INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) held its 2023 Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) leadership retreat on Saturday and Sunday. The two-day event saw student athletes from the member campuses ascend upon Indianapolis, Ind. for a retreat that focused on providing leadership training and other personal growth opportunities for the participants.

HCAC SAAC Leadership Retreat Photo Album
 
The retreat kicked off with the HCAC SAAC Leadership participating in a bocce event with our Special Olympics Indiana partner. The majority of the afternoon was spent overseeing the NCAA Division III and Special Olympics have fostered a long standing partnership, with the HCAC excited to continue working with its local partners.
 
After the Bocce tournament, the participants took part in a personal assessment workshop aimed at improving teamwork, communication, and productivity. Through a partnership with the NCAA, who provided the DISC (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness) assessment, facilitator Kimberly Fort (Associate Director of Legal Operations | NCAA) worked with the attendees to understand their personal assessment to encourage personal growth. Fort has worked in the National office for nine years. She received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Indiana University. Fort saysa she enjoys the work that we do at the National Office for the student athlete and is grateful for the opportunity to engage in this way. "It keeps fresh in my mind why we do what we do." 
 
Day one was capped off by a session at the Game Show Battle Rooms, Indianapolis. The group went head-to-head in a custom game show arena in three different games.
 
On Sunday, the participants took part in learning about future legislation on the National SAAC level. This meeting was presented by our National SAAC Representative, Noah LaBelle (Men's Soccer | Anderson University). Following the legislation presentation, the students partook in DIII One Team training, as presented by Cori Collinswoth (Head Softball Coach | Hanover College). 

The HCAC hosted a league-wide SAAC meeting, with attendees connecting with members of the 10 campuses across the three states that make up the conference. The group discussed initiatives for 2023-24, including focuses on team support, Division III week preparation, mental health, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Anderson SAAC President Noah LaBelle as well as Tate Ivanyo took part in the HCAC SAAC Retreat.

Some attendees shared their thoughts following the retreat below:

"The HCAC SAAC retreat was an amazing weekend filled with fun and laughter as well as extremely productive meetings and training that will benefit the leadership of the HCAC moving forward," LaBelle said.
 
"I really enjoyed the DISC workshop we did yesterday!" said Kyle Reese, a Men's Volleyball player from Mount St. Joseph Univerity.  "I feel like we all got a better understanding of who we are individually and how to let people know how to interact with us best. The game show we did last night was a blast as well. We all had a great time. I'm very excited to take the various legislations back to campus to see everyone's opinions!"

Natalie Day, a Women's Track & Field athlete from Hanover College said, "I'd say my favorite part was meeting other athletes from our conference and sharing our experiences and connecting through our sports, I also loved working the bocce ball tourney and watching all the teams cheer everyone on a seeing how special the event was for them." Day also added, "I'll take a lot back from what we learned this morning back to campus. I always want to make sure everyone feels safe and heard on my team and learning how to be more aware and how the little things like word choice can make others feel accepted is something I will always keep in mind."

Overall, 20 HCAC student-athletes from ten of the HCAC's institutions were in attendance to develop personally and professionally, while learning key concepts to take back to their campus.