Florida student-athlete leadership seminar at South Fort Myers High

The Florida High School Athletic Association hosted its student-athlete leadership seminar at South Fort Myers High, with athletes throughout Florida discussing greatness on and off the field.

No matter what sport a student-athlete plays, leadership is a vital intangible. Every team has a captain, and at South Fort Myers High, Lazaro Rodrigue craved that role on the basketball court.

“During tryouts and the open gyms before the season started, I was already starting to lift people’s spirits up so that Coach would take notice and know that I can be a captain on this team and lead this team to be better in the future,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez earned the title of captain for the teams he played on. Rodriguez joined other team captains from across the state at the FHSAA student-athlete leadership seminar.

Craig Damon, the executive director of the FHSAA, gave a message to the student-athletes on Tuesday.

“What you put in is what you’ll get out of the event, so make sure you’re engaged,” said Damon.

Student-athletes took many notes as they listened to the guest speakers. They discussed the keys to a successful career on the college stage, the captain’s role and the importance of mental health in sports.

WINK News asked Rodriguez what he learned from the seminar.

“The more you have self-esteem, the more confidence you have in yourself, the more that you can transfer onto others, and it makes those around you better,” said Rodriguez.

Another subject discussed at the seminar was the difficult problem of not having enough referees.