GREENVILLE, PA. Thiel gets grant for teamwork course

Local sports leagues and high school groups will get a chance to use the course.
GREENVILLE, Pa. -- Thiel College has been awarded a $10,000 National College Athletic Association grant to develop a leadership challenge course.
The course, to be located on the east acres section of campus, will be used to promote team building, foster leadership and encourage good sportsmanship, said Dr. Lance A. Masters, Thiel president and chief executive officer.
Thiel can incorporate the leadership challenge course into its athletic admissions and community relations programs, he said, noting that Greenville area recreational sports leagues and local high schools will be invited to use the course.
It should be operational by spring semester 2004.
The focus of the course will be to improve interactions between individuals and promote teamwork and leadership.
Participants are presented with a series of problems that they must solve as a group. Most of those problems involve outdoor structures built for the course.
One of the most popular activities along the course will be the Trust Fall, said Roseanne Gill-Jacobson, vice president for student services and enrollment and dean of students.
Students climb to six feet and then fall backward into their team's arms, she said.
"It's a great starting point to explore a student's willingness to take risks. It develops caring, team pride and above all else, trust," she said.
Activities
Other exercises planned for the course include:
U Mohawk walk: Move a group from start to finish on top of and along a series of tightly strung cables between support poles.
U Wild Woozy: Two individuals figure out how to physically support each other as they move along two diverging cables about two feet off the ground.
U Three Islands: Participants traverse three platforms that are spread apart by using two boards, one long and one short.
U 12-foot wall: Physically and safely move a group over a 12-foot wall.
U Spider's web: Move an entire group through a nylon fabricated web without touching the web material.
U TC Shuffle: Two groups of participants stand on a telephone pole single file and exchange ends of the pole without falling off.
U Trolleys/Boardwalk: Groups work together to walk while standing on wooden trolleys.