ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF CONDITIONING
LaSONDRA BARRETT (9-25-09):
The Lady Tiger Way just doesn't include academics, workouts, practice, and weights. TEAM bonding is an important aspect of our organization because it gives us a chance to interact with our teammates off the court and helps create chemistry that we can carry onto the court.
Allison Hightower and Nicci Kelly proposed a deal with Coach Starkey that we could go and complete 13 Gates at a local Haunted House and if we completed it as a TEAM, then we would be excused from the next 6 a.m. conditioning workout. Allison and Nicci rallied our team together and we all decide to go and finish with the help of each other. Some of my teammates and myself included was extremely terrified even before we started. Meanwhile, other teammates were not as scared as we were. Starting off, we were put in an unsturdy elevator that had no light and some scary creatures. Each gate offered a different obstacle in which we had to overcome. Our obstacles included graveyards, a witch's house, a butcher's store, things we had to crawl under, things we had to run through, scary creatures popping out of doors and windows, replications from movies, ex) Saw V, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Pirates of the Carribean, hot, cold, rainy, and foggy weather, just to name a few.
Each person's body was soaking with sweat from all the running, screamming, and grabbing each other. Being a TEAM was the only reason we finished the 13 gates. It didnt matter if someone grabbed you so tight you couldn't breathe because something just popped out the ceiling or if someone picked you up and carried you back into the entrance because you got last minute jitters. Whatever it was, our TEAM was there to lend a hand. We completed the scariest, darkest, most gruesome 13 gates of our life, but the best part was finishing through that last gate, cheering and giving each other hugs and high fives because we knew we just accomplished something worthwhile.