Monday, July 26, 2004

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (July 26, 2004) - East Tennessee State University student-athletes Joshua Gibson, Holly Moring and Brooke Wilhoit, as well as strength coach Lee Morrow and academic counseling coordinator Amerika Grewal participated in the Southern Conference's Student-Athlete Leadership Institute July 23-25 in Black Mountain, N.C. In its ninth year, the SALI is perhaps the country's most unique educational forum involving student-athletes. Meeting at the Blue Ridge Assembly, a YMCA campus nestled in the mountains of Western North Carolina, over 40 student-athletes as well as staff members representing all of the SoCon member schools spent three days at the workshop, which is designed to help student-athletes and administrators use their leadership positions and abilities to influence others to make positive choices. "The facilitators focused primarily on leadership and sportsmanship," Grewal said. "They talked about negative aspects such as depression and drinking, but all the student-athletes mentioned how great it was that the real focus was on the positive things they can do on campus to strengthen the relationship between sports and a school." The Leadership Institute directs its discussions towards strengthening campus student-athletes advisory committees by encouraging interaction within individual campus groups. Participants are encouraged to take the information and share it on campus with their advisory committees. This event is not restricted to just student-athletes, it is open to all administrators who have an impact on the lives and welfare of students and athletes on Southern Conference campuses.