University of North Carolina Athletics
Jordanian Soccer Team Learns From Leadership Academy
December 12, 2014 | Leadership Academy
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Leadership lessons from the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy went global this week, as UNC hosted two training sessions for Jordan's Under-17 Girls Soccer national team. The squad is in the U.S. for a 10-day program with the U.S. Department of State Empowering Women and Girls through Sports program, in cooperation with the University of Tennessee Center for Sport, Peace, & Society.
“People sometimes say that sport spans all cultures, and I believe that's true,” said Shelley Johnson, Director of the Leadership Academy. “But the same applies to many of the things we teach as part of our leadership training here at UNC, like the importance of being positive and the benefits of appreciating your teammates. Those things resonate for Jordanian teenagers the same way they do for our Carolina student-athletes.”
Although they're far from home, the guests fit right in in Chapel Hill, with many wearing Carolina blue jackets with JORDAN on the back. They embraced the leadership lessons with enthusiasm and energy, saying hello and exiting with hugs and handshakes all around.
Johnson spear-headed the training, assisted by fellow staffers Cricket Lane, Elizabeth Lancaster and Ochuko Jenije. They put into practice many of the activities utilized throughout the four levels of UNC's Leadership Academy, the nation's premier leadership training program for student-athletes. On Tuesday, the lesson focused on the risks, rewards, and responsibilities of leadership and learning how to juggle them, literally and figuratively. (The girls actually practiced juggling, with a neon yellow tennis balls bouncing around the fifth floor of the Loudermilk Center for Excellence.)
On Thursday, the group played get-to-know you bingo (great for practicing their already-solid English skills), studied highlights and lessons learned from the trip, and at the end practiced gratitude by addressing notes to each other describing reasons they're grateful for each other.
The University of Tennessee's Center for Sport, Peace and Society organized the trip, which included stops in Washington, D.C. and Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., before reaching Chapel Hill. The group started in D.C., touring the monuments and visiting the State Department. Next it was off to Florida, where the team attended the NCAA Women's College Cup, volunteered time to help the Salvation Army prepare food bags and took a tour of the Everglades, complete with alligator sightings.
North Carolina was the final stop of the trip. In five days in Chapel Hill, the team practiced its soccer skills with UNC alums and former U.S. National Team members Cindy Parlow-Cone and Carla Overbeck and also met with students at Durham Academy, where the team was set to play a friendly on Thursday evening. While in Chapel Hill, the Jordanians also received a special treat: a videotaped message of encouragement from the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team.
Chelsea Gustafson, a junior on the UNC rowing team and a Leadership Academy participant, helped out with both sessions. It gave her a welcome study break during finals (on Thursday, she was preparing for her Philosophy of Science final Friday) and also deepened her own leadership experience. “It was really cool to work with the girls from Jordan,” she said. “We see that they're kids just like the kids in the U.S. It was great to hear their perspective on leadership –a lot of the same challenges that we have, they have, too. It's cool to see that we come from different countries, we're different ages, but we have some of the same experiences. This was fun, and a great break from studying.”
The team departs North Carolina on Friday, headed back to Ft. Lauderdale to begin the trip back to Jordan. The Center for Sport, Peace and Society hosts six to seven youth programs each year, in partnership with the U.S. State Department, which identifies the participating countries and team.
For more information on the center, go to sportandpeace.utk.edu/. Check here for pictures and a look at the Jordanian team's trip, and follow the center on Twitter here.
To learn more about the Richard A. Baddour Carolina Leadership Academy, click here.
