After the Student Athletic Advisory Board fizzled out during COVID-19, Menlo’s Athletics Department knew they had to come up with a new student-led group to advise them. Starting this school year, Athletic Director Earl Koberlein and Assistant Athletic Director Buffie Ward introduced the Knights Leadership Council.
“It’s a group of student-athletes, across all sports, that were nominated by their coaches as either captains or leaders on their teams,” Koberlein said. “We get about 30 of them at a meeting.”
Koberlein’s goals for the council range from the sports field to the quad. “The goal is for them to be more comfortable not only in their teams as leaders, but on campus [too],” he said.
Athletes selected for the council participate in one meeting each month, in addition to workshops on the weekend. For the first workshop, the athletes learned about being better teammates from a presentation by a trainer from the Positive Coaching Alliance.
Junior Tyler Hinkie, a football and lacrosse player, believes that leaders often aren’t great with positivity. “[Leaders] can be really negative towards their teammates,” Hinkie said. “Something that Menlo as a whole, and especially people on the council and leaders I’ve had on my team, are really working to go against the grain.”
Sophomore Sabina Sutaria, a water polo player, explained that this workshop changed her view of leadership. “One of my biggest takeaways from that conversation was how passion is contagious,” Sutaria said.
Feedback from the participants has been positive so far, according to Koberlein. “I’ve gotten a lot of emails from the student-athletes that they really appreciate [the council] when there’s been a good discussion or a good workshop,” he said.
However, Koberlein said that seniors who play fall sports aren’t always sure about their place within the council now that their seasons are over. “I had a conversation the other day, where someone was like, ‘Well I’m a senior, and I play football, but now I’m still [on this council] and I don’t have a team I’m working with,’” Koberlein said. Koberlein replied that these skills aren’t just for life at Menlo, but beyond it too.
In the future, Koberlein wants to add these types of leadership opportunities for freshmen and sophomores. Koberlein said he may create another group where he and others can advise underclassmen student-athletes and help them grow.
