By: Ryan Miller, CMAA - New Jersey Sometimes we create our own dilemmas in life. Think about a quote by Frank Martin (Head Mens' Basketball Coach of the University of South Carolina) from March of 2017: "You know what makes me sick to my stomach? When I hear grown people say that kids have changed. Kids haven't changed. Kids don't know anything about anything. We've changed as adults. We demand less of kids. We expect less of kids. We make their lives easier instead of preparing them for what life is truly about. We're the ones who have changed." As adults some of us have paved primrose-laden paths for young adults and then wonder why those same young adults cannot handle adversity or a challenge. The student athlete is quick to say things like, "my mom forgot to pack my cleats in my bag." We find it easier to cast a judicious shadow of blame on the young adults rather than look in the mirror to find the solutions. Or, worse, we determine that it is too late and these young adults are lost and will eventually find their way in college or beyond. We all know the phrasing, "well, we can help you through this but wait til you get to college," or "you will understand when you are fired from your first real job." Condemnations may make the adult feel better but certainly do not take any steps to remedy this growing situation. Yet, we chose to be in teen-aged athletics and we have limited options for this crisis. First, we can quit; find another career path that has no interest in enhancing or improving young adults. Option two, rail against this upcoming lazy and unmotivated generation and wonder how will the elderly be cared for in twenty years. We can sit back and perpetuate a cycle of giving in to the child and continue to be the angry neighbor telling everyone to get off our lawn. Or, we can recognize the problem and create a solution. We can become empowered by Frank Martin's words and take action. The solution that was created for our schools was to create a Student Athlete Leadership Team (SALT); an interactive group of student athletes who not only learn about leadership but give back to the school and community and begin to train those that are coming up the ranks. Who Makes the Team? The Student Athlete Leadership team seeks to identify and cultivate student leaders from all levels and every sport that the school supports. Use the Freshmen year as the starting point and allow the team to operate for Sophomore through Seniors. This is not a team of the top few athletes in the school building, but an inclusive group that is seeking to better not just one or two popular sports in a school, but the entire community. Additionally, the members of the Student Athlete Leadership Team are not the top performers; rather it is comprised of those student athletes that have displayed leadership skills to their teams, coaches, and/or community. The student displays their athleticism by making the team that they have tried out for; therefore, athletic ability is not a criterion for the Student Athlete Leadership Team. Examples of leadership skills that Athletic Administrators, Coaches, and Teacher can look for are:
Academic and athletic performances are not indicators of leadership skills and thus are not listed. While this certainly does not mean that you disqualify star athletes and/or those with high academic performance, but it certainly means that we need to continue to monitor how we evaluate who we determine leaders to be. Moreover, it is imperative to determine the "behind the scenes" leaders as well as those who are out in front. A "behind the scenes" leader is the young adult who is not always proper or correct, but has the pulse of the team. For example, the student who that coach says - "when she is on the whole team is better but when she is down the whole team follows." Finally, when creating the team, an Athletic Administrator must develop a balance of multi and single sport athletes as well as have a representative balance in gender and the ethnic composition of the school. Who is in Charge? It is disingenuous to have a Leadership Team that is solely directed by adults. The goal of this program is to promote and cultivate leaders within both Athletics and the Community at large. Therefore, the Team must have a plausible leadership structure that is empowered to make decisions on the direction of the Team. Students will see through a puppet student leader who is driving an adult agenda. These students were selected and it is our responsibility to trust and guide them. Elect a leader for each grade level and an Executive Committee to oversee the leaders of each grade level. For Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School we have a Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Team President, a SALT President, SALT Vice President, SALT Secretary, and Raider Nation Leader(s). The SALT and Raider Nation positions must be Senior Athletes. These leaders bring information to each other and then to the Athletic Administration. They also set the meeting agendas, publicize the meetings, select the Community Service project, and assist in preparing presentations. The adult is present for guidance (and to meet most school policies of not allowing students to be unsupervised), not to be the leader. I have a Team, Now What? First and foremost, once the team is selected the Athletic Administrator needs to invite the selected students and have a meeting with the group. Some will attend and some will not, but it is imperative that the Coaches have bought in. Not only can the Coaches promote the Team, but also they can make the athlete comfortable with fitting these meetings into the school day or immediately before or after school. Also, this team has to have something to accomplish in order to keep the attention of the students. We have two meetings each month: one for a discussion topic and another to plan and prepare any events. Attendance is loose at meetings as these students are usually very involved and different teams operate under different schedules. The focus for meetings and events should always be on who is attending and active and not about who did not attend or elect to take part. Place value in those that do not attend at other times; stops in the hallway, lunchtime, before school, etc. Discussion topics for meetings should be driven by the students and prepared by the students; however, when the Leadership Team is new, the Athletic Administrator must have an active role. Recommended topics for discussion are: types of leaders, relevant scenarios for your school, proper fan behavior, Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying, Social Media, hazing, athlete role in Political Statements, gender equality, etc. Activities can be attending district elementary or middle schools to have student led seminars on