HAVERFORD, Pa. – Haverford College sophomores Skyler Ellenburg (women's soccer) and Elena Veale (field hockey) joined head women's soccer coach Jamie Schneck at the 2016 Snell-Shillingford Symposium hosted by the Centennial Conference at Bryn Mawr College on April 1-2.

The 17th 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.

The group, which included student-athletes from each of the Centennial Conference's 11 institutions, 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 Schneck 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.

For both Haverford student-athletes, the symposium left a lasting impression. "The Snell-Shillingford Symposium strengthened my appreciation for my current and former coaches, my knowledge of the history of female sport, and my relationship with the Centennial Conference. Through the coaches' presentations and my conversations with fellow Centennial women, I have gained a deeper connection to coaching and my role as a female athlete," commented Ellenburg.

Veale also came out of the presentations with a renewed interest in her coaching future. "The Snell-Shillingford Coaching Symposium re-sparked my interest in becoming a coach. I furthered my knowledge of what it means to lead a team and be a role model. I recommend this symposium to any female athlete interested in coaching and continuing to develop female sport."

The symposium, which also included a Coaches in Action session with the Haverford College women's lacrosse team hosting McDaniel on Saturday, 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).