BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C.— Student-athletes, administrators and coaches contributed to the 20th annual Southern Conference Student-Athlete Leadership Institute (SALI) conducted this weekend at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. The three-day event instills leadership skills in student-athletes from the 10 Southern Conference member institutions.
Student-athletes representing most of the 20 Southern Conference sports participated in a number of group activities, discussions and interactive sessions to better learn the skills necessary to become effective leaders on their campuses. The Southern Conference was one of the first Division I conferences to establish such a retreat.
“This event has become a valuable asset to the SoCon,” said Commissioner John Iamarino, who attended the event and addressed the group in an informal session. “The voice of the student-athlete has never been more sought by college athletics administrators, and the need for student leaders has never been greater.”
SALI discussions were moderated by facilitators Kevin Ringhofer and Que Tucker. Attendees were instructed on proper ways to communicate with teammates and coaches, shared best practices of campus Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) projects, heard a presentation on mental health issues for student-athletes from Jacqueline Aldridge of Pathways Counseling & Wellness of Banner Elk, NC, and participated in a number of activities designed to improve their thinking on what it takes to be a leader.
The group also participated in a Skype session with Ryan Sharry, cross country runner at Mercer University and the SoCon liaison to the NCAA’s SAAC. Sharry was attending a meeting of the NCAA SAAC in Indianapolis. Sharry’s predecessor, Jenny Lauer of Western Carolina University, discussed the importance of student-athletes utilizing their voice on NCAA matters through the national SAAC. Six of the 10 Southern Conference SAAC presidents were in attendance at SALI.
The SoCon also announced that it will once again sponsor a league-wide “Keeping Tabs on Kids” project in 2015-16. Institutional SAACs will collect soda can tabs and turn them in to the Conference office. The tabs will be weighed and brought to recycling centers in exchange for cash to be donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Greenville, SC. The SAAC donating the most tabs wins a plaque from the Southern Conference. The 2015 winner was Western Carolina with 62.4 pounds of tabs.
The Southern Conference will conduct an in-person meeting of its SAAC in late January at its Spartanburg, SC headquarters.