Close to 120 high school athletes from the South Eastern Conference representing a variety of sports had the chance to interact with one another in a non-competitive environment yesterday, Sept. 17 at the Washington Street Education Center gym.
The event was the Fall Student Leadership Conference, and 10 students from each of 12 high schools in and around Washtenaw County participated. It was the sixth year in a row that the event was held in Chelsea.
“We have the best facility with good space and have traditionally hosted it,” said Brad Bush, assistant principal, Director of Athletics and Head Football Coach for Chelsea High School. “All the students here were nominated by their coaches. This is a chance to promote sportsmanship and fellowship among these athletes.”
There were 10 students, all juniors, representing Chelsea High School in a number of sports. Noah Van Reesema is a receiver on the football team.
He said, “This is an opportunity to learn more about leadership.”
“It goes beyond athletics,” said Sarah Mesao, captain of the high school field hockey team. “We learn to organize events like fundraisers and to help teammates with problems.”
Mesao says she looks forward to bringing the lessons she learned back to her team.
“I want to be a team leader in and out of the pool,” said swim team member Cam Dammeyer. “I want to learn about getting teammates to respect each other and to make everyone’s opinion count.”
The day’s agenda was set by Craig Hillier, an author and speaker who hosts “Winning Edge Seminars.” Hillier based his agenda Sept. 17 on his book “Beyond the Scoreboard.”
“We all want to win,” said Hillier, “but how do we create a season of significance? I talk to the students about personal responsibilities, setting a positive tone, working through conflicts and sportsmanship.”
Hillier says that he wants all the student leaders to bring these lessons back to their teammates and to be a positive influence in their sport, classroom, hallways, and in the stands.
“These students bring great energy and enjoy meeting other student leaders in this environment,” said Hillier. “They have a connection here that can lead to better sportsmanship.”
