Student Athlete Program Overview
Goal
Participants in this program will focus on developing, enhancing or improving areas such as: personal, team and community growth, academic focus, transition in life stage, long lasting relationships, social skills and creating an exciting collegiate athletic experience by reducing consequences from poor decision making and lapses of judgment.
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Character development
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Academic improvement
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Identify individual personality strengths and challenges
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Personality assessments completed to support team work and improve coachability
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Personality assessments completed with recruits in order to help determine team fit and also how best to communicate how the individuals strengths will contribute to their individual success as well as the team success.
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Increase readiness for entry into the workforce post-graduation
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Reduce or eliminate University sanctions
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Increase awareness of university, team and NCAA guidelines
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Increased awareness of high-risk behaviors
Peer-Based Support Roles and Function
Support services, as the term is used here, refers to non-clinical services that are designed to help initiate and sustain individual and team success and character development. All products and services delivered within this program are grounded in the peer-based modality of supportive services.
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Peer-Based support services will be provided by an individual, or team of individuals, meeting with the athletes on a weekly basis to provide:
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Emotional support—demonstrations of empathy, caring, and concern in such activities as peer mentoring and life coaching.
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Informational support—provision of health and wellness information; educational assistance; and help in acquiring new skills, ranging from life skills to skills in college readiness.
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Instrumental support—concrete assistance in task accomplishment, especially with stressful or unpleasant tasks such as academic pressures, social pressures, organizational obligations, and parental expectations.
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Leadership —helping students within the team to feel connected, identify and achieve goals both socially, behaviorally and academically and develop necessary life skills to achieve identified success both in college and in the future.
The peer-based support service providers deliver weekly services in an informal manner. This
creates an open atmosphere of engagement and student participation.
Speaking Engagements and Workshops
Dr. Downs takes an approach that empowers young men and women to take the information given and apply critical thinking skills by relating to the subject mater and creating a space that is completely judgement free
Young adults do not respond to information or behavioral suggestions that are spoken at them versus spoken with them. In his workshops, Dr. Downs engages the audience in a way that will create space for their thoughts to be respected and a collaboration is formed to order to better pass along the information that is needed.
Young adults (age range of 18-28) are experiencing the stage of lifespan development that is arguably the most stressful, chaotic, and uncertain of their lives. However, this is where they have the opportunity to develop their identity and life skills that will propel them forward into a success future. Every workshop, program development, and talk that Dr. Downs does has this vitally important information as a core principle.
Topics of workshop include but not limited to:
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Alcohol and other drugs: The relationship and role of substance abuse and misuse among the young adult population
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Legacy: The value of building a foundation of greatness
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Sexual Assault
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Social Media: benefits and dangers and why its so powerful
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Recovery Solutions – how to maximize your recovery potential using a multitude of reasons
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Resiliency: Taking the opportunity to find success no matter what
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Leadership: Leaders create leaders