Related Links:
WLA Web Page
WLA Overview (PDF)
WLA Interview With Dr. Kristina Navarro and Amy Edmonds – April 8 (mp3)
WLA Interview With Dr. Kristina Navarro (mp3)
 
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater department of intercollegiate athletics is set to roll out the Warhawk Leadership Academy, a comprehensive student-athlete development program, beginning this spring as a pilot program and continuing with its official kickoff in the fall.
 
According to the mission statement of the WLA, the academy "develops, challenges and supports student-athletes in their continual quest to become world class leaders in athletics, academics and life."
 
The WLA, which developed from the ideas of Director of Athletics Amy Edmonds and Director of Student-Athlete Engagement/Assistant Professor Dr. Kristina Navarro, has been piloted within the Warhawks' Student-Athlete Advisory Committee group this spring before officially taking effect next fall.
 
"The program is going to help student-athletes become more well-rounded and better prepared for life after UW-Whitewater," said Jo Jablonski, a senior on the softball team and the SAAC president. "They'll learn about realizing their strengths, and about what they need to bring to jobs."
 
Athletics administrators and student-athletes also hope the academy helps unite the department's 20 sports under the Warhawk athletics banner.
 
"We're involving all sports, so we hope it creates an all-department atmosphere with Warhawk athletics at the forefront," said Michael Salm, a rising senior on the men's soccer team and the vice president of SAAC. "We're becoming a single unit and educating our freshmen about issues in higher education and on college campuses."
 
According to Navarro, a shift by the NCAA Leadership Development initiatives from a focus on life skills programming to more comprehensive approaches to leadership and career development about conversations with Edmonds and SAAC about piloting this at UW-Whitewater.  Navarro currently serves on an NCAA action team with 10 other individuals across Divisions I, II and III charged to revamp the national curriculum for student-athlete development efforts.
 
"There's a focus on Division III right now, especially in leadership development and career preparation for life after athletics," Navarro said. "We're responding to this shift to provide necessary training for student-athletes not only as they navigate the college experience, but as they enter career fields in life after athletics."
 
The academy focuses on four major cornerstones, which are modeled on current NCAA programmatic changes and include personal enhancement, social responsibility, leadership and career development.  The SAAC sits at the center of these efforts.  The end goal of the academy is to develop prepared professionals for life after athletics. 
 
Freshmen student-athletes will attend academy sessions that focus on the transition to college with focus on personal enhancement and social responsibility. Sessions include interactive workshops that focus on practical self-leadership experience, understanding the Warhawk culture, academic and campus engagement and intentional major exploration.
 
Following completion of the Freshmen year, student-athletes will have the opportunity to join the SAAC as team representatives and focus on Warhawk outreach efforts in the community such as "Reading with the Warhawks", a program that focuses on the development of youth reading skills in local elementary schools.
 
Junior and senior student-athletes will be able to apply to continue to participate in the Veteran Warhawks program.  The Veteran Warhawks program will include additional sessions focused on peer mentorship of Freshmen student-athletes, leadership and career development.
 
The focus of SAAC will remain external with endeavors in Warhawk community outreach and NCAA governance, while the WLA will emphasize internal efforts to help freshmen transition to the college level and prepare Veteran Warhawks for life after graduation. The groups will collaborate on Warhawk outreach efforts to enhance and streamline community and campus outreach. 
 
The Warhawk Leadership Academy will be overseen by Navarro, in consultation with an advisory board consisting of campus partners, coaches and student-athletes.  A major goal of the program is to integrate efforts and promote collaboration among athletics teams and campus. 
 
This spring's pilot group, which includes 55 student-athletes, will take the DISC assessment and complete a three-part career development series. The DISC focuses on understanding human behavior in the context of team settings and will be a fundamental component of the WLA for juniors and seniors. It measures four areas of behavior: Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness that can be applied to how individuals act in a natural state and adapt in team settings.
 
The program's ideals have been well received externally. Navarro and Edmonds presented to approximately 300 collegiate athletics administrators at the NCAA Convention earlier this year.
 
In addition, the program will be featured in NCAA Champion, a magazine distributed to the entire NCAA membership, in late April.
 
"What we're working on this semester specifically is going to our coaches and having our student-athletes weigh in as part of this pilot program so we can guide and shepherd our process," Navarro said. "It's efficiently engaging our student-athletes on campus, in the classroom and in the community in addition to continuing to pursue athletics excellence."
 
"The program will be accessible to every sport. With that, we see a lot of opportunity and flexibility to incorporate it in the offseason and in season for our student-athletes."
 
Navarro, in partnership with Edmonds and assistant director of athletics for development Tim Kelly, plan to reach out to the deans of different colleges at the university for their support. In addition, donors and corporate sponsors, such as Northwestern Mutual, have expressed strong interest in supporting this effort.  Current campus partners in this effort include Career and Leadership Development, the Center for Disabilities, Academic Advising and Exploration, the First Year Experience office, Learning Communities and Warhawk alumni.
 
Navarro, who has worked in intercollegiate athletics at the University of North Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said the WLA is a logical fit for Division III despite its primary prevalence at the Division I level.
 
"It's very unique," Navarro said. "A lot of academies currently exist at the Division I level, but I see it as being more of a focus of need at the Division III where very few students go professional in sport.  I think it's unique in the fact that we're able to collaborate with so many entities and prepare student-athletes for career fields outside of athletics pursuits."
 
Here's what UW-Whitewater coaches and administrative staff are saying about the Warhawk Leadership Academy:
 
Amy Edmonds, Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
"The Warhawk Leadership Academy is going to offer the necessary skill set for our student-athletes to continue to grow into professionals by the time they leave UW-Whitewater. Dr. Navarro has a breadth of knowledge to develop an effective curriculum. The academy will be collaborative with departments on campus and in our community as well as be in line with what the NCAA is looking to do in the future. I am elated to provide this opportunity for our intercollegiate athletic programs."
 
Kevin Bullis, Head Football Coach
"The Warhawk Leadership Academy gives us an opportunity as coaches and an athletic department to give students the full college student-athlete experience. The academy typifies that aspect of recruitment. It's consistent with the Division III philosophy. That's ultimately what our job's all about, is creating that student-athlete experience."
 
Ryan Quamme, Head Women's Soccer Coach
"I think the Warhawk Leadership Academy will give our students another resource to help them as student-athletes, developing both on the soccer field and for their future endeavors. Leadership is something we strongly encourage in our program, but it's a hard thing to educate our players on from a time and resource standpoint. Anything that can help our players grow individually and have a trickle-down effect on our team to provide leadership is a great asset to the student-athlete and our athletic programs."
 
Brenda Volk, Head Softball Coach
"One of our jobs as coaches is to help develop the student-athlete both on and off the field. I believe being involved in athletics helps develop lifelong skills that student-athletes will use throughout their lives. The Warhawk Leadership Academy is another opportunity for our student-athletes to develop and grow in many different areas.
 
"Over my 17 years of coaching, it seems that there are less individuals that want to step up and be that leader that is needed on a team, or they just don't know how to be a leader. I feel this is a great opportunity to develop those skills right away as freshmen and beyond. The Leadership Academy is also another opportunity for freshmen to get involved in something unique and help set them up for success early in their college career."