Nebo School District’s Captains Academy

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

On April 21, 2011, Nebo School District held its third quarterly Captains Academy Spring Session on leadership and sportsmanship. The Captain’s Academy is held three times a year. This event was held in the boardroom at Nebo School District and included Captains from each spring sport: baseball, softball, boys’ and girls’ track and field, boys’ soccer, girls’ golf, and boys’ tennis. All Region VIII was invited and all of Nebo District High schools were represented including Springville High, Maple Mountain High, Spanish Fork High, Salem Hills High, and Payson High.

Nebo School District’s athletic director, Everett Kelepolo, said, "Our mission is to teach the value of competition, improve the athletic skill, and develop sportsmanship. We hope through the Captain’s Academy that we can continue to help students, coaches, and administrators understand the impact we can have on leadership and sportsmanship throughout our district and state."

Superintendent Rick Nielsen started the academy by welcoming the team captains and letting the students know that students come first in Nebo School District.

Nancy Warner, a two-time, back-to-back, State Champion Girls’ Basketball Coach, lead the students in a discussion of "What is a leader?" and "What is the role of a captain?"

Mr. Reese Brunson, assistant principal and former football, basketball, and baseball coach at Spanish Fork High, lead a discussion on "Sportsmanship." Then the students worked in groups to answer the question, "How can we as leaders instill sportsmanship at our own schools?"

All of the Student Team Captains sit at the table for their sport. Each school has one Captain for each sport. The Captains do not sit with their own school; rather they sit with their peers from other high schools. The Captains listen to each presenter and then work collaboratively to present their position and ideas back to the entire group.

The keynote speech was given by John Peabody, a physical therapist from Intermountain Healthcare. He presented and discussed with the students, "Too hard, too much, too early: overuse injuries in the high school athlete."

One of the handouts given to each Captain, by the Utah County Division of Substance Abuse, titled "The Truth About Energy Drinks" states that a person should not consume more that 100 milligrams of caffeine per day. That would equate to just over three cans of 12 ounces of cola. Some energy drinks contain 344 milligrams of caffeine which equates to 11 cans of 12 ounces of cola. Caffeine can contribute to depression, weight gain, and diabetes as well as dehydration, insomnia, and osteoporosis. In some cases, caffeine has caused death stated the Utah County Substance Abuse handout.

A big thanks goes to Laura Salazar, Communications Director at Intermountain Healthcare, for the delicious lunch provided for the Captains.

Attributions
Lana Hiskey
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Team Captains and Presenters 2.17 MB