By Wil Acosta
NFL Player Engagement
On Thursday, February 19th, Jake Schick, who had a small part in the movie “American Sniper,” opened up the evening talking about is mental, physical and emotional battles after he came home from his tour in Iraq. Schick was severely injured in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in 2004. His right leg had to amputated, his left arm was mangled, and suffered numerous burns. He reminded the group that mental illness struggles are a huge problem in the military and that we can make a difference by reaching out to those in need “One Team, One Fight.”
After an inspiring keynote from our opening night, day two of the NFL Athlete Development Professionals Workshop featured a variety of speakers and presentations designed to enhance the skills and professional development of the administrators in the room. The morning was kick started with a presentation from Jason Amoroso of Pro Spur presenting the company’s thought provoking Owner-Victim Theory of practical strategies utilized to change an athlete’s mindset in a positive manner. The participants sat on the edge of their seats as Jason walked them through the dynamic content offering them tools and tactics to utilize on an everyday basis with those they serve.
The afternoon consisted of breakout sessions in which small groups rotated through three presentations designed to identify, educate, and evaluate new practices to assist the student and professional athlete in their overall development. The MOSS Project headed by former player Keith Willis and Dr. Christian Conte, Pro Spur’s Character Development facilitated by John Hartwig and a panel discussion with current football student-athletes, provided an intimate learning opportunity to bring new information back to campuses and teams.
Another highlight of the program came on the third and final day when the participants of the NFL-NCAA Coaches Academy and APW workshop met to discuss student athlete development of the future. The article by Vanessa Siverls on the Player Engagement Website also highlights topics covered on the final day. https://www.nflplayerengagement.com/next/articles/2015-nfl-coaches-academy-recap/.
This was the second year in a row that the two groups were able to come together to discuss new and effective ways to collaborate on enhancing overall student-athlete development. The coaches as well as administrators play such critical roles in this process and having them both in the room at the same time to discuss the challenges, purpose, goals, and future outlook produced proactive dialogue and new strategies to positively change lives.
As the program concluded we witnessed participants sharing hugs, business cards, and takeaways from the vast amount of information received over the three days. It is our hope that we were able to foster meaningful and lasting relationships between this elite group of athlete development professionals, ultimately leaving them inspired and more equipped to assist and serve our current, former, and future athletes.