Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Minutes

September 11, 2019

Meeting was called to order with the following members present: Carly Campbell, Sydney Lane, Riley Bell, Halle Brester, Faith Carpenter, Payton Douglass, Sydney Hartsock, Jasmine Rumley, Helaina Hillyard, Kylie Morrison, and Katie Carver.  Jean Berger, Gary Ross, Jason Eslinger, and Lisa Brinkmeyer represented the IGHSAU.

Brinkmeyer welcomed Committee members including new members, Helaina Hillyard, Kylie Morrison, and Katie Carver.  Brinkmeyer spoke about the important role and mission of the Committee.

Berger shared information from the National High School Federation on participation numbers for high school sports at the national and state levels.  Committee looked at participation numbers in Iowa: sports that have decreased in participation and sports that have increased in participation.  Berger challenged each of them to think about the reasoning for this.  Also, what additional sports do they think the IGHSAU should consider adding.

 Committee members participated in an ice-breaker activity.  The activity involved sharing their name, high school, and various information about themselves. 

Brinkmeyer had members participate in a “Color Activity” which identified the student’s personality and style of interaction.  Committee members were able to identify characteristics for each of the four colors (blue, gold, green, and orange).  This activity was a fun way for the Committee to analyze themselves and some of the traits and characteristics they possess.  It also explained ways for them to work with people who have characteristics of the different colors.

Meeting dates were discussed for the 2019-20 school year.  The Committee supported three face-to-face meetings during the school year:  fall meeting on Wednesday, September 11; winter meeting in January on a Wednesday; and a spring meeting near the beginning of May on a Wednesday. In addition, Committee members will assist at the State Volleyball and State Basketball Tournaments and any other state tournament they would be interested in assisting with.  Committee members will serve in various roles, with the emphasis on being student ambassadors for the IGHSAU and provide some visibility for the “Iowa Girl.” 

Brinkmeyer asked for feedback for the Committee’s goals and expectations for the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.  The Committee shared the following suggestions:

  1. Concussion Communication – committee will be researching some videos that may be used by schools to provide information to coaches and athletes related to the symptoms and repercussions of concussions.
  2. Sportsmanship Projects – IGHSAU posters for locker rooms, video board PSAs with Student-Athlete Advisory members; signage at venues, recordings from the students to be read at events.
  3. Feature Student-Athlete Advisory Committee members with their impact in their home districts. Brinkmeyer asked the students to connect with their local school boards of education to share their experiences of serving on the SAAC.

The Committee participated in a group activity.   The Committee was divided into three groups (each focused on a class of high school volleyball…2A, 3A, 4A/5A).  Committee members were given the list of the schools in each of the classes.  They were tasked with locating and marking the schools on their respective maps of Iowa. They then created post-season regional assignments for volleyball based upon the rankings and geographical location.  Committee members worked together to create the regional assignments through problem-solving and compromise. Following the activity, the Committee members shared their Regional assignments, discussed their challenges and shared what they learned from the activity.

The Committee members were given a tour of the IGHSAU.

With no further business, meeting adjourned at 2:00 pm.

Gary Ross
IGHSAU