CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) hosted its eighth Student-Athlete Leadership Conference last weekend, Friday-Sunday, February 2-4. The conference views these events as primarily educational but also a way to bond the A-R-C’s athletics community. Almost 60 student-athletes from the conference’s nine schools attended the event. 
 
The group completed the Gallup CliftonStrengths online assessment. The CliftonStrengths assessment has four domains: Executing, Influencing, Relationship Building, and Strategic Thinking. This assessment teaches everyone how to use our strengths, not our weaknesses, to our advantage. Most importantly, this assessment taught student-athletes, administrators, and A-R-C staff members how to become better leaders as everyone looks to become better each and every day. 
 
Nate Wilson-Traisman, from Mental Side of Sports, spoke to the group about performance anxiety. His goal was to inform and teach how to play with our anxiety and not against it. Anxiety is the perception of fear that many student-athletes face in their sport, in the classroom, at a job, or in their social life. He discussed how coming back from an injury, the fear of failure, and student-athletes believing their identity is who they are causes anxiety. He gave tips and tricks to breathing exercises as well as focusing on the process over the results. The biggest takeaway from Wilson-Traisman is that every student-athlete is more than their sport. 
 
Saturday morning also included student-led production of public service announcement videos on topics of their choice (officiating, Gameday the D3 Way, Special Olympics, etc.). 
 
During the Saturday afternoon sessions, student-athletes had discussions with their peers regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion as well as ethical dilemma situations. In addition, the A-R-C hosted a Special Olympics event. Special Olympics and NCAA Division III share a passionate partnership since 2011. The purpose of this partnership is to enhance the lives of Division III student-athletes and Special Olympics athletes through a mutual learning experience; provide a platform for recognition of Special Olympics athletes and Division III student-athletes within their communities; and raise awareness of Special Olympics, its programs and services. 
 
Student-athletes were encouraged on Sunday to return to campus and continue the conversations on campus regarding the topics they learned about. The conference ended with a final session of reflection and possible action steps for when the attendees return to campus. The attendees understand that their attendance this weekend was a sacrifice and they made the choice to become better leaders for their schools, the A-R-C, and their communities.