elevate their performance to the championship level.
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