The Miners have been through a lot over the past few months and have had their share of heated arguments and frustration, especially over the electrical system problems that have vexed the team since Texas. Team cohesion and strong, dedicated leadership are all critical to the success of any organization. Overcoming conflict should be high on the list of any successful working group,

for as they say "many hands make light work". Veteran teams usually manage to keep people focused on the strategic goal and make personalities subservient to the project, perhaps because they blend the right personnel with proper training for each role.

Early yesterday the Miners were a pretty whipped bunch, and few dared to hold their heads high. A near-disasterous fire followed by rain and heavy clouds figured to keep Solar Miner VI well back in the pack and unable to reach Sioux Falls by day's end. As the day wore on, however, the clouds (the real ones and the ones hanging over the team's heads) began to dissipate and the crew focused more and more on race strategy. Blowing past Minnesota and staying virtually within sight of Calgary reminded them that they were, indeed, in a real race. It was also fingernail-biting time as the Miners got closer to Sioux Falls, because they still had to perform a last-hour driver change and deal with rush-hour traffic.

When they poured out of the vans at the stage stop you'd have thought they had won the entire race, as they were dancing, laughing, shouting, and jumping all over themselves, a joy long missing from this group. That attitude remained strong through dinner, and especially through today's R&R opportunity; even the normally grouchy ones were broadly smiling. Perhaps the best indicator of the emotional turn-around was that they were playing practical jokes on each other, as laughter is a huge emotional relief valve.

In contrast, we have seen some teams at various student competitions tear themselves apart because of clashing egos or non-existent organization. In those cases one individual may shoulder the entire burden of keeping the team pointed in the right direction, but the odds of the team performing well, or even remaining intact, are quite poor.

In Sioux Falls today we did see one part of a team that seem to overcome ALL obstacles, and perhaps they could serve as a shining example of all that we seek in life. To see their progress, continue below..........