Around once a month throughout the regular season, Florida coach Kelly Rae Finley carved out time for her team to gather and, at least for a few minutes, not think about basketball. In November, for instance, while at the San Juan Shootout, everyone traveling with the program—from players to managers to support staff to the radio broadcasters—pulled the name of another person at random and was asked to write something they appreciated about them. They then exchanged note cards.
In February, the team met again, this time in the film room, and wrote down something they were thankful for and read it aloud in front of one another. “I believe that gratefulness needs to be trained,” Finley says.
Adds senior guard Zippy Broughton: “I think the little things like that are a huge reason why teams can bond and be successful.”
