Five Susquehanna Student-Athletes Selected to Attend NCAA Career in Sports Forum

INDIANAPOLIS -- Five female Susquehanna University student-athletes have been chosen to attend the 2010 NCAA Career in Sports Forum from May 11-14 at the Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis.

Juniors Sara Bartoletti (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./James M. Coughlin), Taylor Crawford (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley HS), Natasha Eisenhart (Womelsdorf, Pa./Conrad Weiser) and Samantha Farina (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) and sophomore Kate Reese (Wellsboro, Pa./Wellsboro Area) will represent Susquehanna. SU will be the only Landmark Conference member institution represented at the forum.

Bartoletti (infielder), Crawford (infielder), Eisenhart (outfielder) and Reese (infielder) all play softball, while Farina is a defender on the women's soccer team. Eisenhart is also a goalkeeper on the field hockey team, and Reese is a defensive specialist for women's volleyball.

Over the four-day event, the student-athletes will learn about the key functions of a coach or administrator within sports and such skills as communication, networking, recruiting, managing culture, transitioning and budgeting at a college institution.

While at the forum, three different objectives will be covered: personal, organizational and benefits for collegiate athletics.

The personal objective will allow the student-athletes to see how personal values intersect with opportunities while choosing a career in sports. They will also have a better understanding of how behavioral styles impact individual effectiveness, and they will create actionable plans for personal growth and development.

In the organization portion, they will learn a realistic view of roles by coaches and administrators; examine the viability of part-time or full-time positions as a coach, administrator or official; and how they will benefit from the opportunity to network with decision-makers from other institutions and the NCAA.

Lastly, the participants will learn how collegiate athletics benefits from marketing of coaching, administration and officiating as viable professions. Also, myths about careers in athletics will be dispelled, and they will increase their knowledge about people interested in serving student-athletes.