By Staff
Coaching Management, 9.7, October 2001, http://www.momentummedia.com/articles/cm/cm0907/bbleadership.htm
When the 2002 softball season starts at Hazen High School in Renton, Wash., junior Molly O'Brien says that while she may not necessarily be a better player, she believes she will be a better leader.
One big reason behind O'Brien's confidence is her attendance, along with 429 other student-athletes, at the inaugural National Student Leadership Conference. Hosted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the event took place in Indianapolis on July 13-15.
O'Brien was already involved in leadership development before the summer conference. She'd gone to seminars on the topic in her state, and she was a team captain in junior varsity basketball. (She also plays soccer at Hazen.) But meeting many other high school student-athlete leaders from across the country during the weekend conference inspired her and reinforced her leadership aspirations, she says.
The three-day program featured inspirational speakers Harvey Alston, a former head football coach and author, and Lindsay Nielsen, who holds three distance-running records among amputee athletes. Breakout sessions were titled "Positive Values and Perspectives,""Respect and Sportsmanship,"and "Teamwork and Healthy Lifestyles,"and led primarily by college-aged facilitators from Indiana institutions.
A Friday-night health expo covered nutrition, dealing with stress, stretching, and similar sports-related preventative measures. On Saturday of the conference, student participants cleaned up city parks around the Indianapolis area. Attendees also visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hall of Fame Museum.
O'Brien says she learned from every part of the program and is looking forward to furthering her leadership role on the softball squad this year. "I want to show a positive attitude, be encouraging even when things aren't going well, and tell teammates to take dedication to their sport to heart,"she says. "If they don't want to participate, they shouldn't.
"I also need to remember to keep myself motivated,"she continues. "You have to do that first before you go out and help other people."
O'Brien offers two pieces of advice to coaches, teachers, and administrators who want to build leadership among students:
€ Let students know about conferences and other opportunities to learn and build leadership skills.
€ Make leadership opportunities available to all students, not just those who've asked about them or who seem to have leadership potential.
"A lot of students think, 'I kind of want to do something but I don't know what to do, or how to get started,'"O'Brien says. "Having opportunities like going to a conference or talking to a coach about it really makes a difference.
"A lot of teachers and coaches have come to me to ask if I'd like to get involved in leadership. If they did that with more students, then I think that would get a lot more people interested."
The NFHS has for years offered leadership-building activities for its adult members, but the summer conference was the first time the Indianapolis-based organization took the initiative directly to the end-users, according to Elliott Hopkins, NFHS Director of Educational Services and Coordinator of the Student Leadership Conference.
O'Brien says one of the best parts of the conference was simply meeting other student-leaders from around the country and from other parts of her state. The 19-student Washington contingent has discussed plans for a series of community service projects across the state. They even came up with a name: SWAT Team--Students Working All Together.
Their initial idea was to get all high school students in the state to perform community service projects on one day. Because demands from school, sports and elsewhere have made this impractical, they are now focusing on perhaps having projects conducted over the course of a week.
Exactly what project each school would tackle is yet to be determined. But O'Brien says she's hoping to make contact with advisors at schools near Hazen High and possibly come up with a project in downtown Renton.
In Hopkins' view, that's how the conference is supposed to work. The conference wasn't envisioned as a one-time event but as a start to spur student-athletes to have an effect on their communities long afterward. The goal is a corps of young leaders launched on the world each year.
"With 400 students attending a year, after 10 years, that's 4,000 out there,"he says.
Coaches who would like to nominate a student for the 2002 conference, planned for July 12-14 in Indianapolis, should contact their state associations, Hopkins says. Costs for the 2001 event were $185 per student, which included meals. More information about the 2002 conference will be on the organization's Web site, www.nfhs.org.