Nebo School District hosts students’ Captains Academy

On Jan. 8, Nebo School District held the Captains Academy on leadership and sportsmanship. Winter Captains Academy is held three times each year and includes captains from high school and junior high school teams and organizations including boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball, wrestling, boys’ swimming, girls’ swimming, drill team, band and student council.

Nebo School District Athletic Coordinator Everett Kelepolo said, “Our mission is to teach the value of competition, improve the athletic skill and develop sportsmanship. We hope through the Captains Academy that we can help students, coaches and administrators understand the impact we can have on leadership and sportsmanship throughout our district and state.”

Kelepolo and Nebo School District Superintendent Rick Nielsen started the academy by welcoming student leaders from 12 schools from across Nebo School District.

Payson High School Athletic Director Brian Argyle led a discussion on “What is a leader?” Then the students worked in groups to answer the questions “What is a leader?” and “What is the role of a captain?”

All of the student captains sat at tables with their peers from other high schools. They listened to each presenter and then worked collaboratively to present back to the entire group their position and ideas.

Springville High School Athletic Director Cathi Jarvis, who is also the current Athletic Director of the Year for the state of Utah, introduced “Sportsmanship.” The students worked in groups again to answer the questions “How can we as leaders instill sportsmanship at our school?” and “How can we instill better sportsmanship at our school?”

The keynote speech was given by Roger Reid, former college and NBA basketball coach. His motivating speech was the highlight of the morning. Many of the captains could be heard saying that the academy was inspiring.

A big thank you to Laura Salazar, Communications Director at Intermountain Healthcare, for the delicious lunch provided for the captains and leaders.

Captains and leaders of teams and groups at Nebo School District junior high schools and high schools met in January for the district’s Captains Academy on leadership and sportsmanship. Above are the students who attended from district junior high...

Above are the high school students who attended Nebo School District’s Captains Academy.