Long-time athletic consultant Bruce Brown to serve as featured speaker

Dana College will host a free clinic for student athletes and coaches at any level — kids, high school, collegiate and adult — on Thursday, March 10, in the Gardner-Hawks Center. Bruce Brown, NAIA Special Presenter and Director of Proactive Coaching, will be the featured speaker.

Student Athletes
10-11:30 a.m.  Redefining the Term Athlete and First Steps to Great Teams

Coaches
Noon–2 p.m.    The Power of A Coach’s Words, Teaching Character through Sport or Positive Traditions.

Brown worked in the state of Washington for more than 35 years as a teacher, coach and athletic administrator in secondary schools and higher education.  He has consulted with the NFL for more than 25 years and began his relationship with the NAIA in 2000, joining the staff full-time a year later.  As the NAIA special presenter for Champions of Character, Brown regularly speaks to athletes, parents and coaches across the country and is a regular contributor at business meetings, education conferences and community summits on the subject of character.

Brown delivers a potent message with real life examples and practical applications. After Brown’s presentation at the GPAC Champions of Character Summit in Sioux City, Iowa, Viking student athlete Tom Lensch said, “That guy really made me think. Everyone needs to hear this.”

Brown is a strong supporter of the NAIA’s Champion of Character program, of which Dana is a proud member. “In this time when the sports pages are filled with stories about fighting spectators, over-zealous parents, wife-abusing, drug-impacted, self-entitled athletes and mercenary coaches who chase the highest contract, the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) is piloting a program to define who we really are, focus on character and reclaiming the true spirit of the game,” Brown said about Champions of Character.

“ I am proud that Dana College has become recognized as an NAIA Champion of Character school, said Dana’s President, Dr. Myrvin Christopherson. “I like to win as much as the next person, maybe even more, but more important than winning is that Dana College should be a place where athletic participation builds character and good sportsmanship -- for players, coaches, and fans alike. Nobody tells the “Champions of Character” story better than Bruce Brown.”

Brown encourages coaches to “build individuals and teams of character. Create a positive coaching legacy. Teaching character is not a choice that great coaches have. If you truly love your players, you will teach and hold them accountable to the highest possible behavioral standards. It is what gives this coaching profession and the experience of athletic participation value.”

Dana College is a place where all students actively participate. They make things happen — in their own lives and in the lives of others. Through a highly supportive faculty and campus community, Dana students develop interpersonal skills, leadership abilities, and other important values and knowledge as they make choices about their future. Dana’s outstanding academic programs in business, education and social work, among others, ensure that students have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to pursue challenging careers or placement in graduate school.

Dana College is a private, liberal arts institution in Blair, Neb. To learn more, visit www.dana.edu.

Dana College: Develop talents, Take charge, Build a future — We’re with you all the way.

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For more information contact:
Leslie Rasmussen
Sports Information Director
Dana College
402 426-7295
lrasmuss@dana.edu