Chattanooga Trip: WG Lady Warriors Softball Bonding Experience

Besides the tournament played over the past weekend, September 12th-13th, the WG Lady Warriors’ recent trip to Chattanooga was a journey of team- building, sharpening skills, and creating memories off the field. 
by Rylee Watson

The Warriors took to the road on Friday early that day. The bus ride was filled with many teammates watching movies to pass the time, listening to music, and some resting for the upcoming stops. The first stop of the day was Burger Republic, in Chattanooga, a hip local burger joint surrounded by the square. The team participated in several team-bonding activities, including a scavenger hunt at the local mall. Many athletes took a liking to the hunt. Coaches Foster, Ham, and Watson created a time consuming array of challenges for each team to complete within an hour. Ady Mills and Madison Whitley both enjoyed the competition of the scavenger hunt. Whitley shared, “I think my favorite memory was when we went to the mall and the groups that we are in all got to do a scavenger hunt, it was super fun.” 

Mills added, “[The  scavenger hunt] was very fun and full of good memories.” 
​
Another fan favorite was exploring the food in Chattanooga, Ansleigh Arndt and Gracie Starrett admired the various meals shared on the trip between burgers, pizza, and many snacks throughout the trip. From the beginning of the trip, all the girls were anticipating becoming roommates for the night, Ansleigh explains, “It made us connect more and learn more about each other since we stayed together.”

Madison Whitley believed this trip was a good way to bond and get to know each other better off the field. She shared, “I think it helped us grow and be more comfortable around each other, so that we can do better in game-like situations and figure out how each person works, so we can play better together.”

The man behind the planning was Coach Foster. His main objective for the Chattanooga trip was to create an experience for the Lady Warriors. He explains, “One goal I had was to allow our girls to team bond on our trip to Chattanooga. Being able to travel out of town with your teammates, stay overnight together, and participate in a fun mall scavenger hunt hopefully allowed the girls to team bond. It also somewhat created what we might have to do in late October in Columbus, which is go on the road and play softball.”
​
All the coaches involved with the program take pride in the connection of this year's team, “This year's team has probably bonded more than most other teams I have coached in the past. I believe that team bonding is very important to our  team chemistry as well,” shared by Foster. He shares upcoming plans, “We will continue to work on being successful on the field… [the trip] gave us a great experience that allowed us to play some different teams that we wouldn't have played otherwise.”

As the Lady Warriors traveled back home, they continued to focus on how they will evolve and adapt to new challenges along the way. This 2025 season is shortly coming to an end, as WGHS awaits to see what they achieve next. 

---