Fresno State Athletics
Danielle Golden at the NCAA Leadership Conference
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Well, this is now the next to last day of the conference, and many including myself aren't happy with this. Many have felt that we have only begun to scratch the surface of campus and athletics issues. Also, we all just do not want to say goodbye or even see you later to all the new friends that we have made.
Like everyday of the conference we started the morning with talks on the activities and concerns of all Division I, II, and III. However, the only difference about today is that instead of spending most of the day inside we actually had the chance to go outside. The facilitators took us to the Disney Wide World of Sports Center, where we all gathered together as one big group to take our group photo. If you get the picture I am on the right side on the rail by the side of the stairs (hopefully you understand and can see me!). Let me tell you the place, like everything about Disney, is fantastic, but it would have been even better if it had arenas to ride horses in for us equestrian student-athletes, and a pool, but hey, that's just my opinion!
To start off the day we had a performance from the another color group that was the most impressive and creative I have seen since during the conference. Even my group wished we could start over, but you didn't hear that from me. Later, we played interactive games that further emphasized the values of leadership we have learned. The first was that we got into groups of twos, where one partner was to fall backward and be supported by the partner. This was to teach us to trust one another, that we needn't always rely on ourselves alone, as well as that there is always someone there to help you. Then we gathered into groups of six, where five formed into a circle, and the single person had to fall forward or backward and is supported by the group.
The next challenge was to split the group into two halves, with two leaders for each group. Yours truly volunteered to be one of the leaders, which was, for me, definitely stepping out of my comfort zone. The challenge was that we had to carry a can filled with beans (the story is that the beans are supposed to be this explosive and toxic seed, and if it is spilled on the ground it will explode), and pour the seed into another (the "safe") can. The catch was that the cans were protected within a rope circle. The circle is the safe zone and nobody's body part is supposed to cross the line, or the penalty was elimination. The only tools we had were four short pieces of rope and a deflated rubber hose. We tried various plans that didn't seem to work, until I suggested that we double up the rubber hose so that less stress is needed to stretch it open and closed. Everything was going great but in the end we still ended up spilling the seed. But still it actually worked -- I even surprised myself.
After the challenge we discussed the outcome of the event, and what we could improve on. Personally, I have learned that I need to be a better leader, that I should have done some thing different rather than try to find the answer myself. The last event was one that I must say was the most embarrassing time for me. One part of the team wore blindfolds pretending to be blind while the other half couldn't talk (they were mute). What we had to do was arrange the blind people into order of their birthday. What I didn't know was that it was going to be the same theme throughout the game. I thought that one part was to have the blind say their birthday, and next have us say something else. But I eventually got it, and caught on, but, brother, talk about slow! Again, this was to teach us how to improve our communication skills.
That was the last challenge of the day, so we returned to the resort and a badly needed shower. After a quick rest we returned to our color groups to further discuss the day's events, talking about how we felt, how we could have improved or what we could have fixed. I need to listen more, and include others, I never pictured myself as relying on myself more than anything. During the evening we had time to rest a bit more and get all prettied up for the conference's dinner party. We had our meal, and afterward were treated to an artistic performance. I didn't catch his name, but the guy was covered with glow-in-the-dark paint. It was indescribable. He was painting on this canvas background and painted bodies on the canvas, which were actually people. Next the painted people performed various breakdance moves that were remarkable, especially since there were covered in glow in the dark paint. After the performance we danced the night away with our friends.