Sport Psych (Video): Icebreakers -
The Teammate Memory Game
The Teammate Memory Game is an icebreaker that forces team members to remember personal information about teammates. It also encourages every member to have a brief meeting to discuss this information. It's good in a team or class situation.
Setup
You can play this with your entire team. If using it with your class, you may want to break up into smaller groups.
Make a number of paper slips with a question on each slip. The questions should be related to personal likes, dislikes, favorites. etc. For example:
- Pet peeves
- Favorite movie
- Favorite athlete
- Favorite singer or musical group
- Favorite actress
- Most unique talent
- Favorite store for shopping
- Favorite food
- Favorite actor
- Favorite snack or dessert
- Favorite fruit
- Favorite hobby (aside from your sport)
How to Play
Have every student take a slip. Their job is to approach every classmate and ask them the question indicated on their slip -- and to then remember as many classmates' answers as possible.
Give your students time to mingle and to meet with everyone. Then have everyone sit in a circle. One at a time, every student will go around the circle, identifying each student and their answer. For example, "My topic was favorite actors: Jill likes George Clooney, Francis likes Kevin Bacon, Jo likes Orlando Bloom…"
The student who can remember the most correct answers wins the contest. Of course, as each student goes around the circle reciting the answers to their question, everyone is learning personal information about the members of the group. It's a great get-to-know-you activity.
"Teammate Memory Game" in the following video.
Reference: Nicole Dubuc, Laurentian University Cross-Country Running training camp, September, 2007.
Nicole is working on her PhD in Sport Psychology at the University of Ottawa. She was the Laurentian University track and cross-country team's sport psychology consultant for three years.
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