Leading From The Back With Christian Sekanina

Jacksonville men’s soccer rising junior Christian Sekanina has become a leader both on and off the field, and recently he had the opportunity to display his leadership abilities at the annual NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum.

The NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum, created in 1997, has served as a life-changing experience for more than 5,000 student-athletes, fostering their personal and professional growth. Attendees return to campus with invaluable leadership skills, a refined understanding of the relationship among personal values, core beliefs, and behavioral styles, and the support of a close personal network of like-minded peers. This best-in-class program offers a transformational opportunity for student-athletes and administrators to build a leadership toolkit and develop vital self-awareness that allows them to realize their potential.

Commissioners, senior woman administrators, or student-athlete affairs administrators at the Division I and II levels can nominate participants. When the nomination window opens, NCAA Division I conference offices submit nominations through the NCAA Program Hub by entering a nominee’s name and email address. Christian Sekanina was JU’s nomination choice.

“I got an email in the fall of 2023 that said I was chosen to apply for the forum,” said Sekanina. “I thought it was something everyone got, but I went ahead and applied. About a week later, I received a second email that said I was chosen to advance to the next round of applicants, and I could apply again. At this point, Courtney (Taybron) and our assistant coach had texted me about the application and encouraged me to continue with the application. After filling out the email, a few days into November I received a third email, this time saying I was chosen to represent the ASUN Conference and attend the forum in April.”

Once admitted, all expenses related to travel, ground transportation, lodging, and meals are covered by the NCAA. From the ASUN, Christian, along with an athlete from Florida Gulf Coast and an administrator from the league, were chosen to represent the conference at the forum.

Throughout the application process, the NCAA asks for basic personal information and examples of direct leadership experience. Sekanina credits much of his experience to JU.

“I’m part of the Zimmerman Scholars in DCOB (Davis College of Business), which is a leadership development program,” said Sekanina. “I’m also a part of the SAAC Board on campus. In soccer, I’m a goalkeeper as well, and as a goalie, you’re the last man standing and communicating constantly, so you must be a leader.”

The Leadership Forum lasts three days and exposes attendees to various leadership styles via breakout sessions and keynote speakers. Participants are assigned to a small team with other attendees, and in these frequent team sessions, they work in an open environment with trained facilitators to engage in discussions about leadership and its many components.

“We were divided into different groups of about 20 people per group,” explained the JU goalkeeper. “The groups would sit in a circle, discussing leadership and playing various games. One game, for example, we couldn’t talk to one another, and were given a task and would have to lead another way.”

Sekanina also spoke about the diverse group of attendees and how that benefited him as a leader.

“There were so many different kinds of leadership present,” said Sekanina. “Everyone shared their experiences and had discussions about those topics. Hearing all of the different perspectives was nice because the groups were combinations of administrators and athletes from Division I to Division III, and all from different sports. Diving into what kind of leader you are, do you lead by example or dictate within a group to help others. I learned to know what the group you’re leading looks like and learn to know what every single person needs from a leader.”

In addition to the breakout sessions, the NCAA hosted keynote speakers from various backgrounds to talk about their experiences with leadership. One in particular stood out to Christian.

“We had an Olympic runner, Hazel Clark, speak. She came from a very successful family where she was the youngest sibling, and all of her siblings were Olympic athletes, as well as her father. She had lofty expectations from a very young age, and she spoke on how her dad raised her without much affection, though he was always there. She ended up at Florida and on the U.S. Olympic team, which led her to truly appreciate how her dad cared for her and treated her. It was an inspiring story to listen to.”

Though the forum lasted just three days in Bethesda, Maryland, it was packed with opportunities to lead and grow. When asked what his biggest takeaway from the unique experience was, Sekanina spoke about personal growth.

“My biggest takeaway was learning to be open-minded. I learned what kind of leader I truly am and what I can do to be a better leader at JU. Going into my junior season next year, I learned a lot about how to lead from that front. We talked about so many different parts of leadership, some I didn’t even think were important, and I definitely came out of that forum a more knowledgeable leader.”

Reflecting on his experience, Christian was most thankful for the diverse people he interacted with.

“The thing that I’m most thankful for is definitely the people that I met,” said Sekanina. “I remember one night we had a game night called Olympic games, and there was a variety of stations and every teammate had to run one station. To see how supportive everyone was and how close everyone came together in such a short period of time, that’s what impressed me the most. So many different people from different places, it was so exciting to hear all of the stories and it was a great experience overall.”