Wanted: Leading Gators

A group of UF student-athletes listen to a guest speaker during the "Gators Lead Teams" leadership program. (Photo: UAA Communications)

Wednesday, November 6, 2024 | General, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Their backgrounds are as different as their sports.

Mia Williams plays on the UF softball team, and her parents excelled in athletics at UF, her father Jason on the basketball court, and her mom Denika in track and field. Skylar Draser is a Gators gymnast from New York, where her father is a firefighter, and her mother is a traveling nurse. Rueben Chinyelu, a 6-foot-10 transfer center in his first season with the Gators, grew up in Nigeria. His father died when Chinyelu was a boy, and his mother, Patricia, works as a goods trader in Africa's most-populated country.

What the three Gators have in common is their potential to lead, which is why their coaches selected them to be a part of the "Gators Lead Teams" leadership series this fall.

Former Gators track athlete **Caleb Chambliss**, right, served as one of the guest speakers at the "Gators Lead Teams" fall leadership series. (Photo: **Matt Pendleton**/UAA Communications)

They were not passive sessions.

"I don't believe in lectures," said Caleb Chambliss, one of the guest speakers. "I believe in bringing an experience they can reflect on."

The five-week course featured 36 sophomore student-athletes across an array of UF teams and covered five primary topics:

Introduction to leadership
Confidence, composure, character
Servant leadership and confidence-building
Refocusing and team building
Managing team conflict

If you have been on a team – pick almost any team in any industry – you know the importance of valuable leadership. Not all leaders are created equal.

A former walk-on track and field athlete at Florida, Chambliss is program coordinator for leadership and experiential programs for UF's Warrington College of Business. He arrived at UF with the intention of a career in architecture.

He soon shifted away from that career, and through his experiences as a student-athlete and in the classroom, he moved into studying and teaching leadership.

One of his messages is evident when speaking to current Gators: leadership equals influence.

"When you are dealing with people, people are messy,'' Chambliss said. "You have to be intentional as a leader to use your influence to bring people together for a common goal."

In the age of social media, college-aged athletes hear about influencers and see their Instagram pitches constantly. But to be one in their world, you have to get sweaty and work hard to earn respect in the locker room because their teammates are high-achievers just like them.

"You can use the word 'leader,' but it's mostly influence,'' said Draser, who joined UF's gymnastics team a season ago out of South Huntington, N.Y. "You need to have a positive influence in every aspect of your sport to be a great leader on your team and later in life."

Williams considers herself a natural-born leader in some ways. She thanks her parents.

"I think coming from them, I kind of had it in my blood,'' she said. "They set pretty high expectations."

Naturally outgoing and eager to lead the way for others, Williams said she embraced the opportunity to meet other UF athletes her age from different sports, participate in group discussions and play games to learn how to become a better leader.

"It was super interesting to hear other's perspectives. I think I've already, after going through the sessions, I have kind of noticed myself going out of my way to help the freshmen,'' Williams said. "To make sure they know what's going on. I always kind of did that, but I'm paying extra attention to it now that we've done these workshops. It's pretty cool to see how it can be implemented."

Chinyelu arrived at UF over the summer from Washington State, where he spent his freshman season. He has made a favorable impression on his new teammates, those on the basketball team and beyond.

"He was very outgoing, not shy at all,'' Williams said.

You need only to spend a few minutes listening to Chinyelu talk through his thick Nigerian accent to appreciate his passion for discovery. He spoke about the program with the enthusiasm others might a trip to Disney World.

"To be able to be in a position to go learn something new or add to what you already know, it's really beautiful,'' Chinyelu said. "One example is the way you do things, that can influence people. Different people follow you, not just because you play basketball, but maybe because of the way you carry yourself, the way you treat people. It was really beautiful to get to hear that."

When asked how they have identified as leaders, Williams, Draser and Chinyelu could all pinpoint a moment.

Williams was so talented in softball that coaches moved her up in age group. When she was around 12, she started playing with girls her age and playing beside older kids when she was younger helped her take on an instant leadership role when grouped with her peers.

Fall 2024 Gators Lead participants - Rueben Chinyelu, Skylar Draser and Mia Williams — Rueben Chinyelu (left), Skylar Draser and Mia Williams are among the 36 sophomores who are part of the fall 2024 "Gators Lead Teams" leadership series.

Draser recalled moving to a different training gym while growing up and quickly realized that, as one of the oldest members and most talented performers at the new gym, the other young gymnasts often followed her example.

"Anytime I struggled or maybe had a bad day, I knew they took away from what I was doing,'' Draser said. "I always knew I had to keep a positive attitude and show them that you can move on and succeed when things don't go your way."

For Chinyelu, it was a trip to Senegal for a camp at NBA Academy Africa. It was the farthest he had ever traveled away from Nigeria, and as one of the camp's most talented prospects, other players gravitated his way.

"I was kind of leading them,'' he said. "I tried to show them the big picture, be there for my brothers far from home."

The Gators opened their season with a victory earlier this week over USF with Chinyelu in the lineup. Williams and Draser are in offseason training for their upcoming seasons.

All three can eventually become leaders in a crucial moment for their team. That is what the "Gators Lead Teams" program is all about.

"Sometimes leadership is not fun,'' Chinyelu said. "It's like a job. You have to be able to respect everyone and respect yourself. You have this [role] for a purpose."

Spoken like a leader.