This past summer, the De Soto High School cross country team spent a week at the lake in Onekama, Michigan, for a team-bonding trip.

    The team worked hard but also enjoyed their time together doing things normal friend groups would do.

     “We ran with a couple local [high school] teams up there, so we could see some of the places they ran. We went to Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and we climbed the big dune. We went to the beach, and we did more local stuff like berry picking,” sophomore Erin Pickert said.

    The team having put this together without any coach involvement truly shows their dedication to not only the sport, but to their teammates as well.

    “We are closer as a team, and I think it makes us stronger and the season will be better because of it,” junior Rylie McDaniel said.

    This goes to show how effective team bonding can have on the team, and the individual.

    There isn’t any doubt that the DHS cross country team will do something similar next year to strengthen the team’s bond.

    “We don’t have any plans in place right now, but I could see us doing some sort of cross country camp, going to a local lake,” junior Graham Hudelson said. I don’t know if we’ll go to a whole different state this year. But we’ll do something.”