NC State men go on off-court retreat with Navy SEAL training. It’s about bonding
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- N.C. State men's basketball held a Navy SEAL-style retreat for team bonding.
- Coach Will Wade and his staff joined players in workouts to build team trust.
- Retreat emphasized shared values, emotional connection and off-court development.
Some college basketball teams go to the beach. Others go to the mountains. Some have bonfires at their head coach’s house. N.C. State men’s basketball took preseason team took a different approach to bonding last weekend.
First-year head coach Will Wade traveled with his staff and players to Camp Oak Hill, about an hour north of the Dail Basketball Center, for the weekend. Except it wasn’t all fun and games.
The Wolfpack received attention on social media for its Navy SEAL training, which included bonded swims, running, pushups and other body weight exercises. The activities were done in groups, pushing the participants to move together and in elements like sand and mud.
Wade and his assistants participated in the activities with the players.
“I’m getting a little old to keep doing all that stuff. My body’s hurting today. I had to get treatment this morning. I’m just kidding,” Wade said. “But, you gotta lead from the front. It only works if I’m out there working with them.”
Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams and Houston transfer Terrance Arceneaux both called it crazy. They don’t think very many coaches would be in cold water, legs linked in a line of bodies, as they tried to swim only with their upper body strength.
That developed trust and mutual respect, because the staff fully integrated itself instead of standing and watching from the sidelines.
“It just shows that he cares and he’s here for his players,” Arceneaux said. “You don’t see that everywhere. The different coaches [did] different things with us, as well. It just showed that they care about their players and they want to see us do well.”
Wade said the group participated in more than the Navy SEAL training. Because there was no cellular service, minus Wi-Fi in the primary mess hall, time was spent together with few distractions.
On the first night, the team went over its goals and identity, Wade said. Speakers came in to talk with the team, they performed various activities to encourage vulnerability and deeper relationships, and there was a two-hour “hostage” activity that forced groups to work together. Some guys even cried, Wade said, during their more serious and personal times, as they discussed their upbringings, dreams and personalities. (Williams denied anyone cried, but his statement was accompanied by a sly smile.)
“We’re starting to build some some fiber with one another,” Wade said. “Everybody’s starting to see some commonality, which will really help us as we move forward.”
Williams contributed to the Red Raiders’ NCAA Tournament run last season and lost to N.C. State a year prior during its Cinderella postseason. He knows what it takes to have success and hopes this year’s team, with all of its crazy activities, will gel in a few months.
“When we were the most close, we didn’t know it, but I think later on, when we got into those tough games, just looking each other in the eye and knowing we had each other’s back helped us win to pull out those games in the end,” Williams said. “I think the little things like that translate later on that we may not even think about right now.”
N.C. State’s roster building included specific skill evaluations, physical body type and personality. A lot of effort went into building a team that could play harmoniously from a basketball perspective and possess a deep emotional connection.
Wade acknowledged the process is data driven and based on quantitative metrics, but that’s not real. Sometimes all the numbers align but a team still doesn’t gel for whatever reason. That does not appear to be the case here.
“The thing that we did this weekend, I feel like we got really, really close together,” Arceneaux said. “It just showed we have so much respect for each other now, because we’re just going through everything with each other: the summer, the boot camp, and then also this weekend. I feel like we’re a very, very close team. You don’t get that too much, where everybody hangs out with each other outside of the court and the coaches doing what they do to help us bond and come together. It’s amazing.”
Wade said he recruits with realistic expectations. The coaches share the program’s values, how much work is expected, how the team can help each individual player and how they can help the team. The staff even discusses the summer conditioning program, the intense boot camp they ran last week and the retreat.
He wants every player to understand what they’re getting into. As long as the student-athlete and their family believe in the vision and are committed to embracing and participating in every part of the program, there’s an opportunity to be great.
“We don’t try to be anything that we’re not. We don’t try to sell you on something that we’re not,” Wade said. “We are who we are. We’re not for everybody. If you don’t want to come, go somewhere else. We’ll just kick your ass. If you do want to come, we’re going to work with you, develop you on and off the court and help you become the best version of yourself.”
This story was originally published September 24, 2025 at 5:15 AM with the headline "NC State men go on off-court retreat with Navy SEAL training. It’s about bonding."
