Lifelong lessons, student-athlete empowerment and connections. Those were three thematic takeaways from the sixth Division II Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Super Region Convention held Nov. 17-19 in Atlanta.
More than 150 student-athletes and administrators attended the event, representing six conferences in the Southeast and South Regions. During the three-day convention, participants engaged with experts in leadership, mental health, social justice and the student-athlete voice.
"I would say it was really eye-opening," said Dominic Byers, a baseball player at Wingate. "We heard a lot of different perspectives on a lot of important topics. We got to hear from some really cool speakers about how we grow as people and leaders, so that was really, really good."
"The biggest thing is connections, connections, connections," added Austin Euler, a football player for Clark Atlanta. "Being able to have all these conversations, getting to know everybody, that's the biggest thing I got to do here. It was a fun experience."
Each day included a project planning session on mental health or the student-athlete voice, culminating with project presentations on the final day. Attendees left with plans of action to bring back to their campuses.
"One of the things we talked about was starting a group or a club for injured athletes so that they can rehab fully and not feel like they're being excluded from the team," Byers said of one of the ideas to come out of the project planning sessions. "We talked about a lot of other mental health initiatives, too, so I think getting those started and getting them rolling is something we're going to do."
A roundtable discussion kicked off the weekend's focus on the student-athlete voice. The discussion featured two former student-athletes who are now athletics administrators:Bubba Baroniel, a former baseball player and current manager of revenue generation, marketing and promotions at Nova Southeastern, and Ashley Beaton Simpson,a former volleyball player at Illinois Springfield and currentassistant athletics director for student-athlete success at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
"The convention emphasized the importance of the student voice and being able to have our voice heard, whether that's any higher-ups at our school but also the conference as a whole," said Cami Belin, a women's soccer player at Lees-McRae.
Presenter Ivy Watts, a former Division II track and field student-athlete at New Haven who graduated with a degree in psychology, focused her session on mental health. A former All-American who faced mental health struggles as an athlete, she now promotes mental wellness and tries to reduce the stigma around mental health by sharing her story through public speaking and her blog,Beautifully Simply You.
Curtis Hill, a diversity expert, inclusion equity coach and author, spoke to participants on social justice and how it can impact mental health.
"One takeaway from the convention is the importance of social justice, being able to educate others on that and the mental health aspect that goes with that, as well as just mental health overall," Belin said. "We left realizing that we're not alone in our problems, and there are other people that will be behind you to help guide you."
Attendees also discussed the transition out of athletics and how to better prepare student-athletes for it. Former Wisconsin standout Jonathan Orr, who spent two seasons in the NFL before starting a company focused on helping athletes transition out of sports, addressed participants on the topic.
"Something I learned from this convention that I can take back to my school is life after sport and how important transition is," said Katie Caras, a women's lacrosse player at Palm Beach Atlantic. "Also, learning how to help my teammates with that. We can talk about and collaborate on different ideas on where our heart is and where our head is and how we can create that for our future."
Justin Patton, a leadership coach, was the event's keynote speaker.His address, "It Starts With You," focused on how student-athletes can become leaders, the importance of body language and first impressions, and skills to become a better listener and leader.
Additionally, participants learned more about Division II's work with Make-A-Wish and Team IMPACT. They were joined by members of a Team IMPACT family, who talked about their experience with the Wingate women's soccer team. Student-athletes and administrators participated in a community engagement activity in which they painted hearts for those experiencing grief, trauma and loss through the Hearts of Hope healing art program.They also heard an update on the NCAA's congressional engagement efforts.
The next Super Region Convention will be in April 2025 for the Central and Midwest Regions, followed by another in November 2025 for the South Central and West Regions.
