Nebo School District’s Captains' Fall Academy

Submitted by lana.hiskey on

On September 20, 2011, Nebo School District held its first Fall Academy of the quarterly Captains’ Academy for the 2011-2012 season. The purpose of the Captains’ Academy is to promote leadership and sportsmanship between Nebo School District’s five high schools. These Academies have proven to promote better relations through student leaders and athletes.

This Fall Captains’ Academy included leaders from girls’ soccer, football, cheer, boys’ golf, student council, volleyball, girls’ tennis, and girls’ and boys’ cross country.

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 Captains’ 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. 

Springville High’s Principal Mike Brown lead a discussion on “What is a leader?” Then the students worked in groups to answer the questions, “What is a leader?” and “What is the role of a captain?”

Payson High’s Assistant Principal Ryan McGuire presented “Sportsmanship”. Then the students worked in groups again to answer the questions, “How can we as leaders instill sportsmanship at our school?” and “How can we instill better sportsmanship at our school?”

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 Dan Fey with Utah Valley Performance Training on “The highest potential of the human body.” The student leaders were captivated by his remarks and information about the body’s potential.

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

Attributions
Lana Hiskey
File attachments