MOBILE, Ala. – The South Alabama Women's Basketball team completed a Greece Tour in the first week of August, where they toured historical sites, bonded as a team, served the community and faced international competition across two games. After the tour's completion, Head Coach Yolisha Jackson answered questions about the tour.
 
What was the overall purpose of the tour?
"The main purpose was the cultural experience, but also the team bonding, team building and the practices and competition."
"The NCAA allows you to do one of these every four years … A lot of times, there are study-abroad programs, but our athletes can't participate because they are student-athletes. This gives them an opportunity to participate in something like that and to kick off their season by doing a lot of team bonding and team building. We were also fortunate enough to do community service while we were over there, so we were able to give back."

If you could describe the trip in one word, what would it be?
"Magical. I thought it was magical for those young women to be able to bond like they did, and to be able to experience the things that they were able to experience. Taking that group was really special for me … They truly engulfed themselves in the experience. It was magical seeing them create lifelong memories and lifelong relationships from those eight days."

What was an off-the-court moment that brought the team closer together?
"Kayaking. We had two different groups, but we were all there together. Them having to have that one other person in the kayak with them and communicate to get where they were going bonded us all together."



How did traveling together help strengthen the team's chemistry?
"Them being able to do new things together – there were a lot of firsts. We had kids who had never been kayaking or were experiencing the different foods. Whenever you're able to do that with a group, you automatically bond."

What did the team learn about adapting to a different style of play?
"Whenever adversity hits, you've got to get tighter. We've got to just focus on us. When [the game] started, we were focusing on the opponent, but then we channeled that back to, 'What are we doing? How are we as a group combating that?' Then, all of a sudden, we went on a run when we figured that out."



How did this trip prepare the team for this upcoming season?
"The extra time that we spent around each other on the court learning each other is going to propel us. In this era of college athletics, being able to have longer practice time to get used to terminology, pace, drill names and how each person likes to play has already given us a step up leading into the season."

FOLLOW THE JAGS:
For complete coverage of South Alabama women's basketball, follow the Jags on social media @SouthAlabamaWBB (Twitter), /SouthAlabamaAthletics (Facebook), @southalabamawbb (Instagram) or visit the official home of South Alabama athletics at usajaguars.com.