At the start of each fall athletics season, teams gather off the fields and courts for team bonding sleepovers. Over the past few weeks, field hockey, football, volleyball, cross-country and cheer have orchestrated sleepover itineraries unique to each team.
During these sleepovers, teammates of all grades are able to come together and form new friendships.
“This year’s sleepover allowed me to get to know my younger teammates and create connections that I never would have been able to find if we hadn’t had this experience,” junior Claire Koehler said.
Each year, it is tradition for the volleyball teams to participate in scavenger hunts where teammates are tasked with challenges to complete across the Dallas area.
“The scavenger hunt was a really great bonding experience for the team,” junior Owen Mescherton said. “This experience allowed us to get to know each other better while having a fun time.”
In field hockey, the team utilizes the same task list for their scavenger hunt. According to junior Lauren Harrington, fulfilling the same tasks each year allows the freshmen to bond with older teammates over completing freshmen-specific challenges that all teammates have had to complete over their time on the team.
Cheer team members echo this sentiment.
“I think the cheer scavenger hunt is really important because we work really hard during the summer and it’s hard to see teammates outside of the cheer setting,” senior Bella Widodo said. “Once we are able to see each other out of the practice setting we can see each other’s fun selves and trust each other better when it comes to practicing our stunts.”
Each team noted that they attribute their success in a game setting to the team’s chemistry, and ability to connect with one another physically and mentally.
“It doesn’t matter if [a player] is good individually, the team chemistry has to be right on the field for the team to be successful,” senior Zoya Iyer said. “The team chemistry being right on the field comes from having a close-knit family.
