DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The Henderson Building on Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus was the site of the Professional Association of Athlete Development Specialists (PAADS) Athlete Development Research Symposium on Tuesday.  The Symposium was held in conjunction with the 14th annual PAADS Athlete Development Summit, which provides athlete development specialists with a forum for connecting with representatives of a wide variety of organizations in the profession and sharing best practices and ideas in the field of athlete development.
 
"Our approach is to try and find different ideas and concepts that are taking place not only inside of sport but outside of sport and then bringing them in," said PAADS Executive Director Duncan Fletcher. "For example, in the past we've had NASA come in and talk about how they train their astronauts, and so we look at that and think, 'okay, what are some different things we can take away from that that would apply to professional athletes.' That's kind of the angle that we take."
 
PAADS desires to aid organizations and individuals develop the whole athlete, helping them excel not just athletically, but ensuring they are prepared and able to achieve success outside of sport. The conference featured a wide range of speakers and guests from around the world, including the Australia Institute of Sport and the New Zealand Rugby Players, as well as the NFL, NBA, LPGA, WTA and U.S. Olympic Committee.
 
"The Athlete Development Summit has been going on for the last 14 years, but this is the first year for the Research Symposium," said Dr. Matt Wilson, Associate Professor at Stetson University and husband of ERAU Head Women's Basketball Coach Lisa Nuxol-Wilson. "Athlete Development Specialists help the athlete transition into the world of professional athletics, guiding them with anything from completing a degree, to starting a business, to managing their finances. They also help the athlete transitioning out of or near the end of their career; what are they going to do after they retire? What's their next step? This is the first time they've had a Research Symposium with a call for papers in the athlete development space."
 
Wilson, who is on the summit planning committee, was also a presenter at the Research Symposium, speaking on Student-Athlete Post Career transition. He noted that while the majority of Athlete Development Specialists can be found in the professional realm, many college and university athletic departments are beginning to see the value of having that position at the collegiate level.
 
"We're fortunate to have some really high-end speakers come and talk to us," Fletcher added. "We have Dr. Neeru Jayanthi here, who's a world-class researcher on sport specialization, and Dr. Sharoni Little from USC, who's done work with Barack Obama's My Brother's Keeper Foundation, coming to talk about social justice. We've got Dr. Michael Grandner, who's a sleep specialist, speaking with Colin Greening, who's an NHL player, talking about how they use sleep as a performance tool and we're also fortunate enough to have Morgan Stanley Global Sports & Entertainment talking to us about how professional athletes and entertainers really need to approach their financial well being and mindset so that they can have successful outcomes when they come away from the game."
 
A few Embry-Riddle student-athletes had an opportunity to be part of the conference, volunteering in a variety of roles and making valuable networking connections.
 
"Coach [Lisa] Wilson contacted us a little while ago about volunteering at the conference," ERAU Women's Basketball junior Lauren Ellenberger said. "At first I had no idea what it was about, I was just happy to help in anyway possible. I ended up learning about a really interesting field that I had no idea about and it really sparked my interest."
 
Ellenberger's senior teammate Ashley McWilliams was also excited to learn about the athlete development specialist field. "I had a general idea of what the conference was about going into it, but I didn't fully understand. I'm a student-athlete majoring in business with a minor in psychology and it was very interesting to me that this field ties all those different aspects together. They talked about everything from sleep, to social injustice in the sports industry, to how to manage media interviews. Everyone I met had a genuine desire to help people succeed and they were willing to help mentor us as students. I think it's a career path I might want to pursue."
 
Following the Research Symposium at Embry-Riddle, the 2017 Athlete Development Summit concluded at the Daytona international Speedway on Thursday.