April 15, 2016

 

Stanislaus State women’s soccer coach Gabriel Bolton was looking for a new way for his team to improve in the off-season, and what he has added to the regimen has more to do with working between the ears than between the goal lines.

In addition to the on-pitch training and spring exhibition games, the Warriors have leadership workshops, from which their weekly writing assignments develop. The writing tasks run the gamut from simple journal entries to far more complex exercises, such as writing a formal letter to the game of soccer as if it were a person.

“This writing assignment really made the players think about their relationship with soccer,” Bolton said. “I think they were a little surprised at first when I also started to demand proper formatting. But I explained that personal development, academic growth and athletics should all flow together in a college environment.”

As part of the ongoing effort to recognize and foster excellent writing at Stan State, this article has been placed on the GROW (Greatness Relies on Writing) website.