Team Building Exercises
From the terrific book: Catch Them Being Good

by Tony Dicicco, Colleen Hacker, Charles Salzberg

Wrong-Way Wiffle Ball

Objective: to learn to use “failure as fertilizer”. To layer peak performance strategies into everything the players do, including training sessions and competitive games. Allows players to utilize a three-part reframing process after failing or making errors, which is termed the three F’s: Fudge, Fix, and Focus.

1. Fudge: When there is an error, the player first reacts with, “Oh that’s a bummer!” Or maybe she says the word “fudge.” It never feels good to make an error, so the first thing the player need to do is to acknowledge it emotionally.
    
2. Fix: Often, the first emotionally based reaction is an automatic response, usually anger, frustration, disappointment or fear. But a player can’t let herself get stuck in that emotional phase. The next step, which requires thought, practice and effort, is to progress forward to task-oriented thinking. The athlete learns to ask herself: What was the error? What should I have done? What can I do now? This is rational analysis.
    
3. Focus: There are only 3 points in time for an athlete: past, present, and future. Wherever you focus, that’s where your energy goes. Does it do any good to focus in the past or in the future? No. The focus must be in the here and now. So the final step is the combination of a focus or cue word to bring the person back to the immediate performance. The focus should be on this play, this moment. It’s right-now thinking and awareness. That’s where maximum control is for athletes: Right now!
   The following game will have your team dealing with and learning from failure while also having a lot of fun.
   
   Equipment Required:  Wiffle bat, Wiffle ball, and four bases
   
   Numbers: 2 teams of 6-10 players
   
   Space: large enough for a small-to medium-size softball field
   
   The Game:
   Most softball rules apply, although the game is played backward. In each inning, everyone on the team bats once (unless three outs are achieved first). People pitch to their own team. You must bat on your non-dominant side. Batters run the opposite way, to third instead of first, and continue in that direction. You can accumulate people on bases. A fly ball is an out. A ground ball must be touched by everyone on the fielding team before they try to get the opposing player out. You may only throw the ball with your non-dominant arm (expect the pitcher). Runners may keep going around the bases until they are stopped at one or are tagged out (you may round the bases as many times as you can). The team that scores the most runs wins the game. Adjust the # of innings played to the interest of your players and the time available.
   
   Lesson:
   This game is fraught with failure. Runners forget to run or they run the wrong way. Fielders forget to touch the ball or they throw it to the wrong base with the wrong arm. But as the game goes on, players learn from their mistakes and they improve. The lesson? If you’re demoralized, you’re done. If you stick with it, failure can eventually breed success.
   
   Debriefing:
    
   • What does this game tell you about failure?
   • How did you react to your teammates when they did things incorrectly?
   • How did you react when you made a error?
   • Can you be successful sometimes even when you do things the wrong way?
   • How does this game pertain to your team this season?

  Web Administrator    Ken Gamble