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SAN ANTONIO — Last week was quite busy for UTSA student-athletes and their coaches, as they participated in several charity and development activities.
The Roadrunners baseball and volleyball programs served dinner to wounded warriors and their families on Saturday, Jan. 14, at the Warrior and Family Support Center at Fort Sam Houston. Members of both teams spent the evening visiting with the soldiers while taking in the NFL playoff games. It was another in a long line of UTSA involvement in the NCAA-supported Wounded Warrior Project.
The next day, Roadrunners coaches spent the evening with Becky Bedicks, a speaker from Janssen Sports Leadership. The programming is an annual event where coaches polish their own leadership skills, while learning new techniques to develop the leadership of their student-athletes. This year’s presentation focused on communication techniques with the current generation of recruits and student-athletes.
Following the coaches’ session, current UTSA student-athlete leaders from each sport honed their own leadership skills in sessions for emerging leaders (freshmen/sophomores) and veteran leaders (juniors/seniors). The emerging leaders focused on the leadership model, while learning expectations and practices of great leaders. Meanwhile, the veteran leaders spent the morning polishing their skills in encouraging and enforcing leadership.
Last Thursday-Friday, Jan. 19-20, more than 100 UTSA student-athletes, coaches and staff spent two six-hour shifts helping build a new home for a wounded warrior. The build was the subject of the final episode of the hit ABC television show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." The group was involved in everything from stacking and sifting rocks to laying paver stones and assisting with the install of tile. The evening provided a great opportunity for the group to give back to the local community and a local hero, while also learning a few skills around the house.
"We are fortunate that UTSA provides us with fantastic leadership training," women's golf head coach Carrie Parnaby said. "Our goal is for these programs to benefit our student-athletes while they are at UTSA and after they graduate. I have experienced first hand over the past three years what a positive impact this training has had on our women's golf team."
"The team was so excited to be a part of 'Extreme Makeover Home Edition'," soccer head coach Steve Ballard said. "It did not disappoint. Even the 2-8 a.m. shift was an opportunity each of our players relished and came away with a great feeling. What we gave was small compared to what we received and it was a great team builder for a great wounded warrior and his family.”