The North Atlantic Conference held its second annual Student-Athlete Retreat on March 7th and 8th with the focus for this year on Sportsmanship.  Co-hosted by Bay Path and Elms Colleges, student-athlete and administrator representatives from 8 of the NAC’s member schools participated in the event which culminated in a workshop session with Dan Doyle of the Institute for International Sport.  Known for his extensive work on sportsmanship issues, Dan guided the students and administrators through a variety of 3 minute “drills” aimed at challenging them to think about key leadership characteristics and practices and the impact they have on one’s values and ethics in sport. 

The participants began their adventure on Friday night with a team building session facilitated by Peter Axtmann, Director of Campus Life at Bay Path.  The session took place on center court at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield and was followed by an interactive tour of the outstanding facility.  Julie Muller, Commissioner for the NAC, guided the students through an examination of their own leadership style using the DiSC assessment and challenged the students to remember “you don’t have to be a strong leader to show good sportsmanship but as a leader, it’s critical that you do.” 

The rainy weather on Saturday resulted in the cancellation of the ropes course adventure but Peter once again took the students through a great session, challenging them to work together in order to achieve success.  Seeing these student-athletes who so often compete against each other, come together, forming friendships, supported the notion that sportsmanship is alive and well in this generation and in the North Atlantic Conference.

This event was funded through the NCAA Conference Strategic Grant.

View photogallery of the 2008 NAC SAAC Retreat.