48 Indian Lake athletes joined nearly 500 fellow competitors from the ten CBC schools for the first ever Central Buckeye Conference Leadership Conference held at Bellefontaine High School recently.
The day-long event included both high school and junior high participants focusing on qualities of character, sportsmanship and league play.
Indian Lake Athletic/Activities Director Jeff Courter explains the idea is to get the students together to develop bonds outside of competition. He says the student athletes broke into groups to discuss several topics including what sportsmanship looks like from student sections, athletes, coaches and fans. They also discussed how the CBC league can promote sportsmanship.
"I think it went well. The kids came up with some positive ideas and shared those with the whole group. Some of their answers were surprising."
Courter said league leaders were interested to learn that the reason many student athletes decide not to play multiple sports is because of academic pressures and time management, not necessarily the desire to "specialize" in one sport alone.
Ohio High School Athletic Association Commissioner Jerry Snodgrass served as the day's keynote speaker. He spoke about the challenges of recruiting and certifying officials at this level because of the disrespectful actions of many fans. Snodgrass also challenged the students to take risks and let others see them acting as leaders to make a positive impact on their schools and communities.
Courter says he plans to meet periodically with the 48 ILHS and ILMS students who attended to reinforce the concepts discussed at the CBC Leadership Conference.