The distance between Columbia, South Carolina and Dallas, home of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, is 995.6 miles. His Gamecocks in South Carolina already have him off to a head start with four bikes and weekly missions.
Every Friday before the season starts, sports performance coach Molly Binetti does a one-hour workout she calls “Finals for Fridays.” While it varies from week to week, every session has a mission that requires players to work as a team and visualize the challenges they will face throughout the upcoming season.
One of the challenges is biking the miles required to travel from Columbia to the next Final Four city. Binetti sets up his four bikes and players take turns registering the required number of miles. Miles may relate to the number of games played during the season. Otherwise the challenge is based on your opponent. In other words, difficulty is based on the teams you play against.
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Another challenge is the scavenger hunt, where players must complete certain tasks before the time runs out. Binetti envelops the challenges that must be completed on the way to the finish line, known as the “Final Four”.
“It started with the concept that we wanted a way to expose ourselves to really difficult situations in order to compete, have fun and grow as a team,” Binetti said. It’s an opportunity to give leadership opportunities.”
Senior guard Blair Beal says the sessions are challenging, but they help her and the rest of the team focus on the end goal. The end goal is clear. To repeat as national champion.
The Gamecocks made it to the 2021 Final Four, but lost to Stanford. One season later, South Carolina has come through a struggle from the season before winning the national championship.
After falling in the 2021 Final Four, Beal said a big part of that advance was being mentally stronger.
“Every Friday I go in with the mindset of shaving a little bit at a time to get there,” Biel said. “Two years ago, we got there, but it closed after losing in the Final Four.
Binetti arrived in South Carolina in 2018 and has been doing “Final for Friday” sessions ever since. The session was originally called “Fun Friday”, but Binetti changed her name in her second year to align with longtime goal coach Dawn Staley Sett to reach the final weekend of the NCAA Women’s Tournament. rice field.
“I think it’s really a strength of leadership that allows us to overcome the difficult obstacles that stand in our way,” Biel said. “All the workouts we did felt very uncomfortable, but we made it through nonetheless, so it’s Final Four related.
When planning her sessions, Binetti takes into account the workouts and performances a player has had during the week. She starts with her players veteran and chooses one or her two leaders each week. As the summer progresses, Binetti may pick players whose coaches are looking to achieve more.
“I throw people into the fire as I see fit,” Binetti said.
These leaders are the only ones allowed to ask questions to Binetti during the session, so they must demonstrate strong communication skills for the team to be successful. During his final five minutes of the workout, the entire team takes time to discuss what went well and where they could improve.
It’s not an easy job, but leadership work is key to character building. Aliyah Boston is now the face of the program, demonstrating her leadership abilities from day one. Binetti said Boston was one of her loudest players right off the bat, though Staley sometimes described her as “too nice”.
Binetti said Boston is still her sweet self, but has learned to be more confident and assertive when talking to her teammates.
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Other players had to push a little more and saw more noticeable changes. When Victoria Saxton first joined Gamecock, Binetti said she was shy and quiet. , Finals for Fridays, Sr. became a confident and vocal leader.
“I think it’s hard to be that kind of person on a team. I think it takes a lot of heart and a steady mind to be that person, to know what your role is.” Saxton said. “I may not be the top scorer or rebounder, but I will go out there and do whatever it takes to help others.”
That’s the mindset Binetti tries to instill throughout the team throughout the sessions. All Final for Friday tasks require a team effort, and everyone has a role to play, whether you’re the leader or not. Finals Reaching his four is an annual goal, so Binetti said he wants his players to understand exactly how difficult it is, physically and mentally, to get there. I was.
“They need to have the leadership qualities and communication skills to get the job done. It just puts them in situations where they are accountable for the results,” Binetti said. “Ultimately, when they play and they’re on the court, they’re the ones who have to make the decisions, communicate, and get the job done.”
