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Are
you looking for ways to enhance unity among your team members or
increase feelings of trust among your players? Or... are you interested
in providing training for your team or club's leadership core? Well,
look no further, for traverse and vertical climbing walls are excellent
"hosts" for these important teambuilding activities.
Each
year, more and more schools across the United States are building
at their site indoor and outdoor climbing facilities. Through a
variety of challenge activities and climbing wall initiatives, individuals
and teams have:
-
Learned to work cooperatively
- Gained
in trust of self and others
- Increased
their self confidence and willingness to take positive risks
- Developed
leadership skills
- Enhanced
their interpersonal communication skills (listening, speaking,
and writing)
- Increased
their creative problem solving skills
In
essence, challenge activities such as wall climbing provide opportunities
for leadership development that can't be replicated in the traditional
classroom. For example, when you're on the wall you sometimes can't
see where the next handhold is and you learn to ask for help to
meet the challenge. Team members observing you can see the holds
that you can't see and can coach you from the ground through successful
navigation of these "blind spots." By learning to trust
each other and by working together, you begin to develop the skills
that are integral to successful team functioning. This transfer
of learning moves beyond the team and has additional application
at home, in school, and in the community.
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Many
leadership-training participants want to continue climbing and the
opportunity to use these "graduates" as peer teachers/mentors
is highly recommended. As your "experienced participants"
become "peer teachers" they feel proud and respected as
young people, but also as school leaders. What a powerful experience
this is... Teach a student a skill, and then have them teach this
skill to another person. This is the true meaning of self-esteem
enhancement! It also is an initiative that encourages the growth
of the "whole person" namely, the physical, mental, emotional,
social, and "spiritual."
Schools
and other youth serving organizations that have used climbing walls
as leadership training sites have consistently reported "rave
reviews" on exit evaluations from program participants. With
thoughtful planning and guided implementation, your school can provide
similar "journeys to adventure" that yield outstanding
results.
Everlast
Climbing Industries is a leader in the wall climbing industry and
is ready to serve you as you inquire about replicating similar programming
at your school or in your community. We welcome your calls and would
be thrilled to be of service to you. Please feel free to call us
at 1-800-476-7366. A trained specialist is waiting to take your
call!
"Dream
it! Believe It! Achieve It!"
(Author unknown)
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