The University of Michigan held a live webinar this morning that featured a panel of experts consisting of Senior Associate Athletic Director and the Academic Success Program’s Kenneth Miles, Athletics Career Center Director Maurice Washington and Leadership Development Program Director Brian Townsend, to discuss the current state of U-M’s student-athletes while they are away from campus.
Associate Athletic Director Kurt Svoboda hosted the Q&A portion that followed, and presented questions to the aforementioned trio that involved positives that can be taken away from the coronavirus ordeal, as well as spring student-athlete seniors potentially returning again next year.
“One of the questions I ask our student-athletes to begin our meetings is 'What has been the biggest challenge for you during this and what are some of the unexpected positives?'" Townsend began.
"They all, for the most part, say they can train the way they want to without being able to go in. They’re doing a good job of finding ways to connect with one another and being creative during this time.
"They understand it is what it is and that everyone else is going through it, and they’re trying to make a positive out of it and grow from it.”
The focus during the coronavirus outbreak has primarily been on the impact it has had from an athletic standpoint, but the aforementioned panel of experts took a deep dive into the benefits that can come from it for the student-athletes from a professional point of view as well.
“We’re creating virtual workshops and we’re working with individual teams," Washington explained. "I was working with our men’s soccer team yesterday and giving them assignments.
"Instead of competing on the field of play, I’m now challenging them to reach out to 10 new contacts and create those informational interviews. The goal for this is for our students to be at the ready line professionally and personally when they come out of this.
"When it’s the norm, they have a lot on their plates and are pulled in several different directions. I spoke to one of our swimmers who said she had been training for the Olympics, but this is the first time in years she’s not swimming.
"She said it’s actually great, because she can heal her body and take care of things professionally and personally that she otherwise wouldn’t have had time to do. A positive from an employer standpoint is that recruiters are at home, so they’re available when our students reach out to them.
"Companies and industries are also trying to figure this out right now, so everyone is back to ground zero, so to speak. It gives our students an equal playing field, and original timetables to find a job are now off the table and it provides catch up time for our kids.”
“Our coaches are doing a phenomenal job keeping in contact with the student-athletes on their teams," Townsend added. "Those first two weeks were very challenging for our student-athletes and everyone around the world, because they had to deal with it mentally.
"They gave two weeks to themselves to make adjustments academically while adjusting to a new way of learning. A number of different coaches have reached out to me, wanting to do some work to help our coaches come together.
"I’ve been working with women’s soccer today, and they’ve talked about their culture and the values they bring to the team. That can carry over to interviews, because one of the questions will always be what their strengths and weaknesses are.
"Our counselor, Greg Harden, often says they get to practice, train and rehearse their strengths with their teammates, which are transferrable skills for when they sit down with employers.
"Four out of five Fortune 500 companies use StrengthsFinder as a part of their leadership and personal development. Our kids get to do it now and practice that within their team, making it natural for them when they go into a new team.”
The NCAA Division 1 Council voted yesterday to allow spring sport seniors to have the option to return again next season if they'd like, seeing as how their seasons were cut short (or in some cases, never began at all) due to the virus.
The benefits for the seniors to potentially return are clear from an athletic standpoint, but hold plenty of value from a professional point of view as well.
“I had this conversation [of seniors potentially returning next season] yesterday with one of our student-athletes," Washington recalled. "This summer is uncertain as far as the job market goes, which would give them an additional year to grow their professional development skills and do some more shadowing.
"Some of our student-athletes are going to take advantage of this, because it’s a positive. If not, then they’d be going out into an uncertain job placement situation. I think they realize it’s an opportunity they can take advantage of and use to come out better.
"They’re excited to not only play again, but also to get more experience.”
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