Influence of group discussions and appealing advices to counsel female athletes
At the Florida State University, the athletic community is very large and strong. There are about 500 athletes from 12 different sports and over staff members. Being member of a athletic community in a Division 1 university which excels in multiple sports at national level can be very demanding and stressful. College students tend to face stressful schedules and demanding situations, but student athletes can face much worse scenarios. For instance, a typical athlete in season can practice up to 20 hours a week based on the NCAA rules. However, those 20 hours does not include other responsibilities student-athletes must face such as tutoring, mentoring, community service, physical treatment, and recovery. In addition to all that comes the priority, the academic approach. 15 credit hours per semester.
Thus, student athletes tend to face very challenging schedules and demanding activities. All that can lead to extreme stress, rise in cortisol levels and ***. Because of that, many institutions adhered to programs of psychological support with leadership and empowerment interference in the athletes. An example of that is WILD, a program denominated Women In Leadership Development that exists in the Florida State Athletic community and covers female athletes from ten different sports, from freshman to seniors. This group is made up of approximately 100 girl that meet once a week during 5 weeks every semester for around an hour and a half and follow discussions and instructions from the leader Sarah Petronio. Prior to its start, the members must sign up. According to Petronio, the main goals of the program are to bring female athletes of all sports together to get to know each other and create a strong support system, to discuss topics relative to team dynamics and personal development, to help our athletes find their unique voice, express their opinions, and share their experiences in a group setting, to define a mission and fuel the everyday decisions that athletes have to make, and finally to grow as leaders and people to better represent Florida State University.
Every meeting focuses in a specific topic, which are about personal development and wholehearted living. In order to help lead the meeting, a binder composed of multiple quotes and reminders are given to the members and discussion questions. Since Many of the members are teammates or friends with each other, it becomes easy for the groups to open up and share hoe they relate to the situations or ideas, which helps build a strong bonding within the community.
Studies have shown the importance of empowerment and leadership programs, specially to female athletes. A common struggle multiple women athletes face is the feeling of isolation, stress, lack of self-assurance and insight to face personal adversities. With the help of the discussions and the quick reminders in the binders, the program allows the sharing of a shared knowledge between the group, which helps the members to create a better view of their lives.