Vikings in Sneakers
There were no lootings or duels when the men from the handball team, Bjerringbro- Silkeborg took over Samsø for a couple of days, but in spite of that, it would be easy to assume that the broad-shouldered men wanted to walk in the footsteps of the Vikings.
Away from Everyday Life
As the manager of a top-level professional handball team, you need the whole team to feel for one another – both as individuals and as an entity. “You can practice a lot on the court, but different mechanisms appear when we move the practice into other surroundings”, says Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen. And this was exactly the objective of the three-day long teambuilding trip to Samsø. “During the trip, we were put in some surprising and challenging situations that demanded that we worked together and focused in a different way. We could not hide behind the handball that we are so used to handling”, says Michael Knudsen, who plays on the Danish national team.
The Desire to Win
On Samsø, the handball team were put under different forms of duress that were each meant to create unity and the desire to win. This was really highlighted when the team faced Samsø Old Boys for a game of football. The Samsø team had set the strongest possible line-up including the Mayor and the local policeman. Eyewitnesses have talked about the Samsø team having great courage to supplement their distinct lack of talent. The game ended with the score 13-0 – in favour of the away team. The team literally dug into Samsø later, when they played a round of golf at Samsø Golfklub’s course. Things started looking up when it was time to cook dinner. Claus and Jakob from the “Strandlyst” hotel and restaurant had prepared an outdoor event where stones for the cooking pit had to be gathered from the sea and appetisers had to be prepared over a bonfire.
The Island has Everything
The managers, players and organisers were all very satisfied with Samsø: “I think Samsø can offer a lot of things to a club such as ours. The accommodation and restaurants are great, there are many fun activities and you can say that the nature surrounding us was like one big multifunctional fitness centre”, says Peter Bredsdorff-Larsen.
Last updated: 23/02/2016 09:53
