S2|E8: Beyond the Pitch | Youth, Sports + Leadership
Sport participation is a powerful vehicle for developing leadership and other important life skills in young people. In a paper authored by Michigan State University’s Institute for the Study of Youth Sports, Professor Daniel R. Gould noted the unique attributes of sports aligned with leadership development, including working with teammates to pursue common goals, navigating relationships with diverse individuals, learning to identify strengths and weaknesses, openness to criticism, and persistence. Cocooned in the enjoyable, motivating and meaningful environment of physical activity coupled with social engagement creates a unique incubator for honing leadership skills. Today’s conversation features the voices of youth who have leveraged the power of sport to ascend to positions of leadership along with thought leaders who have studied and applied this knowledge in their work.
Joined By:
Tory Bailey. After not being able to play tennis in the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) as an independent player because of California’s current rules and regulations for both charter and home school students, Tory Bailey recognized the inequities and began working with the Pete Brown Junior Tennis Program (PBJTP) to develop a community tennis program for non-traditional high school players. With PBJTP, Bailey created a community plan proposing a change to CIF’s policy to allow all students to play in the Southern Los Angeles Unified School District. Tory believes tennis will open opportunities for inner-city students from low-income environments, and is fighting for a community tennis program that will allow for these non-traditional high school players to compete in CIF’s tennis season and playoffs. A 2021 recipient of ESPN’s Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award, Tory recently completed his freshman year at Howard University as a scholar athlete playing on the men’s tennis team.
Amanda Harrinauth. A multi-sport athlete competing with the Special Olympics, Amanda is an accomplished athlete, published author, poet, and disability empowerment life coach living with disabilities including visual impairment, hydrocephalus, and autism. Her work has been published in ABILITY Magazine, Autism Storytelling, NPR, World Wide Coaching Magazine, Parenting Magazine, PBS and more. She has also been recognized by The White House for her poem - “Rest in the World.” You can find her incredible book of poetry “Legally Blind” on Amazon and her website - poetmandy.com.
Dillon Shije. A Councilman and Tribal Leader from Zia Pueblo, NM. He recently finished a Fellowship at the National Congress of American Indians working in Government Relations. He is a Founding Board Member of Pueblo Development Commission, an Indigenous Advocacy NGO advancing Indigenous rights and opportunity for Indigenous Peoples from the perspective of the 20 Pueblo Tribes of New Mexico and Texas. He is a partner in an Impact development consultancy focused on sustainability, renewable infrastructure, and circular economy. Dillon was a professional runner and Division I XC National Champion. He is the CEO of The Native Runner, a platform that encourages as well as engages Indigenous communities and educates audiences that do not identify as indigenous on topics surrounding running and every day athleticism as the basis of human wellness. Dillon does this work to increase visibility of indigenous athletes, awareness of indigenous communities of tradition and encourage Indigenous youth to succeed at a higher level with goals that will benefit their communities and families. He holds Bachelor's degrees in History and Integrative Physiology from the University of Colorado - Boulder and Pre-Med Post-Bacc from the University of New Mexico. Dillon was also appointed Health Advisor to 20 Pueblo Nations and hopes to one day become a medical doctor, the first ever from Zia Pueblo.
Duane Carlisle Coach Duane Carlisle is a Premier Health and Wellness Consultant, former Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Francisco 49ers, John Maxwell Certified Teacher, Speaker, and Top High-Performance Coach to business executives and sports officials. He is the owner of Carlisle Performance Systems (CPS). As part of CPS, Coach Carlisle and his team consisting of Sports Scientists, Sports Psychologists, and Sports Nutritionists work directly with high profile NFL executives to develop personalized fitness training strategies, analytical performance assessments, mental preparation exercises, and wellness education for all Football Officials within the organization. In conjunction to working with the #1 Sports Property in the US (NFL), he works at Stanford University's - School of Medicine’s -Health Improvement Program. There, he designs fitness programs for faculty, administrators, and leads intensive fitness sessions for Business Executives from around the world. He also provides wellness and performance consulting for PAC 12 officials.
From the grid-iron to the boardroom and everything in between, Coach Carlisle has helped countless individuals achieve their goals, both physically and professionally. He believes that training shouldn't be aimless, but it should be purposeful and deliberate. These are the principles that he lives by to win each day. Coach is also the proud dad of athletes and partnered with our next speaker to launch the first THINK Gold! Conference for female high school athletes back in 2009.
Marlene Bjornsrud Marlene’s career has spanned more than 40 years of leadership in women’s sports and non-profits, establishing and growing organizations. She had a wide range of experience across multiple sports and levels including coaching and athletic administration at the collegiate level, and general management at the professional level. Now “retired”, she remains an advocate, consultant and leader committed to using sports as a platform to make a positive difference in the world. Marlene served as Executive Director of the Alliance of Women Coaches (now WeCOACH) following 20 years as CEO of the Bay Area Women’s Sport Initiative (BAWSI), a nonprofit organization co-founded with USA soccer stars Brandi Chastain and Julie Foudy, engaging more than 8,000 women athletes as mentors to 16,000 BAWSI girls in underserved communities in the Bay Area and more than a thousand children with disabilities (“BAWSI Rollers”).
Marlene’s work in helping girls and women through sport was recognized by the International Olympic Committee with its prestigious 2013 Women and Sport Award for the continent of the Americas. Marlene was a featured speaker in Doha, Qatar at the GOALS (Gathering of All Leaders in Sport) Forum. Additionally, she was instrumental in helping launch the first ever Japanese Women Coaches Academy.
Source: https://www.facebook.com/athletesvoices
Posted In: 2021/2022