GW Baseball Learns Team Building Lessons from U.S. Marine Forces
11/29/2022 1:39:00 PM | Baseball
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The George Washington University baseball team traded the baseball diamond for the main quad of Marine Corp Base Quantico and in return gained valuable lessons in team building, leadership, and communication.
"The lessons and drills in character and relationship building that these soldiers are going to teach you today are not only applicable to baseball but they're going to make you better people too," noted GW Baseball Head Coach Gregg Ritchie to his team on the November morning. "Take advantage of today. Learn from today. Get after it."
U.S. Marine Staff Sgts Chase Enfinger (center left) and Lexus Schaeffer (center right) lead the GW baseball team in team building drills at Camp Barrett
Over 90 minutes at Camp Barrett, the baseball program worked through several exercises with Staff Sgt. Lexus Schaeffer and Staff Sgt. Chase Enfinger of the United States Marine Corps. The workouts, which included eight different team-based exercises, were designed by the Marine Corps to help instill the importance of communicating within a unit and relying on teammates.
"Communication and leadership are key to our daily lives as Marines, but these ideals are important in any walk of life," said Staff Sgt. Enfinger. "We try to give anyone who does our program the tools they could possibly need for any situation they come into. No matter if you are a baseball player or a soldier, communication is key. Decision making can be easier if you can talk it out among your unit and that will only help a team problem-solve faster."
Steve DiTomaso of the GW baseball team carries teammate Bryan Belo across the Camp Barrett quad
Coach Ritchie, who is entering his 11th season at the helm of his alma mater, has always believed the lessons taught by the U.S. Armed Forces are valuable, which is why he has made it a point to take his teams to Camp Barrett for training every Fall.
"What our team can learn during these drills is invaluable. It's not just about baseball, but about learning who you are as a person and how you can handle yourself when a challenge is presented to you," said Coach Ritchie. "At first glance it might just look like sit-ups or squats, but when you really think about it you see it is something special. It is how to trust your fellow human and how to think of yourself as a unit. That's how you win as a team."
