Lynn Walsh, Guest Writer~
The newly founded Lynchburg Athletics Leadership Academy hosted its final session of the semester on Nov. 26. The session focused on athletes becoming transformational leaders. The program has been seen as a success for the athletic department.
Women’s basketball junior Alex Allen is one of 122 out of a total 480 athletes in the academy. Allen who has been to six events said, “I think the leadership academy has really helped teams on campus. It shows that no matter what class you are you can be a leader in some way and what it takes to do so. It also shows the different aspects of leadership that seem minute but are a huge part in every team.”
To gauge student athlete opinion, women’s soccer assistant coach and LALA liaison Tony Dulak sent out a feedback questionnaire which asked students,
- What did you take away from the event?
- What can we do to improve our leadership events?
The feedback indicated that student athletes liked that the symposium was different from anything that has previously been offered and that they were able to learn more about leadership in a diverse and engaging way. The biggest improvement suggested was the length of the first symposium, which lasted three hours.
Dulak sent the survey to all 122 athletes involved as well as their coaches. While he only received 11 responses, Dulak is confident that student athletes “found the presenters engaging and that you [athletes] found a few nuggets to take with you throughout life.”
Amount of responses to survey from each team. Participation was not high.
The Lynchburg Athletics Leadership Academy will resume for the second semester on January 14, with another large symposium and a visit from Dr. Tiffany Jones, January 29.
