Above The Line

The+poster+for+the+club.

Naomi Fifita

The poster for the club.

Naomi Fifita, Staff Writer

This year, teacher Nicholas Bender started a new club called ‘Above the Line.’ This club is a way to teach leadership. Bender has opened this to athletes for now but wants to make it open for all students. He explains where he got his idea and what he plans to achieve using this new club.

“It is based off of a book about Urban Meyer. Throughout his career he was one of those grinders who just pushed himself to the point where he had some medical issues. He took time off from football and eventually got a job at Ohio State. Once he got that job, he wanted to make it more than just about football, so he hooked up with a leadership group, the Kight father and son team. They came in and had leadership counsels with his team. He noticed the moment that he took care of the leadership side of things the sports side took care of itself too. This is applicable to not only football but all sports, all life and everything on how to handle your mental wellness,” Bender said.

Bender shared this book with other coaches, staff and the principal. They used the football team as an experiment for the club first, and then opened it up to all athletics and plan to make it school-wide soon. They wish to get everybody on the same page no matter what sport or activity they are a part of.

“When a kid goes from one sport to another we can just flat out use the same terms, even though the scheme and sport are the exact opposite. We can say ‘Hey is that above the line behavior?’ or ‘Are you controlling your six square feet?’ So, now there is carry over between all the sports. In theory it should make our job easier as educators and coaches because we can all draw upon that same baseline,” Bender said.

The ‘Above the Line’ standard means having above average behavior. Students have the opportunity to learn about effective leadership and how to have a positive influence on others. This club can impact the lives of students with their future careers and leadership opportunities they might have.

“The thought is that this is more of a leadership counsel for athletics. So, this is a way to meet with kids but not talk about sports, just talk about what it’s like to be a responsible human being and what it’s like to live a life with resiliency,” Bender said.