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Marshall and Trees Attend Snell-Shillingford Symposium
by Brittany Marshall '12 and Emily Trees '12
Note: This story also appears in the September issue of the Sho'men Club Newsletter. To become a member of the Sho'men Club, click here.
Four members of the Washington College Athletics community were fortunate enough to attend the 12th annual Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium held at Swarthmore College from January 28-30. Student-athlete representatives, juniors Emily Trees and Brittany Marshall, along with two members of the coaching staff, Abby Cerrone (field hockey) and Sabrina Larmer (volleyball) were presented with a wealth of knowledge concerning the role as a female coach. The event was sponsored by the Centennial Conference and the NCAA Committee for Women's Athletics. This symposium is a chance to female athletes to network and learn about opportunities in the coaching arena.
The symposium is named for Eleanor Frost Snell and Jen Shillingford. Snell, the legendary field hockey coach at Ursinus where she won 674 games, is in the Ursinus Athletics Hall of Fame. Shillingford, who played and coached under Snell at Ursinus. Shillingford went on to serve as a field hockey coach and athletic director at Bryn Mawr for over 20 years prior to her retirement in 1999.
Each day, topics involving concepts such as holding an interview, developing leadership, maintaining personality, and facing the struggles of being a young coach, were presented by mentors followed by group activities and discussions. The student-athletes were also given the opportunity to hear about the history of women's sports, Title IX, skills teaching, and the importance of ethics and conflicts. After each presentation the groups were split up and conference coach mentors guided discussions and answered questions for the athletes, which would better their knowledge in the coaching field.
We both found the presentations regarding leadership, sportsmanship, and skills teaching to be the most beneficial. Both athletes plan to enter some form of coaching career in the future and found the information presented to be truthfully helpful. They were able to interact with other athletes and coaches, which allowed for open conversation and questions.
After dinner, the group was able to speak with a panel of current coaches that range from the youth level through the college level. The floor was open to questions about coaching in general to the specifics of their philosophy.
Several head and assistant coaches from the conference were the leading mentors. Some gave presentations and others were discussion leaders. The mentors and student-athletes were able to talk and ask questions throughout the day about past experiences, methods of coaching, and why each person became a coach.
Both of us had mentors for the symposium. Brittany had Stephanie Wujcik, (Bryn Mawr) and Carly Fry (Dickinson), while Emily had Sam Abrams (Gettysburg), Kaitlyn Hamilton, (Franklin & Marshall) and Jackie Cox (Haverford).
Both explained what they liked the most about the symposium.
"I found the symposium to be extremely beneficial," says Trees. "I hope to be a coach after college and the information provided has really set me in the right direction. I found the conversations and presentation to be most favorable and look forward to coaching in the future. The interactive activities were fun and helped to demonstrate material such as skills teaching and team building."
Marshall explained, "I thought that the portions on Title IX and the history of women's sports was very interesting. It's cool to know how it all started and how much women's sports have developed."
It was a great weekend to learn more about a profession we are hoping to get into when our playing days are over from people who are already there.
