7 Benefits and 7 Keys to Running a Team Boot Camp this Season

 Whether you’re a coach with 100 kids trying out for a roster of 12 or struggling to gather enough players to form a team, a team boot camp can help create a special team that people want to be a part of. As John Bacon says in his book Let Them Lead, "If you want to make it special to be on your team, make it hard to be on your team."

The show The Selection: Special Operations Experiment is probably the only reality TV show I’ve ever enjoyed. It takes 30 men and women with no military background and puts them through a rigorous selection process run by veterans of the Navy SEALs, Green Berets, and Army Rangers. Special forces worldwide have intense training and assessment processes to find the best of the best. In The Selection, instructors challenge these 30 people mentally and physically beyond anything they’ve ever done before.

The show is fascinating for many reasons. It gives viewers an inside look at how physical and mental toughness, as well as leadership, are assessed. Some of the tests are truly harrowing and include tear gas, interrogation simulations, and psychological warfare (such as being confined in tiny boxes). Participants are pushed to their breaking point but can pull out of the program at any stage.

It also provides insight into why these people want to go through this process—there is no prize money or future job as a member of the Elite Forces. Most participants, especially those who last into the later stages, seem to have overcome significant life challenges or are battling something dark in their lives, such as the loss of a loved one, substance abuse, or sexual abuse. They understand the opportunity to be transformed through the experience that “selection” offers.

Since watching this show, I’ve become fascinated with the selection process, particularly that of the Navy SEALs, designed by Draper Kauffman, a legendary Navy Demolition Man. The dropout rate for the Navy SEALs is around 60%, which is low compared to Delta Force and Army Rangers, which have dropout rates around 90%. The SEALs have one of the strongest reputations for their selection program.

One surprising aspect of The Selection was the instructors’ behavior. While they were hard and tough, they were also supportive and encouraging at times. Even when participants quit or left the program, the instructors always showed them respect. I had always imagined something more like the movie Full Metal Jacket!

Talk with anyone who has made it through the Navy SEALs’ BUD/S selection program, and they will tell you it is not the strongest, fittest, or smartest people who survive. In her book Grit, Angela Duckworth’s research revealed similar ideas when she studied cadets in West Point’s BEAST program and Navy SEALs. So, who survives? The grittiest survive! Using a simple “Grit” test, Duckworth could predict with near-perfect accuracy who would make it through these selection processes. Grit, as she defines it, is perseverance and passion for long-term goals.

The selection process is not about weeding out the weak but those who lack the “grit” necessary to succeed while strengthening their bond and commitment to the group and developing mental toughness and leadership.

However, in most sports programs, our selection process is too often just the opposite—only the most talented survive! In most programs, regardless of the level, we select people in tryouts based on an assessment of skill or ability. We do not test growth mindset, grit score, mental toughness, character, leadership, or the other qualities we claim to value in our program.

By applying the principles of the Navy SEALs’ selection process, we could benefit greatly from a selection process or a boot camp. Even if we were to use a boot camp after we had already selected our team, it would still provide significant benefits for the team’s culture.

The 7 Benefits of a Hell Week

1. Weeds out the weak. Coaches at the high school and collegiate levels often provide off-season training programs for their players to help prepare them for the season ahead. Basic levels of fitness, athleticism, and skill should be required. Providing an off-season training program that is adequate enough to bring them up to a minimum standard is essential. A boot camp will weed out those unable or unwilling to put in the work required to meet those standards.
2. Weeds out the uncommitted. If players are unwilling to push themselves outside their comfort zone and stretch themselves physically and mentally at the start of the season—when they are typically most motivated—then when will they be willing? This is why the first week of selection programs is usually the most rigorous—they know it is better to learn whether they are committed early, as it saves everyone stress and complications later.
3. Strengthens their commitment. Studies have made it clear that the more you sacrifice and invest your time and physical and mental resources into something, the stronger your commitment will be. A boot camp will not only weed out the uncommitted but also strengthen the commitment of the others.
4. Builds relationships and culture. Through physical and mental pain, participants will experience intense vulnerability and a deeper connection to each other. They will also learn to rely on each other during team training exercises.
5. Improves mental toughness and discipline. A boot camp will stretch and challenge every participant physically, mentally, and emotionally. They will be forced to leave their comfort zone, and the more time they spend being uncomfortable in this type of environment, the more they will crave the benefits of training outside the comfort zone. Feeling themselves grow physically and mentally stronger creates a sense of fulfillment.
6. Builds leaders. The process presents many opportunities to pass on leadership responsibilities, decision-making, and ownership. As participants are pushed to their limits and tested, leaders will emerge because they will depend on each other.
7. Creates a story. The boot camp will become a rite of passage they will talk about for the rest of their lives. A certain level of pride and self-belief comes from surviving a selection process.

7 Keys to Having a Beneficial Hell Week

1. Create a safe out. In the Navy SEALs selection process, cadets honorably ring a bell when they decide to quit. It is essential to stress that your team isn’t for everyone—you have high standards and are working to build something special.
2. Be positive and encouraging. Don’t go Full Metal Jacket on them! If possible, join in on the activities. Draper Kauffman did everything he asked of his soldiers during his selection process.
3. Log PT (Physical Training). Draper Kauffman used large logs for conditioning in small groups that required everyone on the team to work together and share the load. Break participants into small teams and put them through grueling and creative physical and mental tests.
4. “It pays to be a winner.” Groups should compete against each other. The winning group can be rewarded by being exempt from the final part of conditioning but should still be required to help the coaches support and encourage those who fall short.
5. The training doesn’t always need to be sport-specific. Challenge participants physically and then have them execute skills or tactical play when they are tired and exhausted. While long-distance running doesn’t physically prepare many athletes for their sport, it can help prepare them mentally.
6. Decentralize command. Leaders create more leaders. Rotate team leaders and give them responsibility. Communicate instructions through the leaders and give them the challenge of disseminating the information to their teammates and making decisions for the team.
7. Explain why. Continuously remind participants that each activity serves a purpose. Make sure they know this is helping them grow physically and mentally, and by choosing to persevere, they are choosing to be part of something truly special.

To learn more about the benefits of a boot camp, check out The Coaching Culture Podcast with Navy SEAL Jon Cleck.

-J.P. Nerbun