The Lyceum is alive with conversation as athletes fill the room, ready to discuss and analyze what it means to be a leader at the Titan Leadership Academy, Courtney Middleton, Associate Athletic Director and head of the program, said.

The Titan Leadership Academy has been supporting students in leadership roles within South athletics for 11 years, Middleton said. Students are first nominated to the program by their coaches, then they meet at the Lyceum in the morning every two weeks to discuss how to be better members of their teams. Any athlete who wants to focus on becoming a better leader for their team can join, Middleton explained. Middleton has worked with the academy since before Covid-19. Now, she and David Schoenwetter, Social Studies Teacher and Varsity Head Football Coach, work together as the leaders of Titan Leadership Academy to ensure that students are able to work collaboratively with their peers in the program, Middleton said.

This past year, the academy has made changes to meeting logistics in order to reach more students and promote their sportsmanship mantra, Middleton said.

“We are trying to put our athletes in positions to explore integrity, teamwork, and accountability a little bit deeper [within their sports],” Middleton said.

The lessons taught at the meetings can be applied to students’ lives, Middleton said. Middleton’s ultimate goal for the program is to instill the core principles of the academy in their athletes: Team, Integrity, Toughness, Adapt, Now success (TITAN). Each meeting focuses on how to apply a different core principle of the academy to real-life situations the leaders may encounter, junior Maggie Scheftner, girls’ varsity lacrosse player, said.

Junior Paul Heggie, JV football player, has fostered better sportsmanship and learned to embrace team culture because of his work with the academy, he said. Attending academy meetings has changed Heggie’s perspective on what it means to be a successful leader that upholds the Titan values. Each meeting closes with a reflection on what each athlete can do to help their respective teams, Heggie said.

“[Titan Leadership Academy] helps me focus on how to elevate others around me and create a winning culture for my team,” Heggie said.

Not only does the club help implement core principles into sports, it also helps the athletes pause and look at their team as a whole. The academy has made Scheftner more deliberate in her decisions in both lacrosse and cross country, overall making her a more effective leader, she explained.

“[Middleton and Schoenwetter] make you think about how your actions affect the culture of your team,” Scheftner said. “They make you a better leader.”