Dryland: The Human Knot

I remember doing this activity a long time ago in Yosemite for 6th grade Camp. I never used it before, but I thought about it the other day and I thought it would be good for my group to do.

The situation: The kids were starting to chat a lot more, and they'd get mad at each other over practice etiquette and conduct. There seemed to be no real leaders who knew how to lead, just kids who wanted to lead because they thought they should be the leader.

The Activity: Get the group in a circle. Have them come close enough that they can all grab each others hands, and have them try not to grab the same persons hand as they have in their other hand. Now they had to: twist, duck, step over, climb through, and manipulate themselves to make one giant circle.

What Occurred: The beginning started with a lot of people complaining that it was impossible, and they got no where. Then there was no one doing anything, and again they got no where. They soon figured out that yelling didn't help, and then finally someone told someone else a move they needed to do. They finally listened and followed the directions of the person. They did get to be one big circle, but the communication process changed quite a bit within the exercise.

I explained that leading wasn't yelling at each other, and fighting and bickering would get you know where (as they didn't make progress with the knot by yelling at each other or the coach either). I talked about how practices will be more efficient and more effective if we are able to communicate with each other better. I told them that those who step up to be leaders need to do it in a proper way, and not to bully their way to leadership. I wanted them to realize that a good communicating environment will help others, but also themselves as they'll get more out of practice.

I hoped to accomplish: A little better communication within the group.

Results: Amazing, they did great at practice. Another Coach even recognized it, even without knowing what we had done for dryland. The exercise really did get to the kids, and they understood how much easier it was to get out of the knot when they communicated well.