First-year student athletes soon will have more guidance from their peers as they begin their University experiences if the Athletic Department implements a student-formulated plan.
A team of five University athletes presented a plan developed to enhance orientation procedures as a part of the 14th annual "Athletic Prevention Programming and Leadership Education" conference hosted this weekend by the University's Center for Alcohol and Substance Education at the Doubletree Hotel.
Forty-five colleges and universities, from all NCAA athletic divisions, participated in this year's APPLE conference, which boasted approximately 230 attendees from Maine to South Carolina.
Each participating school sent a team of five student athletes and a team leader to develop substance abuse policies for their respective schools.
The University's tradition of student self-governance was the initial inspiration for the APPLE conference, said Joe Gieck, the conference's organizer and a University professor of sports medicine and life skills director.
"The program is unique in the fact that it gives student athletes a voice to develop their own substance abuse policies," Gieck said. "We're just here to give structure and guidelines."
Teams attended lectures and presentations from a wide range of speakers in order to develop a goal and subsequent action plan in the category of their choice.
The University's team of athletes chose to develop a plan within the "Education" category.
"We want to provide first-year athletes with more information about what to expect academically and athletically at U.Va.," said Kerry Maher, a sophomore on the women's rowing team.
She added that a component of their plan is to further inform student athletes what they are required to do and stay away from in terms of substance abuse.
Davon Robb, a sophomore on the football team, said the group plans to develop stronger mentoring relationships between upperclassmen and first years as a part of their orientation program.
In one presentation, Joel Fish, an expert in sports psychology, warned student athletes about the negative effects of hazing.
"Hazing is a moral, ethical and legal issue," Fish said. "In the year 2005, the line where tradition stops and hazing starts is very important."
Fish went on to suggest alternative options for team building activities such as community service or team dinners.
Following the conference, the University athletes in attendance said they will return to Grounds to implement the action plans they developed at the conference.
"It's an ongoing process," Gieck added.
The University received a grant to host the event from the NCAA Committee on Competitive Safeguards and Medical Aspects of Sports 14 years ago and has hosted two conferences annually since then, one in Charlottesville and one on the West coast, Gieck said.
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