Chapter TwoThe Sticks

Schematic illustration of the clock which is placed on the wall and a whiteboard labeled THE STICK CHALLENGE.

 

As the players arrived at practice the next day, Coach David stood outside the door to the locker room and handed each player a weak, skinny little stick as they walked in. On the big whiteboard, Coach had written in their team colors, “THE STICK CHALLENGE.”

Each small stick had a piece of tape around one end with a word written on it. One of the players asked the coach, “Why is there a word on the stick?”

Schematic illustration of the small stick with a piece of tape.

The players were laughing and comparing stick words when Coach David asked them to take a seat so he could explain. He held up a stick, just like the ones he had given the players. “Take care of your stick,” he told them. “The sticks are brittle and they snap very easily. For this challenge, you don't want your stick to get broken.” He snapped his stick in half, showing them how easy it was to break.

Schematic illustration of the hands holding a broken stick.

He told them the challenge had two parts. The first part, after each player got a stick with a word, was to find a partner with the same word. Together, they needed to research why a team would need that trait in order to be their best. Then they would report back to the team on their assigned day.

The second part of the challenge was that they ...

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