topics, fundraisers for community needs, school spirit events, community and/or school district projects, school branding, etc. The opportunities for discussion points and activities are limited only by the imagination of the leaders and the planning to prepare and accomplish the tasks. Take surveys, ask the students, ask the community leaders, be aware of the current societal trends; in short, prepare a little in advance and allow the discussions and activities to move in a positive direction. Where are the School Benefits? Promote school spirit, update the social media account, update the website, intimately know the athletic schedule (for every team and level), and manage the crowd at games; are just a few of the tasks that an Athletic Administrator has to accomplish during the day. Of course, evaluating the coach, the officials, the athletes in the contest are on your mind as well, in addition to preparing for any weather or facility related issue that may occur. Some of these tasks can be taken on by a trusted group of students. These students can be relied upon after some time spent with them during the Student Athlete Leadership Team meetings. Students can accomplish social Media and web site updates - if there is a trust mechanism established as well as proper guidance and teaching. Certainly, the Athletic Administrator has to monitor the posts and updates; however, a reliable student can own that active role and keep pace with the constant information flow that our generation is seeking. Crowd control or student section management can be eased by the presence of Student Athlete leaders. All too often, spectators want to be an integral part of the contest: the twelfth man so to speak. However, if that section becomes inappropriate the management can overtake the Athletic Administrator. Using the Student Leaders to assist can have a positive impact on crowd management. Use time in meetings to discuss and promote proper fan behavior – in short, cheer for your team not against the other. Treat visiting teams like guests and not adversaries. We have been able to motivate student leaders by giving them a stake in the fan section – make a student or group of students the leaders of the section and set the expectations. Selecting the right students is paramount as well as setting the right expectations in advance; however, once there is investment by the student leaders the Athletic Administrator can lean on them to assist in leading the proper cheers and on establishing a positive reputation for the school fan section. Finally, there are times when a student will listen to a peer and acquiesce with more efficiency than having the adult leader try to determine who is inappropriate and taking action. Using student voices to promote the best message possible can have incredibly positive results for the fan sections. Over the past few years, we have seen a significant shift in the cohesiveness of our athletic program. Bowlers, Swimmers, Cross Country runners are equally invested in Soccer, Basketball, Football, and Baseball. I have seen a growth in students joining some of the less publicized sports, for example, I have a three-sport varsity level athlete - Football, Bowling, Baseball. The Bowling coach helped to motivate this athlete, but his understanding of Bowling from SALT meetings was also credited with his Sophomore Year decision to Bowl. In addition to joining new teams, I have had to add additional chairs to gymnastics meets, use advance sales for basketball games and Swim meets, and take time to educate student fans on proper behavior at Volleyball matches - in large part because our SALT program has promoted the less traditional sporting events. The sharing of ideas with one another has led to a bond between the athletes on the same teams as well as athletes between teams. Finally, we have witnessed a large increase in participation for athletic programs - over a three-year period, Golf quadrupled, Cross Country tripled, and Bowling doubled in size. This occurred while adding Freshmen levels for Girls Volleyball and Boys' Lacrosse and adding two new programs: Field Hockey and Boys' Volleyball. This past December four alums that were a part of the SALT program and played at some level of College Athletics approached me to start a program to reach at-risk, non-athletic students at the elementary and middle school levels. They felt empowered by their time at our school and wanted to create a program to give back to the community. While this program is in an infant stage of development, the benefit of having these prior student leaders become adult community leaders will be the greatest benefit this Student Athlete Leadership Team can achieve. This is more work, why should I do this? Certainly, establishing any new program is going to require additional efforts on the part of the Athletic Administrator. Garnering approval from the chain of command requires meetings and proposals and gaining the buy-in of coaches requires meetings and discussions. Moreover, drafting the first team of leaders requires knowledge of the student athletes that takes some time. Finally, student athlete or parent complaints about the composition of the Leadership Team will require meetings or phone calls. Overall, like any new program, there will be an investment of time as well as criticism. However, as the Leadership Team grows, the student athletes can begin to lead the meetings and the activities, reducing the role of the Administrator. Also, find a few teachers who are not coaching who want to help and assist, possibly former coaches who still want to help or new teachers who want to get involved in Athletics. Having invested student voices can assist in updating information for others and can limit the stress of managing spectators. Student leaders can create a positive image for the Athletic Program through community and school outreach and activities. In short, the time can be well spent and reap benefits that far exceed the effort expended. Conclusion or Beginning? Overall, society continues to change and evolve. We, as Athletic Administrators must not be afraid to grow. As noted in Light In August, "It is because a fellow is more afraid of the trouble he might have than he ever is of the trouble he's already got. He'll cling to trouble he's used to before he'll risk a change." We know that generations are changing and that our gap between the students is growing. Take the risk to change the script and get off of the front porch and embrace the children playing on our lawns. Establishing and creating a Student Athlete Leadership Team, Group, Council, etc. can benefit the Athletic Department, School, and Community while giving our students knowledge and memories that they can laud over for years to come. |
Student Athlete Leadership Voices: Bridging the Us vs Them Gap
