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Pack Gets Personal
posted 10/18/00
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| Improv comedians from Comedy City perform a skit to show the importance of listening & communication. |
Packer players closed their playbooks and opened lines of communication on October 6 when they participated in the first of several scheduled relationship seminars.
Players and spouses were joined in the players' lounge at Lambeau Field by Gill Byrd, organizer of the event and the Packers' executive director of player development, Geri Hull, who oversees the NFL's players' assistance program, and Jeff Erkenbeck, the league's player development consultant.
Byrd, who joined the organization prior to last season, believes the dialogues will help members of the team and their families overcome struggles common to both players and non-athletes.
"This gives them a chance to share their positive and negative experiences in a healthy and beneficial way," said Byrd. "Plus, it's a comfortable environment. They know that the people there understand their specific situations and unique circumstances."
Green Bay's Comedy City provided comic relief and set up discussion topics through outlandish skits.
Subject matters ranged from non-verbal communication to positive reinforcement, and the participants paid close attention.
"It was really good," one player said. "The comedy definitely lightened things up. It was just nice to share some of the experiences that I think every couple goes through."
"There's a tendency to think that this is for someone else and not for me," said Hull. "But when you come and participate, you get surprised and actually take something from this."
Byrd, who plans to hold the forums once every month, hopes that through future sessions more Packer players will see the value of the meetings and become active in the program.
"This is an added opportunity for a player and his wife or girlfriend to become stronger," said Byrd. "Couples can be encouraged by the good things that they see in the people around them. So far, the guys seem to be open to the idea, and that's very encouraging."
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