Special Olympics' ALPs (
Athlete Leadership Programs)
Leadership = Dedication as
a role model to guide & motivate others as well as ourselves in order to 'make a
difference' ~ with optimism!!
http://www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Leader
http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0312702/beleader.htm
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/smallbusinesslearning/a/leadership1.htm
*http://www.kiwanisone.org/Pages/Leader/default.aspx?PageID=239
<> Kiwanis Leader Resources ~ Leadership
Conversations
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A leader plans.
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A leader has a
vision.
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A leader shares
his/her vision.
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A leader takes
charge.
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A leader inspires
through example.
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ALPs allows athletes to explore opportunities to participate in Special Olympics outside of sports.
Such participation might come in the form of an athlete serving on the Board of Directors or local organizing
committee; or it might find an athlete as a spokesperson, coach or official. <
Special Olympics IN ALPs info ~
SOI ALPS info > |
ALPs University 2008.
ALPs University 2011 Dates Set
The
2011 Spring ALPs will be in April, a Friday and Saturday. The
2011 Fall ALPs is set for November -- each at the
Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis IN.
Read on to learn about Special Olympics Indiana -
Marion County athlete Heather Himes' experience becoming an athlete leader and
her tips on finding and keeping good ALPs Helpers:
"My name is Heather
Himes and I’m an athlete with Indy Sports Club in Indianapolis. Five
years ago I was asked to become an Athlete leader with Special Olympics. I found
out that my mom couldn’t be my mentor and I had to find a non-family member to
work with. It took over a year to find someone who would make the time
commitment. As I started attending classes I found that I really enjoyed
learning about how Special Olympics runs and meeting the people who run it. As I
come close to graduation we are trying to find new members and mentors for them.
Finding athletes is not the
issue however getting mentors to commit to the program seems impossible. We have
been able to find adults to go to one university but not make the commitment for
more than that. Some ideas for finding mentors are as follows:
- Having
loving family members on a probationary period to see if they
can follow the ALPS rules.
- Letting
ALPS mentors know that they are important to the success of the
program.
- Having a
thank-you dinner for mentors so they know their appreciated.
- Having
written expectations so that the mentors know they are their for
the athletes success in the program.
- Having ALPS
members tell their stories so that possible mentors understand
what it means to the athletes to be able to participate in ALPS.
- Having the
state office add Mentor of the Year given by the
athlete.
I would like to close by saying
that my hope is that we can have more mentors for our athletes to grow and
succeed in this program. I personally have a good relationship with my mentor
and have been able to participate as an athlete leader because my attendance has
been made possible from my mentor’s commitment. I would like to see that
possibility for all athletes."
ALPs University 2009 ... was held April 4-5 again
at CTS. Those athletes attending were: Jason Plante, Sondra McGowan, and
Meara Bottomley. Thanks to our mentors for the weekend: Peggy Hoover, Jan
Beeker, and Bob Plante!
Watch for a possible 2nd ALPs U later this year!?!
ALPs
classes are one-on-one athlete to mentor. It's always a fun, learning
weekend!! PLEASE consider being a mentor for a special athlete!
ALPs University 2008 ... was held in two
semesters: April 5-6 + November 15-16 -- same place, same timing! Picture below is from ALPs NOV 2008!
ALPs University 2007 ... was held April 14 & 15 at
the Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis. Those in attendance from
Tippecanoe County: athletes - Shane Hart & Brian Glick; mentors - Jennifer
Hoover & Peggy Hoover. Jennifer also assisted with Saturday morning
registration. Now our athletes have 6 months to complete their
practicum for class credit! Encouragement from all athletes and volunteers is very welcome!!
Brian Glick along with Mike Furnish of SOIN was
surprised with recognition of SOIN ALPs beginnings, ~10 years ago, & ALPs
University, ~5 years ago. Congratulations SOIN ALPs!!!
CALLOUT!!
...for additional ALPs athletes == each & every month! Meeting dates/times and other points of
interest can be adjusted with your input - but only if you attend meetings!!
ALPs ~ Global ALPs Task Force - Dublin, Ireland
One athlete and two coaches from Tippecanoe County attended the Global ALPS Task Force [/ Athlete Congress] meeting in
July [2002]. ALPs, or Athlete Leadership Programs, are aimed at giving athletes more of a role in
Special Olympics. The meeting was held in Dublin, Ireland, which will host the 2003 World Special Olympics Games.
Tippecanoe County athlete Brian Glick has been a part of the ALPs Task Force since it was formed
in 1999. Tippecanoe County coach Lyn Doyle attended the meeting with Brian as
his helper. Brian works with an initiative to get more Special Olympics athletes
involved in coaching. Brian has been a coach and assistant coach in softball and basketball.
Brian Glick is working with Kathy Brown of Special Olympics Inc. on the
"Athletes as Coaches" initiative.
Other initiatives include athletes as officials, an initiative coordinated by Tippecanoe County coach Mike
Doyle; Global Messengers, a program that has athletes giving speeches to various
groups; athletes on boards; athletes and the media; and athlete input councils and congress.
At the meeting in Dublin, Task Force members heard that Special Olympics Inc. has approved their proposals
on both Athlete and Coach Codes of Conduct. The codes set minimum standards of
conduct for athletes and coaches. Local programs can add to these codes.
-Lyn Doyle-
SOIN Tippe Week Fund Raiser
ALPs athletes, with just a bit of assistance for dedicated volunteers, did great work towards organizing and running
the first SOIN Tippe Week fund raiser September 7-13, 2003. THANKS to ALL involved for their wonderful efforts and talents!!
Check out some of SOIN Tippe Week's activities.
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