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Coach and athletes inspired at leadership conference Release Date:
Feb. 2 , 2009
 MONMOUTH, Ill. —
A Monmouth College coach and two student athletes who attended a
recent NCAA Division III Student-Athlete Leadership Conference in
Chicago found the experience both practical and inspirational.
Men’s
soccer coach George Perry accompanied Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee representatives Kembra Bell and Kyle Korb for three days
of workshops and training sessions. Bell, a junior softball player
from Beardstown, and Korb, a senior tennis player from Quincy, were
among athletes from eight of the 10 Midwest Conference schools who
attended the conference. Sessions ranged from learning how
leadership styles work together to planning an event or program to
incorporate on the participants’ campus.
“It was
interesting to spend time with people who are considered rivals on
the field, but now we’re all working together toward a common goal,”
said Bell. “I really enjoyed spending time in a non-competitive
setting with SAAC representatives from our conference.”
Representatives from each college shared information and discussed
issues affecting their institutions. Each group then identified a
particular issue or area to address upon returning to its respective
campus. Among the issues discussed were ways to get the entire
student body, campus and community more actively involved in both
community and campus activities.
The
plan Monmouth’s trio brought back will benefit Special Olympics.
Their goal is to increase Special Olympics participation, not
necessarily by the Special Olympians, but by the community as a
whole.
“We’ve
begun to detail a plan to incorporate more of the campus and the
city with the efforts of the Special Olympics,” said Bell. “We want
the entire student population, not just the student-athletes,
involved with the program. We’re also planning on getting more of
the campus staff, faculty and administration involved as well as the
city community.”
Not
only will Special Olympics, the Monmouth College campus and the city
benefit, but the participants in the conference also expect to reap
rewards. Although Bell and Korb play two different sports, both
believe the conference provided them with valuable experience that
they will use on the field, in the classroom and in the work force.
“The
information I learned during the conference will stay with me,”
claimed Bell. “I found that many things that are important in
athletics are the same qualities that are important in life. This
will help me a great deal in graduate school and play an important
role in my career.”
“It
helped me figure out more about myself than I had ever known,” said
Korb. “By knowing more about myself, I have learned things I can do
to become a better leader. I also learned how to ‘read’ people
better which will help me assess people and place them in positions
where they can excel.”
Perry,
who teaches physical education and oversees Monmouth’s intramurals
program when he is not coaching, also found the conference
rewarding. “I learned a lot and that will be beneficial to the
students in my classes,” he said. “It was a very good experience for
everyone to meet other student-athletes outside their own sport. I’d
do it again in a heartbeat.”
Perry
just may get his wish. The NCAA Division III sponsors the conference
in the Midwest Conference area every three years.
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