TEAMWORK ADVANTAGE, Inc.

The Leadership Reaction Course (LRC):  This course is our signature activity. It is a low level military obstacle course that stresses teamwork, leadership and individual confidence. There are a total of 12 obstacles – some are easy, some are moderate and some are tough. The LRC is used by our military to train officers, rangers, seals, combat soldiers, and ROTC cadets. Each obstacle takes from 30 to 90 minutes to negotiate and is supervised by a facilitator who is prior or active military or a person training by the military. The obstacles are designed so that only a teamwork approach will work. All obstacles and activities require collaboration and teamwork. All members of the team are focused on the same goal and outcome. .Divergent or “Out of the Box” thinking and risk are shared, encouraged, and needed to succeed. Individual weaknesses and strengths surface during obstacle negotiation and a sense of mutual respect and equality among group members naturally prevails. Communication, cooperation and commitment become the norm.

Land Navigation/Orienteering:  To teach participants how to plan, plot a course on a map and use a compass, we offer a 4 to 6 leg compass/orienteering course covering 15 acres. This course was designed and installed by senior US Army personnel at Embry Riddle Aeronautical, University and takes several hours to negotiate. Participants are put in 3-person teams and given a specific course to locate and record several points. This activity promotes both teamwork and individual confidence since each person must fulfill a specific role to succeed. One person must serve as a spotter, another must keep track of pace count and the third must operate the compass. We can modify the group size for military and ROTC participants as required.

Rock Wall:  Upon request we can rent a 24’ or 32’ Rock/Repel Tower for participants or groups who desire such training. We rent the tower from an insured entertainment company or bring in the National Guard rock wall. Both of these organizations set up the tower and provide a trained and certified instructor. This type of training builds courage, self-confidence and tests mental and physical stamina.  

High Ropes Course:  The high ropes course belongs to and it run by the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Range (FSYR). Like the rock/repel tower, this course builds courage and self-confidence. There are 3 to 6 components to the ropes course and it takes about 30 minutes per participant to negotiate the full course. Trained and certified FSYR personal run the ropes course.  

Trust Building Exercises:  These exercises help participants to understand that people can and should be trusted. We have several activities that promote trust and respect for one another. To cite a few, we have the traditional trust fall in which a person must get up on a 4 foot platform and fall backwards and off the platform into the arms of several other participants. We also employ the outdoor “Trust Walk” in which 6 to 11 participants are blindfolded except the lead person. Those blindfolded must place their hands on the shoulders of the person in front of them and follow the leader on a 15 minute nature walk. A variation of this exercise requires just one person to be blindfolded and he or she must walk from point A to B or perform a task at the direction of a person not blindfolded. Coat of Arms is a paper and pen activity in which participants must draw or write aspects or their personality and share them with another person they do not really know.       

Teamwork Building Exercises: For short teamwork building exercises we have several activities that deemphasize individual showboating and promote teamwork in a fun way. Our most popular activity is the Centipede Walk. Six to eight participants must walk together to a particular location and turn around and come back on a 2 x 8 or 2 x 10 board using just ropes attached to the board. It’s not possible to accomplish this without communication, cooperation and patience. At first this activity seems impossible, but once that teamwork spirit kicks in, participants move along and accomplish the task. Another activity is known as “Helium Stick”. Six to twelve participants must place their index finger on a light weight stick and lower it and place it on the ground together. Retry after retry and patience eventually get the stick on ground as directed. Another activity is called the “Dragon Tag”. With this activity 4 to 8 participants lock elbows and must stay linked as they seek to remove the tail of other dragon teams participating (3 or 4 teams). The tail is a flag in the back pocket of the last person and if removed the team must sit. The last dragon team remaining is the winner. 

Team Sports:  Just about any team sport will foster teamwork. We offer several activities that really emphasize teamwork. Pushball is one of our activities that require a team effort to push a 6’ ball over the goal line. Everybody has to work to get the ball down the field and against resistance by the other team. It is hard for any one person to dominate and a true sense of teamwork is experience when a goal is made. We also play basketball but we have changed the rules a little. No one can take a 2nd shot until the other 4 players have taken a shot. Again – a great sense of teamwork is achieved with the win. Individual confidence, self-worth and trust are some residual benefits from this style of basketball.  Another game we play is Capture the Flag. This activity requires a lot of planning, strategy, and coordination. The goal is to capture the flag of the other team with your entire team intact. Participants can also engage in other more traditional sports such a football, volleyball and softball. 

Water Safety Training:  To bolster individual confidence and esteem, we also offer water safety training in a full size pool. Participants are taught how to survive in water for long periods of time. They learn easy strokes to stay afloat without much effort, create a crude flotation device using an item of clothing, what to do when your boat or raft capsizes, how to capture drinking water, send distress signals and more. The pool is also used for water exercises to build muscle and endurance. Additionally water games can be played as well such water polo. Whenever the pool is being used, there will be a trained and certified lifeguard on duty.

Military Instruction and Training:  We also offer military instruction on a variety of topics such as leadership, survival techniques and map reading. We also offer special training such "lanes" , physical training and can administer the Army Physical Readiness Test. Former, active or reserve military personnel are used for instruction and training.

OUR MISSION AND PROGRAM