Broncs Building Better Leaders / Leadership Beyond the Playing Field

Broncs Building Better Leaders
Leadership Beyond the Playing Field

What makes a good leader?  The Rider University Department of Athletics, in conjunction with Rider’s Center for the Development of Leadership Skills, is taking serious measures to find the answers to that question.

Don Harnum, Rider’s Director of Athletics and John Farrell, Rider’s Director of the Center for the Development of Leadership Skills, recently held a Leadership Seminar for the varsity team captains. “They enthusiastically embraced the topic, and articulately and intelligently discussed many different aspects of leadership,” said Harnum.

“I loved it,” said senior Lauren Urbanski of the swimming & diving team. “We were a little skeptical going in. We didn’t know what it was going to be like and we thought it was going to be like a lecture, but it was great. We basically led the whole discussion.” Urbanski is the MAAC record holder in the 100 butterfly.

“My concern going in was the mind set of the athletes thinking ‘this is just another thing they are making us do.’ We tried to put together a program that had a value, and I believe we succeeded,” said Harnum. “The feedback afterwards was very positive.”

“I think it turned out really well,” said junior Amiee Schiller of the softball team. “I think a lot of people going into it didn’t know what to expect and were wondering why we had to do this. But I walked away with a lot better feeling of what is expected of me as a leader. It made me think more about being a leader every day, the important role I play. I think it helped everyone think a little more about their role. I learned to think of myself everyday as improving as a leader for my team.”

“Basically, leading by example is the most important thing about being a captain, in my opinion,” said senior Jeff Reynolds of the Rider baseball team. “Showing that how you perform on and off the field is how you would like the entire team to perform on and off the field. You should want the team to emulate what you do and how you act.”

“The Strategic Plan of the University prioritizes leadership development,” Harnum said. “I’m a big believer that athletics can take a lead on this issue because we need to develop leaders all of the time. It was a very natural partnership between Athletics and the Center for Leadership Development.”

Farrell served as the facilitator of the program. “My role was to help Don conceptualize the session as well as what would be the outcomes,” said Farrell. “In the actual session itself I was the lead facilitator. Don supported me by providing perspectives of the administration as well as making sure the key messages that he has as a coach and now as the athletics director were conveyed.”

“It was good to hear everyone’s opinions on what they felt a captain should be like,” said Reynolds. “I think we all learned something from each other, something that can be used if a similar situation occurs on your team.”

“I think the seminar provided a connection between the leaders of the various teams,” said Harnum. “Letting them know they are all in this together. To get them to take their role as captains seriously and to let them know as a director I have an expectation of them as captains. That it is an important role. We tried to clearly define what those expectations are.”

The seminar began with a video of Rider student-athletes, coaches and administrators giving their perspectives on the many dimensions of leadership. They were asked to share what they felt were the top messages that were important to them. “The video was intended to open up ideas, to get people to think about leadership and being a captain in a different way,” said Farrell. “We felt the video was an interesting way for them to understand what the administration, their fellow athletes as well as their fellow captains thought about being a leader. Scott Alboum did an excellent job for us in editing that video.”

“It was a good experience,” said junior Jason Thompson of the men’s basketball team.  “They showed us a video to start the seminar and I definitely learned a lot. Last year as a sophomore I was the young player trying to learn from my captains and leaders.  Now I’m trying to be more positive in being a leader on and off the court.”  Thompson is a Preseason First Team All-MAAC selection this year. “It isn’t about being the best player or the person who scores the most, the captain or leader has to be someone the team can relate to. Kevin Hickman is an inspiration to the team by being a walk-on. Everyone knows his work ethic and they go by him, as hard as he works.”

Hickman is a junior who is in his third season on the basketball team after making the 2004-05 team as a walk-on.  “It’s always good when your best player is also a leader on your team, like Jason, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be the best player,” said Hickman, a three-time Gold Award winner at Rider’s Academic Achievement Night. “It is somebody who reflects the ideas of the coach. The hardest part about being a leader is when things get a little bit tough. It’s easy to lead when you’re winning games.”

“There is a lot of responsibility in being a team captain,” said senior Jazmine Fenlator of the track & field team.  “Some coaches do choose the best athletes to be their captain, but that is mostly because of their work ethic. Looking at the captains that were at the seminar, you can see that all of the coaches have chosen great leaders who will take that next step,” said Fenlator, the Rider female Athlete of the Year for 2005-06 who was named one of the top 25 performers in the 25-year history of the MAAC.

The Leadership Seminar’s purpose was to enhance competitiveness, enhance the student-athlete’s team experience, to expand on the captain’s role as a source of support for the coaches and to help avoid team problems.

“I felt the message had to get out,” said Harnum.  “In addition to trying to put our teams in a more competitive situation through strong leadership, this was also a little reactionary to some of the things that have gone on nationally in athletics involving behavior issues. This was a good way to bring some of those things to the forefront with the leaders of the teams. To come up with a way that they are comfortable with providing leadership.”

“To have the leaders from each team come together and share their experiences and thoughts on what has worked well for them was great,” said senior Brandon Modrov of the swimming & diving team. “I learned a lot about how things work on different teams and how they handle problems and relationships with coaches and teammates. How to motivate your teammates,” said Modrov, the Rider male Athlete of the Year for 2005-06.

“It was not just about problem prevention,” said Harnum, “but about being competitive. Leadership is a big part of winning and being successful.  Eliminating distractions might help you win an extra game or two.”

There is a saying in Rider Athletics. ‘355 athletes, 20 sports, one team.’  “I think the best thing that came out of this seminar is that we took the first step to bringing everyone together as one community, as Rider Athletics,” said senior Erik Holck of the baseball team, “and I think it will help motivate us to work together as a whole. We all learned that every team on campus runs into the same problems, so it was good to bounce ideas off of each other.”

One of the results of the first seminar was a set of principles that Rider coaches, athletes and administrators can expect from team captains. “We’ll take those principles, we’ll discuss them again at the next seminar, we’ll add to them, we’ll tweak them, and we’ll facilitate another discussion,” Harnum said.

“I think coming up with that list of principles, the major qualities that we think are important in being a leader, was the most important thing that came out of the seminar,” said Fenlator. “Now we want to make that our new motto for all of the captains to look at and tell their teams about. That this is what we look for in leadership.”

By all accounts, the seminar was a great success. “I liked the way it went,” said Harnum. “It went well because of the way the student-athletes reacted to it. They were very open, very honest, they shared ideas. They liked the direction it went. I was impressed with their openness and their thoughts on the subject, which led to a positive meeting about it.”

“It was a wonderful experience,” said Farrell. “Everybody felt good walking out of the room. Everybody felt it was valuable. It was a wonderful experience to see the leadership talent we have within that captain group. I was pleased with the honesty. We have a lot of good, young leaders.”

“Everybody can be a leader,” said senior Desiree Harbaugh, a two-time member of the MAAC All-Academic softball team. “We just need to become good leaders.”

Some are born leaders. Some leaders are made. At Rider University, leaders are being made better leaders.

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