Cleveland Browns look to aid 'organic' team bonding within the mountains of West Virginia

WHITE SULPHER SPRINGS, W.Va. — There are a lot of advance statistics in the world of sports nowadays. There isn't a statistic developed yet to show the impact of team bonding.

If there is, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski isn't aware of it's existence. However, if there's anything that can accelerate the process, he's hoping it's nine days spent in the mountains of West Virginia.

"Team building and team bonding, that's organic," Stefanski said following Saturday's opening training camp practice at The Greenbrier. "I really think just being on a bus together, you're building your team, being on an airplane, being around each other, what this allows us to do is we're landlocked here. We're in the middle of nowhere by design, so it forces you to be around your teammates."

The Browns are holding their first eight training camp practices at the exclusive resort tucked in the heart of Southeast West Virginia. While Interstate 64 passes above the south end of the Greenbrier Sports Performance Center's two grass practice fields, that's the closest evidence of true civilization to the place they're going to call home for the rest of the month.

The practices aren't open for the public to attend. That'll be for when the Browns return to their Berea team facility for eight open practice starting Aug. 1.

This, instead, is for the 90 players on the active roster, as well as the coaches and other individuals within the organization. The question of its impact, though, can be open for interpretation.

"I mean, it depends," receiver Amari Cooper said. "It's all about perspective. I mean if you're able to really lock in and focus when you're at home then you really get the same out of it."

Cooper is one of the Browns' players or coaches who have experienced training camp away from the normal team facility. Both of the teams he previously played for, the Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys, held camp off-site during his time with them.

Stefanski has also been a part of off-site training camps. The Minnesota Vikings, with whom he's spent his entire NFL coaching career before being hired by the Browns in 2020, held their training camp at the University of Minnesota at Mankato.

That past experience was part of the reason why, when the Browns were faced with an extra week of training camp due to their participation in the Hall of Fame Game, Stefanski looked to alter the script a bit from what they had normally done.

"I think for us with camp being extended, getting to play in the Hall of Fame Game, it just made sense to try to get away," Stefanski said. "This is a place that has housed teams before. I think maybe if they hadn't housed teams before, we probably wouldn't be the first team. But knowing that they've been here, having coaches on our staff that have been here that really can speak to this place and then how first class it is., I think that was really helpful in us in determining this was the spot that we wanted to come."

Stefanski is banking on the players not only finding ways to come together through the isolation, but also the various activities. The resort where the team is being housed boasts several high-end amenities, including a casino, multiple golf courses and many restaurants.

Whether it pays off in the end will be debated as the season progresses. However, the players believe there's already a developing bond between them that may not have been present previously.

“I think this year just guys being around each other more, doing a lot more things outside of football with us going out to eat," cornerback Denzel Ward said. "Just whatever it is, you can just see guys getting closer, talking more, communicating more. So you could just feel it.”

Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on Twitter at @ceasterlingABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns try to boost 'organic' team bonding at The Greenbrier