Tony Ker To Represent UCLA at Annual NCAA Leadership Conference
May 1, 2006
More than 300 NCAA student-athletes tabbed as current or future leaders on their college campuses, including UCLA sophomore volleyball player Tony Ker, will meet May 28-June 1, at Disney's Yacht Beach Club Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida to discuss key issues in intercollegiate athletics and enhance their leadership skills at the 10th annual NCAA Leadership Conference.
Ker is the starting libero on this year's men's volleyball team that is competing in the Final Four this weekend.
The 2006 NCAA Leadership Conference provides student-athletes with a forum to openly discuss issues that may affect them on their campuses and in their communities, while also providing them with the opportunity to enhance their leadership, communication, decision-making and problem-solving skills. The NCAA Leadership Conference also promotes better communication among student-athletes, coaches, administrators, faculty and communities. The five-day leadership conference consists of daily exercises and activities to help the student-athletes develop as individuals and as contributing members to a group.
The 352 student-athlete leaders were selected from a total of over 1,000 nomination forms submitted by college and university officials who have NCAA CHAMPS/Life Skills programs on their campuses. They represent Divisions I, II and III, and fall, winter and spring sports.
During the conference, student-athletes will discuss a variety of topics such as sportsmanship; public perceptions of student-athletes; conflict resolution; student-athlete mental health; and social responsibilities. They also will discuss division-specific issues and create dialogue surrounding possible solutions to those particular issues.
Following the leadership conference, the student-athletes will be asked to share their experiences and topic discussions with their campus SAAC, as well as other campus leaders. The participants also are asked to develop a self-directed project that addresses an issue on their campus or in their community and to implement the project once they return to their schools.
Selection criteria for the conference include the student-athletes' demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and the student-athletes' potential to benefit significantly from a leadership development experience. In order to be eligible for the conference, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing, and have athletics eligibility remaining in the following academic year. A committee reviews the nominations to determine the final selections. The committee also works to ensure that the conference includes a diverse group of student-athletes, coaches and administrators.