College students don’t get summer reading lists, but members of the University of Illinois Springfield women’s soccer team did this summer.
Each player on the roster took time over the summer and read “The Energy Bus” by Jon Gordon. The book suggests how to approach life and work with positive and forward thinking.
“It taught us a lot about how positive energy will drive your bus, and you want to have people who are also positive on your bus,” UIS sophomore Sam Boettjer said. “We use that to keep us on track and keep us positive on and off the field so we can be successful.”
Talk to any of the UIS women’s soccer players and they’re bound to tell you the author’s advice is working. So is the effort they put in last semester when the team met once a week for a growth and development series where they aired grievances and discussed topics such as accountability and how to communicate better with each other.
“The attitude of the team as a whole is a lot different,” UIS sophomore Nikki Auble said. “It’s a lot better. Everyone is super positive at practice. We all are willing to support each other. You didn’t see that as much last year, so we’re excited about that.”
The story was featured by The State Journal-Register on September 5, 2014.
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