Coach Caroline and Coach Orlando started their Saturday morning full of energy and enthusiasm, ready to host a workshop with the Sanford School men’s varsity basketball team. The staff and students at Sanford School have been strong supporters of our mission, and we knew it was going to be a great session.
As we walked into the gymnasium, we caught a glimpse of how dedicated the varsity men’s basketball team is-not just to their craft but also to teamwork, communication, and a strong work ethic.
Our session focused on grit. At Strive, we define grit as passion and perseverance towards a long-term goal, based on the research of psychologist Angela Duckworth. We go beyond the popular understanding of grit in order to support our program participants in goal-setting and developing skills to reach those goals. We began the workshop by asking the team about their long-term goals. This exercise helped us gauge each team member’s vision for the upcoming year. Many of them shared a common goal: winning the upcoming season.
To illustrate the concept of grit, we introduced two engaging games: Team Tic-Tac-Toe and Canyons and Volcanoes. For the first game, the team was split into two groups, and from the start, we saw impressive communication and collaboration – skills essential to grit, especially when working towards a shared goal. In the second game, the same groups continued to battle it out, demonstrating perseverance in achieving their objectives. These games reinforced some of Strive’s core values such as “sticking with it,” “being fair and honest,” and “brushing it off and growing,” which are fundamental to our character-driven leadership curriculum.
After the games, we wrapped up the session by asking each team member to identify personal motivators that would drive them to achieve their long-term goals. Later, we had the chance to catch up with the team’s head coach, Khallid Hart, about how the workshop could support the team’s upcoming season. He shared that he feels it’s important for his team to, “Realize that basketball is not all about winning or losing, but about friendship and togetherness to achieve a goal.”
We also spoke with senior Jayden Taylor, who is committed to playing basketball at the University of Delaware next year. He said, “The workshop was a great experience. I didn’t know what to expect, but it was a fun time with my friends, and I learned a lot about leadership.”
We want to thank Sanford School and the men’s varsity basketball team for giving us the opportunity to host this leadership workshop. We wish them a fantastic upcoming season!
