Team Building Day

Not long after I got hired I received an invite to the 2nd Annual Fun Day for my work @ Chelsea Piers.

A day where they close the office and everyone goes to Chelsea Piers to play team events - Dodgeball and Volleyball were mentioned.

I was asked if I thought I could come. Well...considering I would be at work otherwise and the office is closed, I guess I really don't have an excuse not too...

Although I had heard wonderful things about Chelsea Piers, I was dreading spending a day playing sports that I was rusty or sucked at in front of people I'd just meant - not knowing how competitive they were (most are lawyers after all) and fretting over what to wear - I mean, I have workout clothes but wasn't sure what was passable for "work" workout clothes.

Just entirely too much thought and anguish over something that was supposed to be fun - and not many answers to be had either. When I asked questions I was met with, "You aren't athletic are you?" Uh, well...I'm not an Olympian, but basically I just want to know what to expect! I was in full-on dread mode.

Monday was here and I timed my arrival well as when I approached the parking lot I saw 2 co-workers driving up. (At least I had someone to follow who knew where they were going!)

The events started late as there were some stragglers. Ironically enough, the late people weren't the two employees that flew in from the San Francisco branch for the event.

Finally the "Team Building Leaders" @ Chelsea Piers told us we needed to get started, so off we went to the playing field...er...court.

We were divided into teams - predetermined by the co-worker planners of the event. I was put on a team with my boss - wasn't sure if it was better to be on his team or competing against him....someone muttered to me - "no pressure" in a tone somewhere between jokey and not really.

Our first game consisted of having a "quarterback" throw passes to each team member for 2 minutes. Points would be given for a catch and how far back the catch was made - but beyond catching the ball, each team member had to stand in a line and touch the ball as it made its way back to the quarterback. All the guys practiced their throwing and then when it was time to start the game they asked if any of the girls could throw. I said I could, but I would need a couple practice throws - I got to toss it once and it was a pathetically wobbly spiral. Ugh.

So the game started. And the guys threw the balls - until the last round. We were told we had to have a woman quarterback. And we had an option to do an underhand toss or actually throw it. I'm all about the women's version of pushups but if I got the opportunity, I wasn't about to take the wimpy way out of throwing the football. So me and another gal had a "throw off" so they could see which one was better. This time my throw was still not perfect but better. The other gal's dived quicker than mine but overall there wasn't much difference. It was up to us, so there was a bunch of - you go, no..you, no, really, etc. and then one of the partners said that he thought mine was actually better. So I took the ball and prayed that I could walk away with some dignity.

They had me throw again so they could see how far back they could feasibly go for points before my toss dived. Then told everyone where to run to and then my 2 minutes started. For the round, the girl on the other team beat me - but totaling up the rounds our team won! And I had highly impressed the guy that trains me, another partner handed me the ball touting me MVP. I was somewhat relieved but not wholly - I knew there was still a full day of other activities ahead of me.

Next up - using teamwork to keep a giant inflated ball in the air using only our hands, no catching and tossing - just tapping along.

Then - Dodgeball. The Chelsea Piers employees brought out sweatbands for the other team to wear on their heads. Each team got about 5 little red balls to propel at the other team. There would be 3 rounds and once you were out, you were out.

I survived okay - even catching a ball and then catching a surprised glare from the person who threw it.

On to sand volleyball. They asked how many were participating and only one person from our team said they weren't - well apparently not all were listening because I found myself to be the only spare on the sidelines. Niiice.

I was rotated in and got my serve over and managed to aim my "bumps" in a decent manner - prompting some to ask if I'd played before. Apparently I looked like I knew what I was doing! Go figure.

The games continued to "joisting" - only the guys ended up wanting to participate in this event as they used double ended Q-tip like sticks to knock the opponent off the platform they were standing on.

Then on to rock climbing...which I observed. Mind you, I wasn't anti- just wasn't keen on harnessing up and figuring all of it out in front of co-workers. Friends, yes. Co-workers...well, maybe next year...

Once all was said and done our team won - for what it was worth. Then we had 20 minutes to kill before they'd have our food ready. We had mostly free reign to use whatever equipment. A lot of the guys played basketball - with apparent no interest in making it co-ed according to one female intern. I opted to hop on an eliptical that was perched on a bird's eye view platform above the cafe area - so then I could keep an eye on when the non-excerciser/basketball playing workers headed off to eat! ;)

And FINALLY the time did indeed come to eat and drink for free! Woot! They have a brewery @ Chelsea Piers so we got to try the ale and partake in a rotating buffet of appetizers, main course and dessert. As a whole, the food wasn't too bad to put in your system after a day's workout but the ale probably wasn't the best for rehydration - as I later would sadly discover while suffering a near nauseating headache.

Dare I say the day was actually somewhat fun? I think I shall - MUCH better than I had anticipated. And it was certainly enlightening to observe my fellow co-workers in that environment - workout clothes and all! ;)