Central High School’s Student Athlete Leadership Organization is using monthly discussions and service assignments to develop student leaders in Traverse City. Now in its fifth year, SALO has mentored more than 150 students, with some participating for multiple years.
Around 40 to 50 students meet over lunch each month. Athletic director Justin Thorington asks the school’s 26 varsity coaches to nominate students who guide their peers or could grow into leadership roles. He says the program is not limited to the most talented players or team captains.
The SALO program centers leadership on service, Thorington told The Ticker. He says a leader’s role is not to boss people around, but to make others better through self-sacrifice. The program aims to help students become stronger citizens as well as develop skills that may help them as job candidates.
Central High School’s Leadership Work Moves Beyond Meetings
Monthly sessions include open and small-group discussions about leadership topics. Students can raise challenges and share successes, and the group sometimes hosts guest speakers. NFL tight end Darren Waller was one speaker last year.
SALO members also put the ideas into practice through three initiatives: Central Strong, TCAPS Strong and SALO Strong. Central Strong sends students to support non-athletic school events. At the school’s band expo, for example, SALO members cheered for fellow Trojans.
Thorington says student athletes are among the school’s most visible groups, and Central Strong uses that visibility to support a more inclusive school environment. The initiative highlights school activities that may not usually receive the same attention.
Students Put Leadership Into Community Service
TCAPS Strong brings SALO students to elementary schools to interact with younger students. Thorington describes the aim as bridging the gap between current and future Trojans.
SALO Strong has changed from a set of community service activities into a partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan. Each SALO student serves as a big brother or big sister. Thorington says students take what they learn in monthly meetings into these responsibilities each semester.
The school also sees a role for student leaders in addressing problems among their peers. Thorington said SALO students intervened after crass behavior in the student section at a volleyball game. He said it can be difficult for students to challenge their peers in the moment, but described that courage as a lasting leadership skill.
Lorelai Zielinski, a senior who competes in track and basketball, is in her third year with SALO. She told The Ticker that the group helped her include others in conversations and communicate better with teammates, including during hardships on teams.
Leadership Extends Across the School
Central Principal Ben Berger called Thorington’s work with SALO innovative and upstream thinking. Berger said the school has seen a great increase in sportsmanship on and off the field since SALO began.
Thorington says students apply what they learn in monthly meetings as they complete different leadership responsibilities each semester, including their work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan.
Grit Daily has also examined how leadership responsibilities change across organizations, including leadership demands for businesses. Other coverage has looked at leadership changes at Iveco and business leaders discussing climate strategy.
