COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – Haverford College juniors Emma Bracker and Abi Moeller joined head women’s soccer coach Jamie Gluck at the 2014 Snell-Shillingford Symposium hosted by the Centennial Conference at Ursinus College on January 25-26.
The 15th annual weekend-long event brings together female athlete representatives and coaches from the conference’s member schools to participate in sessions designed to empower women in the coaching profession and to encourage them to take up the legacy of those who have gone before them.
Bracker and Moeller were members of a group of 26 participants from the 11 conference schools that spent time listening to guest speakers as well as an assortment of current Centennial coaches, who imparted the lessons they have gleaned over the course of their careers. Coach Gluck shared the importance of planning with the end in mind during her presentation on Saturday while other sessions touched on topics such as different coaching styles, ethics, leading with personality, equity and inclusion, developing your coaching philosophy and interview strategies.
Bracker, a member of Haverford’s women’s lacrosse team, enjoyed the weekend. “My favorite presentation was about how personality affects coaching and team dynamics,” said Bracker. “I also found the talk on Title IX and the history of women in sports to be informative. The speaker put an emphasis on ‘knowing where you come from, that leads to where you are’ and the need to continue on that path.”
Moeller grew in her appreciation of her opportunity to play soccer at the collegiate level as the symposium gave her a greater understanding about the struggle women faced just to be allowed to compete. Reflecting on the fact that only a small percentage of top coaching jobs and athletic directors belong to women, Moeller believes “the Snell-Shillingford Symposium showed how important it is to change that statistic.” The experience definitely left a lasting impression on Moeller as she offered, “it was inspiring to see so many young women enthusiastic about giving back and contributing to athletics programs.”
The symposium, which took place at Haverford in 2012, honors the contributions and commitment of two of the most influential women in the coaching profession, Eleanor Frost Snell and Jen Shillingford. Miss Snell, as she was known to her students, served Ursinus College as a professor of health and physical education, coach, and head of the women’s physical education department for four decades, from 1931 to 1971. In keeping with the program’s emphasis on mentoring and passing on the education of coaches from one generation to the next, the symposium also bears the name of Snell’s student and mentee, Jen Shillingford, who served as field hockey coach and athletic director for over 20 years at Bryn Mawr and president of the United States Field Hockey Association (USFHA).