UpDate - Vol. 13, No. 38, Page 1
July 21, 1994
Student-athletes to benefit from NCAA skills program

     Student-athletes have to cope with all the pressures and problems
other students must deal with, but they also must learn to face the
additional demands of college sports, such as limited free time,
increased visibility, demanding travel schedules and the desire to
succeed on the playing field as well as in the classroom.
     For the last six years, the Student Services for Athletes
program-a joint effort involving the Center for Counseling and Student
Development and the Intercollegiate Athletics Program-has helped
student-athletes deal with such pressures through counseling,
teaching, academic monitoring and workshops. Program staff also are
involved with research, consultation and creating informational
materials and publications.
     Director Janice Jordan said the program helps approximately 300
students each year, and she attributes the athletes' rate of
participation to recommendations by members of Delaware's coaching
staff. The coaches respect the counselors' judgment and abilities and
that is relayed to the athletes, she said.
     The University program also is respected off campus. Last year,
Springfield College in Massachusetts sent two athletic counseling
graduate students to Delaware as interns. The two did situational
counseling and academic planning and monitoring, presented workshops,
taught a freshman seminar and developed liaisons with team members and
coaches.
     Their counseling personnel were so impressed and pleased with
Delaware's professionalism and high-quality staff that the New England
college is sending two new interns to Delaware next year.
     While Delaware's program is comprehensive, Jordan said she saw an
opportunity for improvement and expansion when she received an
application inviting Delaware to become a pilot program in the NCAA
Life Skills Program.
     According to the NCAA, the program is designed to provide a
systematic personal development program for each student-athlete's
needs.
     The focus of the program, according to Jordan, is on preparing
students for life success, not just athletic or academic success. The
NCAA wants to address an athlete's changing needs and skills in the
years during college and after graduation, providing a system of
balanced "life learning" for them, she said.
     "It's a privilege to have been chosen," Jordan said. Only 47
schools were invited to participate in the pilot year, which begins
this fall.
     Jordan said she thought Delaware was chosen because it could
benefit from the program and also share what already has been done
with schools whose programs may be less developed.
     Jordan said one area of training she has not previously presented
to Delaware athletes involves communication skills, such as personal
presentation and media relations.
     "Athletes at schools receiving more media coverage, such as those
in the Big 10, often learn how to present themselves and represent
their schools in a public setting because they are interviewed so
much," she said.
     Much of the NCAA program material will come directly from schools
that have a proven success record with a particular component topic.
In some cases, several models will be included from different
institutions so pilot schools can choose those that best fit their
campus environment. Nationally recognized professionals and
organizations also will develop original material for many of the
components, especially in the cases where there is not enough
information currently in use on campuses.
     The NCAA expects about 50 new schools a year to participate, and
it plans to add existing and proven materials each year and improve
current materials as the program matures.
     Students also will be evaluated for their effectiveness by
representatives at the participating NCAA-member institutions.
     Jordan will serve as Delaware's life skills coordinator. She,
along with Eric Dennison and a graduate assistant, will attend a four-
day orientation session this month in Kansas City, Mo., where they
will become familiar with the materials and how to use them.
                                                         -Gina Poltrok