Verdoia and Goodrie joined representatives from the league’s other eight member schools in discussing ideas for the 2013-14 year. The team decided to focus the conference’s community service around youth, also discussing NCAA legislation, and made plans for a WAC-wide competition to raise money for charity. The group also spent time volunteering at the local Boys and Girls club as part of their weekend stay in Denver.
The 2013-14 school year will be Seattle U’s second season in the WAC, remaining in the league alongside Idaho and New Mexico State, while welcoming six newcomers including Utah Valley, Bakersfield, Chicago State, Grand Canyon, UTPA, and UMKC.
Below is a firsthand account from Goodrie and Verdoia about their experience in Denver during the retreat.
ALEC GOODRIE, VOLLEYBALL
The WAC SAAC conference was an amazing experience and it was so wonderful to meet some of the new members of the 2013-2014 WAC. It was a very long weekend packed with community service and meetings, but Stephanie and I both received an amazing opportunity to learn how to help our student-athletes. As a SAAC member, I really want our student-athletes to graduate in four years from Seattle University and to say that they had an amazing experience as a student-athlete here. I want our student-athletes to finish college and be confident that Seattle U gave them enough resources to help succeed in life after graduation. As a committee we decided that we were going to focus our community service efforts around youth. We came up with some ideas like hosting events to promote drug free living, nutrition, and education (just to name a few). The Friday that we arrived in Denver we went to the Boys and Girls club for their last day before school started. The kids were having an end-of-summer party and they were having a talent show, so the group decided that we were going to have an act for the show. So we all went up there in front of the kids and started dancing to the song, "Teach Me How to Dougie". Normally I would never do anything like that, but the kids really loved it! We also got into a water balloon fight while we were there. The group was ambushed by the kids and by the end of our visit, not a single one of us was dry. There were so many great ideas that we picked up from other schools and their SAAC programs and how to, in turn, make ours better.
STEPHANIE VERDOIA, WOMEN’S SOCCER
The WAC SAAC conference in Denver was an incredible experience for many reasons. We talked about the ways we can make each individual SAAC better, and how we can make the WAC better as a whole. We discussed ideas for the theme of the conference community service, new NCAA legislation, a conference-wide competition to raise money for different charities, and more detailed plans for each individual SAAC. The group consisted of two representatives from each school, and it was an amazing group of people. The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee is the voice of all student-athletes and it's our job to make sure we make every athlete’s four years a more beneficial experience. Every person there was dedicated to making sure the student-athlete experience is enhanced this year through SAAC. Besides making great friendships, we created really solid plans for this year and the changes we all want to see. I think the WAC SAAC has new motivation and ambition to be the best we can be. I really believe we will see the difference one group of people can make for every athlete in the WAC this year.
The Seattle U volleyball team will kick off the regular season at the Wildcat Invitational in Ogden, Utah on Aug. 30-31, while the women’s soccer team will host Washington State in their home opener on Aug. 23.