University of Minnesota Athletics
Leadership Retreat
The Leadership U Retreat is the kickoff to the Leadership Council. This retreat is a weekend of leadership training off-site where student-athletes across sports will come together and develop new leadership skills revolving around the following areas: communication, motivation, self-awareness, and accountability.
The retreat began June 26 with a welcome dinner and meeting before the group took off for Chicago the next day. Arriving in Chicago the following afternoon, the Leadership U group immediately went to work. The group went to a Chicago Improv studio for a workshop on how improv can improve their communication skills. On Friday, the Gophers visited the Big Ten Conference office where they had meetings and a question/answer session with outgoing league commissioner, Jim Delany. After some down time and the hotel, the Gophers filled their evening with an M Club Legacy Dinner. This included a few Gopher alumni who spoke to the group about life after college and how to prepare this current group for that next step. Saturday began with morning meetings again at the Big Ten office, followed by some bonding time along the Navy Pier and playing sand volleyball on a pair of courts. The Gophers then took in a Chicago Bandits softball game Saturday evening before heading back to Minneapolis Sunday night. → READ MORE
Our first annual leadership retreat took place in July 2018, where we took 35 student-athletes to Chanhassan, MN and worked with a team of Navy Seals to complete a challenge course which emphasized communication and teamwork.
2019 Leadership Retreat
The retreat began June 26 with a welcome dinner and meeting before the group took off for Chicago the next day. Arriving in Chicago the following afternoon, the Leadership U group immediately went to work. The group went to a Chicago Improv studio for a workshop on how improv can improve their communication skills. On Friday, the Gophers visited the Big Ten Conference office where they had meetings and a question/answer session with outgoing league commissioner, Jim Delany. After some down time and the hotel, the Gophers filled their evening with an M Club Legacy Dinner. This included a few Gopher alumni who spoke to the group about life after college and how to prepare this current group for that next step. Saturday began with morning meetings again at the Big Ten office, followed by some bonding time along the Navy Pier and playing sand volleyball on a pair of courts. The Gophers then took in a Chicago Bandits softball game Saturday evening before heading back to Minneapolis Sunday night. → READ MORE
2018 Leadership Retreat
Our first annual leadership retreat took place in July 2018, where we took 35 student-athletes to Chanhassan, MN and worked with a team of Navy Seals to complete a challenge course which emphasized communication and teamwork.