Experience Matters: Student stories of leadership development and community change, is a blog series that highlights student learning through the experiential service and leadership programs at Kansas State University’s Staley School of Leadership Studies. Program alumni will share stories of leadership development, building civic capacity, and leading change.
The Vikings and Tigers both emerged victorious from the fall 2022 Manhattan Parks and Rec season – not only on the field but off the field, as well. The victories are partly thanks to the positive impact made by students from Kansas State University’s Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows program.
Snyder leadership Legacy Fellows is a program of the Staley School of Leadership for students entering into their final year at K-State. Students are selected to deepen their knowledge of leadership, connect with mentors to explore the transition from student to professional life, elevate their passion for service, and experience real-world opportunities to exercise leadership skills. The program is named in recognition of Coach Bill Snyder’s efforts to build leaders on and off the football field.
The Staley School partners with Manhattan Parks and Rec each fall to allow Snyder Fellows to serve as youth sports coaches. Though not all Snyder Fellows are experts in their sport, they work in coaching teams to bring knowledge, experience, and leadership skills to local youth. We talked with three 2021-2022 Snyder Fellows — Derek Shaheen, Juan Bocanegra, and Taylor Gardner — to hear from them about their youth sports coaching experience.
What sport did you coach last fall?
Derek and Taylor: Flag football
Juan: Volleyball
What was your favorite memory of the season?
Taylor: My favorite memory of the season was when I came to practice one day after the practice before had been canceled due to weather. One of the boys ran up to me and told me he cried when his mom told him practice was cancelled. That was when I knew I was a part of something important.
What was the biggest challenge you faced and how did you handle it?
Derek: The biggest challenge I faced was trying to keep everyone positive no matter what was going on. It was very easy for them to get discouraged or angry when things weren’t going well. They would blame other teammates or the referees pretty frequently. I tried to handle it by first always being positive and consistent. I didn’t let myself get too high or too low as a coach and hopefully that model showed them how to approach each game and each situation.
Of Coach Snyder’s 16 Goals for Success which would you pick to describe your season and why?
Juan: I would pick number four, improve. Although many other goals like 10, never give up, and 11, don’t accept losing, can easily be applied to this season, I believe improve was the most meaningful. We almost went the entire season without a win, and my team continued to go to practice, continued to improve upon what they needed to work on, they worked hard, practiced hard and played hard until the end. You could see their improvement, they were not the same team they were when they started, they were so much better. I guarantee you, if the season was any longer, my team would not have lost another game because their willingness to continue improving would have only grown stronger.
What is one thing you learned through this experience?
Derek: I learned that to get people to work towards a common goal you really have to be intentional about sharing what that goal and that vision is. At the beginning of the season I just assumed everyone had the same goals for the season as me, but it became apparent that that was not the case. I learned that I had to share with them what my vision was for the team, for the offense, for whatever it may be and then relate each drill and everything we did back to how it accomplished that vision. I learned that it takes a lot of effort to do that, it doesn’t just naturally happen.
Taylor: One thing I learned through this experience was to go into things without preset expectations. I thought that I would not enjoy the experience just because of the time commitment and all the other stuff I had to do but it ended up being one of my favorite parts of this fall.
Juan: I learned to celebrate the tiny victories. Although teamwork is very important, so Is individual skill. I was able to see what each of my players needed to improve on the most, and every practice we worked a little bit on it. I made sure they knew that any sort of improvement was celebrated. Was their serve still not going over the net? That’s okay, because the serve was higher and stronger than last week!
Through their experience as Manhattan Parks and Rec youth sports coaches, Snyder Fellows exercise leadership alongside Manhattan youth. While they learn how to best communicate with eight-year-olds, they’re also adjusting their communication style to talk with parents, and their fellow coaches. They’re finding ways to motivate their team and celebrating progress. They’re building up youth by encouraging them to never give up.
“As a coach, you have the opportunity to make a positive impact for youth in your community,” said Andy Haar, youth sports supervisor for Manhattan Parks and Recreation. “ Coaching helps kids learn from mistakes, develop resilience, teamwork, social skills, physical and cognitive development skills.”
This signature aspect of the Snyder Fellows program is often Fellows’ most significant learning of the year, and at a pivotal time as they prepare to graduate and move on to their next chapter.
If you are entering your final year at K-State during the 2022-2023 academic year and are interested in the Snyder Fellows program, applications are open now and are due by noon Feb. 18. Email snyderfellows@ksu.edu for more information.
About the author
Kaitlin Long is the administrator of student programs at the Staley SChool of Leadership Studies. Long directs service-learning and leadership development programs at the School including Academic Mentors, Alternative Breaks, International Service Teams, HandsOn Kansas State and Snyder Leadership Legacy Fellows. She also serves as the co-administrative director for the Mandela Washington Fellowship Leadership and Civic Engagement at K- State.
