by Lori Waters
Staff Writer
Dan Doyle came to the University of La Verne to speak about leadership, sportsmanship and diversity on Feb. 21 in Founders Auditorium.
Along with the Leopard athletes present during Doyle’s speech, President Stephen Morgan and Athletic Director Jimmy Paschal also attended.
Doyle runs 11 programs; one of his major programs is the scholar-athlete games.
Doyle talked about what it means to be a team player, all the while showing great diversity, leadership and sportsmanship.
“Take your time to observe leadership,” he said.
He also talked about learning how to gain leadership on and off the court and playing field.
“Honor a great athlete and praise a scholar athlete,” he said.
One of the first questions he asked the room full of prospects was,
“How many think we’ll survive the 21st century with 20th century ethics?”
In response to this, Doyle quoted a man named Rush Kidder:
“Make point; by the time our kids are in school, we will have no choice but to get along and become ethical,” he said.
Doyle defined ethics as obedience to the unenforceable; this means doing the right thing when no one is watching, he said.
Doyle also asked, “What is the definition of sportsmanship?”
Jack Coberly, men’s volleyball coach, responded, “Reasonable fair play amongst each other, and the ability to honor the other team.”
“Gamesmanship” was another topic Doyle touched on.
“This is the art and practice of winning games by means of unsportsmanlike conduct that doesn’t exactly break the rules.” Doyle said.
Doyle noted that the value of teamwork is the sum of fair play, sportsmanship, dealing with losses and competitive self-restraint.
“Although I’m not a top athlete in my sport, it encouraged me to take a stand and take charge when it is necessary and needed,” said Ejé Ash, a track and field athlete.
Toward the end of the event, Doyle was asked: “What do you get out of talking to athletes?”
“I want to get them to think outside of the box,” Doyle said.
“The values and opinions of others achieve integrity and honesty.”
Journalism operations manager at the University of La Verne. Production manager and business manager of the Campus Times.