Training alongside Soldier athletes gearing up for the 2015 Army Trials goes a long way toward getting them to embrace core resilience competencies and performance enhancement skills, a Master Resilience Trainer-Performance Expert (MRT-PE) says.
Ashley Jenkins, a Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness (CSF2) MRT-PE recently took part in a wheelchair basketball clinic held at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The clinic was held for wounded, ill and injured Soldiers preparing for the Army Trials; those selected at the Army Trials will compete at the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 taking place in June at Quantico, Virginia.
While Jenkins was there to teach resilience principles and performance skills, it's also important she connects with the Soldiers and coaches and be considered part of the team.
"If you don't have trust with the athletes and the coaches, then you won't be able to deliver the message, whether it is resilience skills or performance skills," she said.
Jenkins' instruction helps mentally prepare the Soldiers for the Army Trials, ensuring that they would enter the competition in good spirits. Jenkins weaves resilience and performance skills throughout the Soldiers' training, reinforcing and building upon the training offered by the coaches.
Jenkins taught the Soldiers ways to better communicate effectively as a team, whether they are talking about passing the ball or about the opposing team.
In addition to teaching Soldiers resilience and performance skills, the clinic also presented the opportunity for her to establish and build a relationship moving into the DoD Warrior Games 2015, recognizing that several of the Soldiers, as well as the Coach may move forward to the games.
The DoD Warrior Games 2015 will feature eight sporting events with approximately 200 athletes representing teams from the Marine Corps, Army, Navy, Air Force and U.S. Special Operations Command. Each military service hosts trials in the months leading up to the games to determine their teams.
Those at the clinic noticed Jenkins' willingness to participate in the activities alongside them.
"I would participate in different drills and they would see I am there for support and not there to just teach things," she said.
In order to better understand the unique challenge wheelchair basketball presents, at one point during the clinic, Jenkins strapped herself into a wheelchair and attempted to shoot a basketball through a hoop from a sitting position.
It was no easy task, she soon learned. "I was confused. The skills in wheelchair basketball are different than regular basketball," she said.
MRTs are tasked with teaching Soldiers key competencies that contribute to resilience such as self-awareness, self-regulation, optimism, mental agility, strengths of character and connection.
MRT-PEs, like Jenkins, teach the same resilience skills Soldiers learn throughout their career, and she's also able to tailor training based on the needs of Soldiers, which includes training Soldiers on how to apply specific performance enhancement skills needed to obtain optimum performance both personally and professionally.
"We bring in a more tailored and specific skill set. For example, we teach Soldiers how to regulate emotion and energy," Jenkins said.
One opportunity to apply performance training is during adaptive reconditioning where wounded, ill and injured Soldiers regularly participate in activities that support their physical and emotional well-being, and help them with their transition back to their Army units or to life as a civilian.
The reconditioning includes activities like air rifle pistol, bowling, cooking, cycling and fishing.
For Soldiers preparing for the Army Trials and the DoD Warrior Games 2015, these activities, according to Jenkins, help them overcome different physical challenges. It also improves their social skills, she added.
"Soldiers like the camaraderie, not just to show their capabilities but to be a part of a team," Jenkins said.
For those who make it to the Army Trials, but not the games, they can still be proud of what they accomplished during the training process, Jenkins said.
The training offered as part of preparation for the Army Trials has had a positive impact on the Soldier athletes, according to Jenkins.
"One athlete in particular was structuring a performance routine to get her energy and mind in the right place before playing," Jenkins said. "She was new to the sport and was experiencing [anxieties]. Following training for the Army Trials, the glow on her face could be seen across post."
The Army Trials, hosted by the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command, are currently underway and will culminate April 2. The event is taking place at Fort Bliss, Texas.
CSF2, is an essential part of the Army's Ready and Resilient Campaign (R2C), and in that role, is the Army program designated to build and maintain ready and resilient Soldiers, Family members and Army Civilians.
For more information about the Army Trials, the Department of Defense Warrior Games 2015 or the Warrior Transition Command, visit http://www.wtc.army.mil/
For information about the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program, visit http://csf2.army.mil
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