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Leadership Forum provides opportunity for growth

By Britney Wright
NCAA.org

More than 400 student-athletes and administrators came together at the Walt Disney World Resort last month for the 2010 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum and developed leadership skills that will help them make a positive impact on their campus, in their conference and beyond.

“The best part about this is you’re meeting people that are like you,” said Allie Kolezynski, a women’s soccer student-athlete at Chowan.  “Everyone here is ambitious. They’re go-getters.  They’re leaders. It was good to meet other people that have similar values and similar goals as me.”

This year’s forum included changes aimed at better serving the participants. For the first time since the program’s inception, the forum was opened up to all divisions, encouraging interaction among student-athletes and administrators.  Additionally, there were more professional development opporunities for administrators than in years past.

LaWanda Wallace, an assistant athletics director at North Carolina A&T State, praised the new program format.

“I’ve enjoyed myself,” she said.  “This was my second year coming, and it was interesting to see the changes that were made, good changes. I can tell that the NCAA looked at past evaluations and came back with an even stronger program.”

One of the main concepts discussed at the forum was behavioral styles and how recognition of them has the potential to foster better communication and teamwork on and off the field. Many student-athletes, including Janaa Pickard, a women’s basketball student-athlete at George Mason, saw this as an eye-opening experience.

 “I really learned lot about myself,” Pickard said. “And through learning about myself I realized how I can help my team. I’ve written down all the pointers we got and all the activities we did.”

Brian Jernick, a men’s lacrosse student-athlete at Montclair State, added, “I might want to bring the assessment we took back to my university for every freshman to take so they can get a better understanding of who they are.”

In addition to leadership development, the forum also provided an opportunity for the student-athletes to learn more about their respective divisions and Student-Athlete Advisory Committees. Representatives from the NCAA governance staff and the national SAACs spoke with student-athletes, gauging their perceptions and empowering them with knowledge to take back to campus.

The national SAAC representatives spoke to their respective divisions about how their voices are heard in the legislative process.

“I actually had no idea we had a National SAAC,” said Jerry Smith, a baseball student-athlete at Arcadia. “I thought it was interesting to know that they get to sit in on Convention meetings and even get to vote.”

For many, the forum gave a sense of just how influential student-athletes can be.  It also motivated numerous individuals to become more involved in SAAC.

Added Nova Southeastern track and field student-athlete Kristina Labossiere:   “I’m active in my SAAC,  but this has definitely made me want to be more involved, help out more and bring some of the ideas we got from here to my school.”

One of the forum’s biggest highlights was a community-service project. In an attempt to put the lessons learned throughout the event into practice, the student-athletes were tasked with building children’s bicycles. Working together with limited tools, they were able to effectively communicate with one another, ultimately constructing nearly 70 bicycles. The bikes were then donated to the local Boys Town organization and the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. Representatives and families from the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital were at the event and received a standing ovation from the inspired student-athletes.

“We didn’t even know it was community service going into it,” noted Kyle Weeks, a men’s swimming and diving student-athlete at Alabama .  “We just thought it was a team-building activity. But that just shows how the smallest things can mean so much to other people. When the families that were being benefited actually came and we were able to say ‘thank you,’ it meant so much more.”

Overall, the 2010 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum was an enriching experience for its participants.

 “I’ve been able to meet so many different people from all across the country, from such great schools that are such great athletes,” said Hannah Gonzalez, a women’s swimming and diving student-athlete from Carnegie Mellon.

“It’s been wonderful and a lot of fun, too.”