Retreat planning

This time last year, I took my Redshirts lacrosse club on two retreats, one per team. Leading up to the retreats, I spent several weeks planning the retreat. This involved choosing a theme, planning lessons, planning activities, organizing chaperones, meals, rooming assignments, rides, parental involvement, etc. From concept to the minute details, I sketched it all out. I felt great about it. And I think it went extremely well.

The theme of the retreat was 5 qualities necessary to make good teams great: communication, trust, collective responsibility, caring and pride. I planned lessons for each of these and activities to go along with them. Each of the lessons incorporated something visual, like a movie clip, or something interactive, like a discussion, or something physical, like the breaking of chopsticks. There were several exercises focused on the qualities of trust and communication. And there were several discussions that helped us understand collective responsibility, caring and pride. Parents wrote each of their children a letter. The letters expressed how proud the parents were of their child, but they were not allowed to reference sports achievements. We had activities like running on the beach, going to the pool, and chumash on the beach.

As I am a year later planning two more retreats, I asked Elizabeth this morning what she remembered most about last year’s retreat.

The first thing she said was skit night. Then she said she remembered Anna falling into the ocean during the morning run. And then she remembered the team making a music video. I asked if she remembered any of the activities or the lessons, and she said she remembered the trust fall and the exercise when they were blindfolded and needed to find sticks. I asked her what values that demonstrated, and she said communication and trust. I asked her if she remembered any of the lessons that I taught or any of the movie clips that I had them watch. She said she remembered something about a coach or something but couldn’t really remember. And she remembered doing an activity about a good teammate and a bad teammate.

Ok. So this is helpful for me to have this feedback. The majority of the planning was based on the lessons and creating all of the activities. While the lessons *may* be long-lasting and have been understood, they are not the most memorable moments of the retreat. So, should I put the same level of expertise and planning into them this year? I think it is important.

Even if they weren’t memorable, I think they framed the retreat. They gave it context. It allowed the girls to think about each other and how they interact, and the effect they have on each other. And the letters should give them pride. They should help shape the girls’ self-confidence. They should reinforce how important the girls are to their parents, and how important they are to themselves.

I am glad that Elizabeth remembered so much about the retreat. It has been a year, and I think her recollection is pretty darn good. I think it must have had some impact on her. I am excited to do it again. And I am planning the theme this year, although it is not quite in focus yet – I am thinking it should be about success and leadership, and based on the ramblings of one of the greats, John Wooden.