2013 Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series, Part 1

This past October (2013), the Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series took place on the campus of Lewis-Clark State College (ID). Featured presenters included sport leaders from intercollegiate athletic administration, sport governance, sport business, education, coaching, and recreation. Sponsored by the Lewis-Clark State College Sport Administration Program, the purpose of the lecture series was to provide students, faculty, staff, and community members an opportunity to learn about careers and leadership in sport from established professionals.

Dr. Bob Frederick

Over the next three months, pelinks4u will feature a series of selected presentations. This month’s three presenters include Lewis-Clark State College (ID) Cross Country coach, Mike Collins; Washington State University Swimming coach, Tom Jager; and University of North Carolina Director of Basketball Operations, Brad Frederick.

Mike Collins‘s presentation, Coaching Like Your Daughter’s on the Team, focused on viewing your student-athletes as an extension of your family, “I love my athletes and even if they are not truly my son or daughter, I care about them the same way,” states Collins. He also addressed the dangers of hazing and the importance of building positive traditions. Many students found his presentation useful in their role as a coach. Sara Smith, a senior in Nursing stated, “his topics were very important to me as a coach because a lot of what he discussed I would like to incorporate into my program.”

Coach Collins has turned LCSC into one of the premier running programs in the country. Over the past 14 years Collins’ teams have produced 63 All-Americans, nine conference Runner-of-the-Year winners, one Region I Runner-of-the-Year and champion, and numerous all-conference and all-region selections.

Olympic Gold Medalist and current head swimming coach at Washington State University, Tom Jager impressed upon the audience the importance of taking responsibility as a leader and learning how to lead. In his presentation entitled, Motivation Top to Bottom: Athletes, Staff and the Department, Jager noted, “Everyone wants to be the boss. In order to be the boss, it really helps to learn the system as an assistant (coach) first.”

Silvia Isaac a junior in Business Administration at LCSC was able to apply Jager’s philosophy of leadership outside of sport, in motivating her son. She stated, “I can apply Tom Jager’s philosophy not only in my professional career, management/leadership position, but also in my personal life with my family, motivating my son to be a winner and never give up no matter how hard it is when facing challenges in school and personal life.”

Tom Jager is a member of the International Swimming Hall of Fame, the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame and the USA Swim Team of the Century. He is a former captain of the U.S. national team, won 11 national titles and held the 50-meter freestyle world record three times, including a 10-year run from 1990-2000.

University of North Carolina Director of Basketball Operations, Brad Frederick shared with the audience tips for moving up the career ladder in collegiate athletics. In his presentation, Keys to Building a Successful Coaching Career in Collegiate Athletics, Frederick advised listeners to “Make sure you are passionate and willing to sacrifice your time. You also have to be willing to move.”

Aspiring coach, Shaun Cook, a sophomore in Kinesiology was greatly appreciative of Coach Frederick’s willingness to share. I liked the openness of questions throughout the lecture and how he gave advice and also real life experience to answer the questions,” shared Cook. The son of Dr. Bob Frederick, for whom this lecture series is named, Brad played small forward for the Tar Heels from 1996-99, and spent the past 14 seasons on the basketball staff at Vanderbilt. During his final season at Vanderbilt, Frederick held the longest tenure of any assistant coach in the Southeastern Conference.

To learn more about the Dr. Bob Frederick Sport Leadership Lecture Series visit:
http://vanmullempete.wix.com/lcscsportleadership

For more information regarding the lecture series please contact:
Pete Van Mullem, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Sport Administration
Business Division/Health and Kinesiology
Lewis-Clark State College/ 500 8th Avenue – Lewiston, ID 83501
208-792-2467 (office)/ pwvanmullem@lcsc.edu