Day extending team concept
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
Those words can be found outside the entrance of Butler's Great Escape, in the heart of town on Main Street.
The mystery adventure competition is designed for more than just fun, says its owner, Moniteau boys basketball coach Jerry Day.
“It's about team bonding, building team chemistry and leadership,” Day said.
Teams of anywhere from two to 10 people battle a 60-minute clock to solve the mystery in the “escape room.” The current mystery is solving who stole one of the Pittsburgh Steelers' Super Bowl trophies and retrieving it.
Day keeps a leaderboard of the fastest times in solving the mystery both at the facility and on its web-site.
“The whole idea is to bring teams closer together by having them work together to find clues and solve the case,” Day said.
“Besides coaching, I'm retired and have plenty of time to do this. I think it can help athletic teams as well as business teams.”
Day plans on bringing his Moniteau team down to participate and is trying to set up rivalry battles between Moniteau and Karns City, along with other area high school teams. Slippery Rock University teams may take on the Great Escape clock as well.
Day said that teams “that organize and work together” solve the mystery in the shortest time.
“It's constant communication and you almost have to have a leader,” he said.
Brenda Alter, executive director of Specialty Outreach Services in Butler, recently brought two teams of four — all members of her staff — to take on the Great Escape recently.
Each team tried to beat the other in terms of time. A video screen outside of the room enabled Alter to watch her teams in action.
“You really can learn a lot,” Alter said. “It's a fun competition and it's good for morale. And it definitely helps to bond the staff.
“You can pick up on leadership qualities, who's more aggressive and outgoing, who's a little quiet, etc. It's a creative means to see your people in action.”
Day said people of all ages have tried the room so far and he averages 15 to 20 teams per week.
“It is an effective way to evaluate people,” Day said. “One step leads to another in there ... It can get frustrating and it's fun to see how people handle that.”
Former Butler quarterback Cole Harvey was a member of one of the Specialty Outreach Services teams.
“It was a lot tougher than I thought it would be,” Harvey said. “We had to put our minds together, figure things out together. It did get super frustrating.
“The four of us work together all the time. Here, we had to work together as a team. Team building? I can definitely see that.
“After a while, we relaxed, poked fun at each other and had a good time. I think we all enjoyed the experience,” Harvey added.
