On September 24, a group of sophomore and junior student-athletes from Morenci Area Schools attended the Tri-County Conference (TCC) Student Leadership Summit. Motivational speaker Craig Hillier shared powerful insights on what it means to be a student leader in sports.
Throughout the summit, Hillier challenged the students with thought-provoking questions:
Why are you here?
What do you want out of this?
Are you coachable?
Can you take feedback without giving pushback?
What holds you back from being better?
What holds you back from being a leader?
The presentation highlighted several key points, emphasizing that true leaders bring energy, and confidence is a choice. Hillier also stressed the importance of body language in conveying confidence, the ability of leaders to adapt, and the challenges that come with growth—reminding students that the better you get, the harder it becomes to improve.
One memorable message was the importance of "leaving it in the locker," a reminder to student-athletes that personal challenges should not impact their role as team leaders. Hillier concluded by reinforcing that leaders are always in the spotlight—"all eyes are on you." He encouraged the students to appreciate the roles of everyone on the team and to understand the value of teamwork.
Morenci’s student-athletes returned from the summit feeling inspired and ready to implement the leadership lessons they learned both on and off the field.