Engagement Insider
2/15/13
CHARLOTTE, NC February 15, 2013 – The National Football League has now concluded this year’s games on the field, but off the field the league’s active Player Engagement (NFLPE) department is just kicking off its season.
The ultimate game was played in New Orleans, but the stakes are even higher for the NFLPE, since they play in the Penultimate game – The Game of Life.
In this game, you can never start too early and the NFL-NCAA Life Skills Summit Round-table for Student-Athletes this week in Charlotte, NC gave approximately 30 attendees a head start in achieving their life goals.
“We strive for this summit to educate participants in how to best deal with the trending topics occurring in their life in 2013,” said NFL Player Engagement (NFLPE) Senior Vice President Troy Vincent. “We believe these young leaders walked away from this event with a new awareness in areas such as lifestyles and finances that will allow them to make the best choices possible, and most importantly, carry these decision-making skills back to their colleagues on campus and beyond.”
After numerous candidates completed a rigorous application process, those chosen were provided a personal forum to outline their needs and then receive expert feedback customized to their unique personal and professional objectives. Additionally, they were presented a variety of resources that will help them achieve those desires.
Immediately following the conclusion of Day One on Thursday night, University of South Carolina Placekicker Adam Yates summed up the seven-hours of meetings, saying “It was awesome, since when we came in we looked at the schedule and talked about how long the sessions looked, but afterward we were talking about how great the speakers were.”
Yates quickly described each session, noting, “The first session was on leadership, where we learned about various styles and how to lead, and the next one was a personality profile, which I really enjoyed, where we learned about different types of personalities and how to work together with those different types. I know we all took a lot out of that one.”
Maryland native Yates continued, “Another one was a case study where we talked about topics at our school that people want to see changed, and also how we would like to see the NCAA work with us at our schools. The last one was about making good decisions, including drinking and safe sex. Overall, the first day was a great experience meeting athletes from different sports at other schools and seeing how different all the schools are.”
With a faculty ranging from NFL staff and corporate consultants to NCAA executives and individual institution personnel, the diverse group representing various sports and ethnic backgrounds actively participated in professional development seminars and assessments designed to strengthen their self-awareness and ability to work with the singular styles of others.
Jaime Fluker, Associate Director of Leadership Development for the NCAA, provided her perspective from attending the round-table, stating, “It was a great opportunity for us to hear about the topics and issues that are most important to the student-athletes regarding skills development and education.”
She also was pleased with how the student-athletes reacted to the program, noting, “It was positively received due to their willingness to open up and share about their experience. We had an opportunity to quickly forge relationships, and many of their suggestions were not based on their individual needs, but rather their collective views that were global in reach and affect most student athletes. That approach truly impressed the administrators.”
Ms. Fluker also cited the collaboration with NFL Player Engagement by saying, “We were able to bring educational awareness from both organizations, and ultimately benefited a population that we all work with at some point in time, whether it’s the college student-athlete currently competing or those now playing in the NFL. The combining of resources was unique to see in the overall impact both organizations made, since at our core, we are both in the business of enhancing young lives.”
Armed with these enhancements, participants will now be empowered to have a strong voice back on campus that will have a high impact. Most importantly, the student-athletes have learned how to better transition into their professional careers, be it in sports, on the field or off, or in altogether different endeavors.
To Learn More About the NFL-NCAA Life Skills Roundtable for Student-Athletes Click Here.