Leadership, Teamwork, and Quaker Values from the World of Sports

Wilmington Friends School hosted its second 275th Anniversary Webinar series on Monday, April 8, titled “Leadership, Teamwork, and Quaker Values from the World of Sports,” featuring:

- Moderator Brian Curtis Mand ’90, New York Times bestselling author and Sports Illustrated contributor 
- Moderator Artie Kempner, Director of Fox Sports coverage of NASCAR, 12-time Sports Emmy winner, and parent of WFS alums
- Dawn Aponte, Senior Vice President of the National Football League
- Mike Brey, the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach at the University of Notre Dame, former University of Delaware men’s basketball coach, and current Atlanta Hawks assistant coach
- Dan Radakovich, Athletic Director at the University of Miami and former Athletic Director at Clemson University and Georgia Tech

The panelists provided excellent insight on various topics, including the ever-changing landscape of college and professional sports; how the legalization of gambling might impact college and professional sports; Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), and how that currently impacts college student-athletes and will shortly impact high school student-athletes; and why effective leadership and teamwork are so critical in the workplace.

Dawn Aponte, who has worked in the NFL for three decades in various roles, spoke to the importance of teamwork. Reflecting on her experiences working on the team side (Jets, Browns, and Dolphins) and the league side, she noted that successful organizations have aligned objectives and are always moving in the same direction, working together to achieve an established set of goals.

Mike Brey, a first-year assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks, talked about how he developed into an effective leader throughout his successful coaching career. Hesitant to delegate responsibilities to his assistants early on, Brey noted that his teams started reaching their full potential only when he began to empower his assistants around him through conscious communication. He also stated that, as a coach and leader of an organization, you must be a “confidence giver,” always working hard to build up your staff and players. 

Dan Radakovich, who has worked in college athletics for over 40 years, made it clear that to work in the demanding industry of collegiate sports, you must know your “why.” He argues that, whatever made athletics fun for you and special enough for you to consider pursuing a career in sports, you must keep that with you during the hard, tedious days. More specifically, he said that it is your job to take the knowledge and understanding from your positive experiences and impart that to other athletes to ensure they have a similar experience.

Thank you to Dawn, Mike, and Dan for generously donating their time and expertise to the webinar!