ECC Hosts Fifth Experience In Community And Character Leadership Workshop
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Oct. 23, 2012) - On October 12 and 13, the East Coast Conference held the fifth Experience in Community and Character leadership workshop. This marked the first time the ECC has held its signature event in the fall. Over 40 East Coast Conference student-athletes gathered at the conference headquarters located on the NYIT Central Islip campus to take part in the program.
“Moving the event to the fall allowed us to have participation from sports that play in the winter and spring,” said ECC Commissioner, Dr. Bob Dranoff. “We had another group of outstanding student-athletes participating in our signature leadership event with excellent programs and presenters”.
The weekend kicked-off with a session named What Do You Value? A value exploration was done to identify the student athlete's top core values. The student-athletes also received surprise feedback from their coaches, as they assessed what they believed their student-athletes valued.
A trip to Sherwood Elementary School in Islip, N.Y., was up next. At the school, the student-athletes did a presentation for third, fourth, and fifth graders entitled “Fitness for Everyone.” “Assistant Commissioner Melissa Perry developed the idea of our student-athletes talking about the ideas of diversity and tolerance and then including fitness activities to keep the children engaged and involved,” said Dranoff. “We worked with former Queens College student-athlete Andrea Slavin, who was our representative to Coach Across America last summer, to help come up with activities that showed the kids that everyone has the right to have fun and be fit.”
After returning from the elementary school, the student-athletes were given a presentation titled “What Kind of Leader are you,” by Bob Wolf of HOPE® (Helping Other People Excel). Wolf, an experienced sales trainer, motivational speaker, and sales & marketing executive, spoke about four skills every student needs. Those included interpersonal, communication, presentation, and selling skills. Wolf also stressed that, “becoming an effective leader is a life-long process which involves meeting, communicating with, earning support from and working effectively with people.”
As the student-athletes ate dinner, they were treated to another guest-speaker on leadership. Steve Webb, a former New York Islander and founder of the Team Up 4 Community organization, talked about how his leadership abilities and the helping hand of local coaches helped him fulfill his dream of playing in the NHL. “The ECC is working with Steve and his wife Teresa with supporting their foundation that is committed to recognizing teams at all levels for their community service efforts,” said Dranoff. “The Webbs believe that promoting the positive things that teams do for others will encourage even more groups to get involved.”
Saturday morning began with former student-athletes from conference institutions stopping to discuss their careers and the transition from college to the professional world. Patrick Cunnigham (Dowling, men's soccer), Mike Grasso (Molloy, baseball), Teelah Grimes (Dowling, women's basketball), Shannon Skeggs (Molloy, softball), and Andrea Slavin (Queens, women's soccer) volunteered time to share their experiences.
The student-athletes saw two other presentations on Saturday as well, including learning how to sell themselves and and help take charge of their own lives from former NCAA student-athletes John Dano and Ben Arcuri. A thought provoking diversity program followed with Dr. Nancy Kaplan and Lamar Lee from the National Consortium for Academics and Sports (NCAS).
The event culminated with a Halloween Carnival for local youth. Over 70 families showed up for the event which featured carnival games run by the student-athletes, Halloween craft stations, and dinner.
“This event means a lot to our conference and those who participate. We hope we are helping the student-athletes grow and develop. We also are proud of being able to help the community and once again thank Melanie Holz and the South Shore Youth Organization for assisting in promoting the event to the members of her group,” Dranoff noted. “We know we make an impact when we look at our student-athletes interacting with the children and families at the event.”
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