St. Dominic High School partners with the University of Notre Dame to integrate “Play Like a Champion Today” into the Daily Life of the School

When Michael Murphy, a parent of two St. Dominic High School students and a coach in the high school’s basketball and softball programs, first read about “Play Like a Champion Today” (“PLC”) in an email he received from Notre Dame, he had no idea of the depth of what he was embarking upon. Long frustrated by misguided parents and coaches, Murphy had been searching for a solution to reprioritize the values in youth sports. In a culture where one cannot attend a professional or college sporting event without listening to fans scream and swear at officials, players, and coaches, and where so much of that culture has been seeping into the high schools and youth programs, PLC was a breath of fresh air. An idea conceived by Clark Powers, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame began as a program to train Catholic grade school coaches and parents in appropriate behaviors in managing youth sports. The program soon grew to encompass High School level sports and that’s when Murphy attended a weekend conference to learn about the program in June of 2008.
“I was so excited by the possibilities this program could provide to a school like St. Dom’s that I couldn’t wait to meet with Lee Hixon, the school’s Athletic Director, and Don Fournier, the school’s Principal,” Murphy said.
Over the next period of months, St. Dom’s began a series of phone calls with Clark Powers and Kristin Sheehan at Notre Dame to map out a plan to implement the program at St. Dom’s.
Things kicked off when Sheehan and Powers came to the school in March of 2009 to run a coaches’ and a parents’ workshop. In addition, Mike McCoy, a Notre Dame football All-American and NFL star, came for a student assembly. While entertaining and motivating the students, McCoy brought home that their lives were full of personal choices every day. It was up to them which path they wanted to travel, one filled with true love and God, or the path of false successes. That evening Sheehan and Powers delivered workshops to the parents and coaches and the program was on its way.
“We were proud of our school and our athletic programs, but after listening to McCoy, Sheehan, and Powers, it became apparent to me that we had room for improvement. With PLC, we could take our school to a new level.” Said Don Fournier the school’s Principal. That June, the school sent Lee Hixon with Mike Murphy to the weekend PLC workshop at Notre Dame.
“On the plane ride home, I was fired up to integrate this program into St. Dom’s,” said Hixon. “I wanted this for our students, coaches and parents, but that did not seem like enough. I also wanted this for our teachers and our administrators. I began to imagine what the school could be like if I administered “like a champion” as athletic director and if teachers “taught like a champion. ” The possibilities seemed endless.”
In the fall of 2009, Murphy and Hixon brought the program to all of the parents and coaches during the fall sports meeting. They put on a presentation for the coaches and then one for the parents and the players. In addition to showing PLC slides they also showed clips from a video prepared by former Major League great, Frank Robinson, that was prepared for the PLC conference. Feedback was good but it was just the beginning.
The next step was training team captains. St. Dom’s contacted Phil Baniewicz of St. Benedict College whom Hixon and Murphy had met at the PLC workshop. Baniewicz agreed to come to Maine and spend four hours training the fall sports captains in what it means to not only be a good leader, but what it means to be a Christian based Leader. The training had instant results; the girls’ soccer captains held a meeting with their team right after school that day.
“We used what we learned that morning to open discussions with our team about what we wanted, about what we feared. It was an amazing discussion that brought us closer together. We played like a family that season and as a result we were undefeated in the regular season.” said Ali Desjardin, a senior captain of the girls’ soccer team.
Next the school decided to bring the training to the teachers. Powers and Sheehan modified the program to apply to teachers and in November, Murphy and Hixon presented a two hour workshop for the teachers called “Teach Like a Champion Today.” This session was such a hit that the teachers asked for a follow-up session in March, which is currently being planned.
The first PLC team retreat was undertaken with the girls’ basketball team this past December. A simple two hour session in which the girls learned more about who they are as individuals and who they wanted to become as a team. It became clear during the retreat that the coaches loved their players and that all of the girls loved and appreciated their teammates, no matter their differences. Whatever the outcome of the season, the retreat has already helped to make the season more rewarding and more memorable.
Currently, every season St. Dom’s runs a PLC meeting with coaches, parents and athletes. The Captain’s training will occur at the beginning of each season and retreats are now being offered for each team during each season. Teachers’ workshops will be ongoing and we hope to bring PLC to the students more directly during the annual class retreats and during freshman orientation. “This is not just an athletic program; this is becoming part of the culture of our school. It is helping us to become the best school we can become. With the continued implementation of PLC we can become our very best. We are grateful to the people at Notre Dame and look forward to a long partnership as we continue to develop all of the facets and possibilities within PLC.” said Don Fournier.