Men's Basketball | September 16, 2019
WASHINGTON – Perseverance. Resiliency. Inspiring. Those were just a few of the words repeated over and over by 28 of the Atlantic 10's basketball student-athletes who attended the 2019 Atlantic 10 Leadership Summit this weekend in Washington, D.C. Two of those student-athletes were representatives of La Salle University: men's basketball junior David Beatty and women's basketball junior Deja King.
Each A-10 member institution sent two representatives, one women's basketball student-athlete and one men's basketball student-athlete. All sophomores and juniors, they came away from the summit, now in its third year as better leaders with skills they can utilize with their teammates and on their campuses.
"I was inspired and impressed with the student-athletes that attended our leadership summit. Each person was engaged, excited to learn more, and demonstrated a willingness to step up and be better leaders!" commented Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade. "This was a powerful experience that I believe will benefit each participant and their teammates for a lifetime."
"Being at this summit was great for me to grow as a person and a teammate, Duquesne junior Halle Bovell said. "I thought it was very interesting to get to know people who I see as opponents -- to see them in a different light. "I think I've made a couple of friends here, and the lessons I've learned from the different speakers were invaluable."
The summit began Saturday with a welcome from Commissioner McGlade. President of The George Washington University Dr. Thomas LeBlanc gave the opening address, followed by a question and answer session. He addressed how values, culture and leadership can change an organization.
The student-athletes visited the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American Culture and History Saturday afternoon, learning about key leaders in history.
"The museum aspect yesterday showed me how you need to be resilient, and it can completely impact your future," Bovell said. "Today the different workshops showed me how to practically implement those pieces to create a successful team."
Dr. Richard Pierce, a Professor of History at Notre Dame, engaged the group following the museum visit, discussing impactful historical moments and individuals, and how they showed leadership through a situation or action.
"Dr. Pierce brought up the word perseverance, and that was definitely something I saw I the museum. People fought for what they thought was right, which is something you need on a team. A team needs to persevere through the struggles and conflicts with the team and outside the team," said Fordham junior Kendell Heremaia.
Sunday began with Commissioner McGlade addressing the group before introducing Kevin Eastman, a former college and NBA coach and executive, who is a motivational speaker with a focus on leadership. A graduate of A-10 member Richmond, Eastman has been a presenter at the summit in each of the three years. Eastman related his experiences in the NBA to the student-athletes experiences in college and how those translate into leadership skills.
"[Eastman] shared a lot of important stories that helped everyone in there, He's been around the league for a long time with everybody's favorite players," said Saint Joseph's sophomore Myles Douglas. "It was very important to learn things that I've got to do on a daily basis – that everybody's got to do to improve as a leader and as a person as a teammate and another player on the court."
A unique aspect of the summit that surprises student-athletes each year is how competitors on the court – opposing players that they don't normally get to interact with – have become friends by the end of the weekend.
"I think the dynamic of [meeting other players] is a whole experience within itself. You go through the whole season you don't get to talk to the guys one-on-one and really get to know what they're about. I feel like the whole experience getting to know what they're about and understanding them a little bit more is a very good experience, said junior Marcus Weathers.
"It's been an amazing experience. I've met people from other teams that I got interested in, and I've been talking to them about how they lead their teams so it can help me out in how to lead my team," said La Salle junior David Beatty.
Instituted by Commissioner McGlade in 2017, the summit is designed to build the leadership skills of basketball student-athletes, exposing the participants to a wide-variety of leadership philosophies, through interaction with professionals and with the other participating student-athletes. The summit not only teaches the skills of leadership, but also helps truly define what leadership is for each person. Past participants have called the event a "life changing experience" after coming away with a new understanding and knowledge.
"I think overall the whole experience was great," Weathers added. "[The summit] gave me the confidence to go back to school and become a good leader for our team and for the university."
"I think [the summit] is a great thing. There're a lot of things you're going to learn that you're going to be able to take to your teams and use that for the season. I think it's a great way to start off in September and the A-10 season," Douglas concluded.
