Bellmore-Merrick hosted the second annual Unity Summit on Oct. 30 for high school athletes and coaches from acrossSection XIII Athleticsin Nassau County.
Eric Caballero, the district’s director of physical education, athletics, driver education and health, co-chaired a committee with several other athletic administrators to bring together hundreds of athletes/coaches. The goal of the summit was to promote positivity in sports, as well as emphasize the importance of sportsmanship, civility, and unity in educationally based athletics.
“We want to really impress these three pillars on our student athletes in order for them to meet their full potential and have them be as successfully as they can,” Caballero noted. “Have them embrace the challenge of being a student athlete, while enjoying the process of competing. This also entails winning with humility and taking defeat with dignity that represents themselves and their community in a positive light.”
Guest speakers included Dr. Nancy Kaplan, Leah Janzten, Lamar Lee, and Michael Willett, as well as the keynote speaker, Mark Leinweaver.
Dr. Kaplan, a vice provost at St. John’s University who also serves as the board president for the Central High School District, said she travels the country for motivational speaking engagements.
“One of the groups that I enjoy speaking to the most are high school athletes,” she told a crowd during a breakout workshop at the Unity Summit. “The reason is because your life is sort of just beginning in terms of who you will become. What I want to do is help you to think about how you can make the most of the athletic experience that you are a part of.”
Student athlete volunteers from Kennedy, Calhoun and Mepham High Schools welcomed hundreds of attendees, directed them around the Brookside building and offered ice breaker conversations.
Samantha Kalinoglu is a senior at Calhoun who is considering a pre-med major with the possibility of playing division III lacrosse and participating in club swimming in college next year.
“Swimming is an individual sport, and you have to rely on yourself and solely what you are doing,” she explained. “Whereas lacrosse is a physical sport where it’s fast-paced and everyone is doing what they can to win on the field at all costs. During the workshops today, they were discussing how you can’t let your sport determine who you are and don’t get in your head so much after. They spoke about how it’s okay to have a bad meet or match and that it’s not what defines you.”
Click here to view the Bellmore-Merrick Hosts Section XIII Unity Summit slideshow.
Date Added: 10/31/2024