Self-Organizing: From Child’s Play to An Effective Wellness Program

Abstract

This article examines the exercise practices of a group of faculty members at a regional university who for a decade have participated in their own racquetball league.  These professors self-organized their exercise regimen and during the period of their participation have found significant benefits beyond the physical benefits, as a result.  Through the production of reflective narratives focused on the impact of their racquetball participation, their self-reported data show two broad themes and numerous sub-themes that emerge from their exercise experience.  They reveal significant health benefits, and they express more deeply the benefits of the positive social interaction that impacts many aspects of their personal and professional lives.  The self-reported data from six players was requested and collected during a 6-week period.  Faculty members were asked to write freely on the self-organizational aspects of their racquetball participation as well as their perceived benefits of this particular exercise.  A qualitative textual analysis was applied to these narratives after they were coded for anonymity.  Subsequent conclusions were drawn from the analyses of the content of each narrative.