Click here for a photo gallery of the event.
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Moravian College Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the 2014 Sophomore Athlete Leadership Event on Monday, Jan. 20 in the Haupert Union Building and Priscilla Payne Hurd Academic Complex.
Over 85 Greyhound sophomores attended the program, which is unique to Moravian College and offers the student-athletes an evening to focus on developing their strengths as a leader in their athletic pursuits and beyond. The Moravian College Athletics Department and Center for Leadership and Service co-sponsored the event.
The goals for this year’s program were to learn about leadership style and behavioral tendencies, study strategies for working with others that may have different behavioral tendencies, developing individual strengths as a leader, and communicating more effectively with teammates and coaches.
The NCAA provided Moravian SAAC with individualized DiSC assessments for each participant. DiSC® is the leading personal assessment tool used by more than 40 million people to improve work productivity, teamwork and communication. DiSC is non-judgmental and helps people discuss their behavioral differences.
The DiSC model provides a common language that people can use to better understand themselves and to adapt their behaviors with others.
Opening remarks were conducted by Moravian College Director of Athletics Scot Dapp, Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Robert Brill, the 2013-14 SAAC officers and Co-Director of Student-Athlete Affairs Shelley Bauder in Prosser Auditorium to kick off the program.
“Leadership begins with listening,” Dapp said. “Listen closely tonight. There is a wealth of experience and knowledge present tonight. Take advantage of your position here and work at becoming a leader every day. What you do as a student here will take you very far after you graduate.”
“Create something great here at Moravian College,” said Dr. Brill, the Greyhounds’ faculty-athletic representative. “Not just as a student-athlete, but as a leader who has the ability and power to affect lives positively for the rest of your life.”
The event continued with a keynote address by Jessica Cherry from York (N.Y.) College. Cherry is the Assistant Director of Athletics and Assistant Men's Basketball coach at York. She is one of the only women in the NCAA serving in the capacity of coach of a men’s basketball program. Cherry is a current member of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA), Collegiate Athletic Business Management Association (CABMA) and National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators (NACWAA), a 2009 graduate of NACWAA/HERS and 2012 graduate of NACWAA/Leadership Enhancement Institute (LEI). Cherry is a 2012 graduate of the highly-selective NCAA Pathway Program.
“We are kind of like icebergs, in that what people see is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Cherry, who referred to a sketch of an iceberg drawn by women’s track athlete Christelle Reglas and men’s soccer player Seth Reynolds. “People see our behaviors. You are looking at me now, and you might think I'm kind of funny, kind of loud, but you don't really know anything about me. You just know my behavior. But what we don't know is what is underneath the water; what's really inside of you, and what makes up your goals, your character and your values. That's what we are going to discuss.”
Following the opening program and dinner, the sophomore student-athletes transitioned into two different rooms in PPHAC to discuss and learn more about their DiSC styles. Corey Goff, the Athletic Director from Muhlenberg, Moravian College Director of Leadership Development Katie Dantsin, Jessica Cherry and Shelley Bauder have all been trained in DiSC facilitation by the NCAA and served as leaders for the two discussion groups.
