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www.ncataggies.com/Community%20Folder/aggiesinthecommunity.htmSWIMMERS HAMMER THEIR WAY TO A WORTHY CAUSE
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By Aasiya Townsell
Even though the North Carolina A&T swimming team only contains 11 athletes, they still create a big impact on their campus and in the community.
Through all of their 5 a.m., and 3 p.m., practices, along with going to and from class in between, and maintaining one of the highest athletic team GPA’s on campus (3.22), Aggie swimmers never have a problem with taking out a few hours from their busy schedules to give back to the community.
The Lady Aggies always start their season off with a community service project. This season, the swimming team participated in restoring the back and front porches and landscaping the backyard for a woman in need.
Team captains Asha El-Shair (Sr., Douglass, Ga.) and Gia Wright (Jr., Lauderdale, Fla.) split their teammates in two groups to cover more ground. Each captain was the head leader of a group.
While contributing to the ripping and tearing of the porch, they watched over the rest of their teammates to make sure that everyone was doing their tasks. The freshmen got some enjoyment out of their hard labor by working together as a group. At the end of their task the three of them grouped together, jumped up in the air and gave each other high fives! All you could see was their smiling faces while hearing their laughter in the air.
The first team bonding activity was to give back to the community and it was successfully accomplished. The project as a whole used a lot of sweat, pain, and courage to complete, which created a stronger bond within the team.
Swimming is sometimes perceived to be an individual sport, but when it comes to the Lady Aggies it’s a different story. Head coach Shawn Hendrix stresses every day that there is no “I” in team and that “the little things count”.
Even though the community service was for people, coach Hendrix and her swimmers felt like they had something to gain from all of their hard work.
The Lady Aggies diligently worked together as a team, created new friendships, and strengthened old ones. Most importantly, the Lady Aggies focused off of self and solely based their day around caring for others. Skills such as these, not only help build a better team, but a better community.
MITCHELL, COOPER WORK TO MAKE ATHLETICS BETTER
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North Carolina A&T volleyball players Arlene Mitchell and Krystal Cooper have some concerns when it comes to athletics.
On the athletic playing surface those concerns range from finding a hole in the defense in which to place a perfectly timed kill to digging out an attack by opponents to prevent them from scoring to slamming down a service ace for a point.
When off the court, their concern with athletics boils down to one basic subject – N.C. A&T student-athletes. Although the concern has several different elements and problems to solve, Mitchell and Cooper believe if they show the proper leadership to their fellow student-athletes on campus, those issues can be resolved.
Mitchell is a senior outside hitter from Henderson, N.C., and Cooper is a junior outside hitter from Missouri City, Texas. The two were recently selected to represent N.C. A&T at the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Student Athlete Advisory Committee In-Person Meeting in Virginia Beach, Va. While there they learned how to interview for jobs,
Krystal Cooper (left) and Arlene Mitchell (right) pose with MEAC Commissioner Dennis Thomas at the MEAC SAAC Conference in Virginia Beach, Va.
how to use the work ethic they learn in athletics on a job, how to plan for the future and how to remain dedicated to meeting goals. Even with the many words of wisdom from various speakers at the conference, it was the words from Old Dominion Athletic Academic Advisor Tia Scott that helped Mitchell and Cooper better understand their role and purpose as student-athlete leaders on the campus of N.C. A&T.
“She talked about being effective on campus,’’ said Mitchell. “She related it to getting fired up about a game. The same way you get fired up about a game is the same way you should get fired up about having campus activities with other athletes on other teams, and helping the athletic administration put in policies that will benefit the student-athletes. We came back wanting to make a difference not only in our sport on the court, but in athletics as a whole.”
SAAC is designed to help students have an organized voice to speak to issues and topics that directly affect what they are trying to accomplish as students and athletes. Student-athletes have the opportunity to come together, gather ideas and have those some of those ideas implemented through the athletic administration.
Before leaving for Virginia Beach, Mitchell and Cooper had some suggestions they wanted to present to the athletics department. After their return, they felt more empowered to make those suggestions reality.
“We came back with a goal of making changes on our campus by having our voices heard,’’ said Cooper. “We want a stricter study hall to better help our student-athletes academically and to help the department’s APR standing. I think we should have a stricter drug policy. I think having more accountability for our student-athletes will help everyone have better programs.”
Cooper and Mitchell didn’t stop there. Cooper suggested an Amazing Race, to play off of the popular CBS reality show. But instead of racing across the world, Aggie student-athletes could have an amazing race across campus. Mitchell suggested student-athlete retreats and a mangers and trainers appreciation celebration.
“It is time for a change within our school and among our student-athletes,’’ said Cooper. “We have good ideas, we just have to sit down with the administration and work toward making things happen.”
They believe the university’s athletes can be a force in the community as well. Among the ideas they gained at the meeting and want to see happen at N.C. A&T is a penny drive at N.C. A&T basketball games. Half of what they raised would go to the community and the other half would be money raised for SAAC. Cooper also suggested a “toys for tots” drive the group could start over the Christmas Holidays, where alumni and local business could donate money to SAAC to buy toys for underprivileged children.
“We want to give athletes a better sense of the community they live in by having more community events on campus, ‘’ said Cooper. “We know that it is up to us to get the word out about SAAC because not enough people know about it and its usefulness.”
All of Cooper and Mitchell’s time wasn’t spent listening to speeches. Along with other student-athletes from the MEAC, they talked to middle school students about being a student-athlete, preparing for college and staying focused on their academics. The middle school students at Landstown also were able to ask questions of the student-athletes.
“It was a great leadership conference,’’ said Mitchell. “We became better leaders for our community and our campus. We’re still learning how to get some of our ideas put into action, but we see SAAC being a great organization for the athletes in the future.”
