The message to the women's basketball team centered on communication and leadership, skills long valued in athletics.

What made it unique for the Drake University players was the setting in which it was delivered.

As they listened to Larry Zimpleman, the retired CEO of the Principal Financial Group, waves from the Adriatic Sea lapped the shore outside their waterfront restaurant in the city of Rimini on Italy's eastern coast.

Yes, they were a long way from their cozy, familiar campus, in a country none of them had ever visited, experiencing a culture that, until recently, they barely knew.

And that was the whole idea...

To read "The Power of Connection" in its entirety, click the link below or click 'Read More' on the graphic at the bottom of this page.

Spark: Drake WBB Visits Italy