Eagles Learn Valuable Leadership Skills on Xcel Retreat

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Select Boston College student-athletes attended the annual Xcel leadership retreat Dec. 8-9 to improve leadership and communication skills. After being nominated by coaches, the Eagles headed to the Connors Family Retreat and Conference Center in Dover, Mass., for the weekend.

The retreat started in 2012 for student-athletes across sports. The experience echoes Boston College's formative mission of providing holistic and inclusive programming to support the growth of students.

The day-and-a-half outing provided attendees with the chance to leave campus and engage with athletes from other teams, strengthening the athletics community as a whole.

The retreat consisted of a series of talks followed by small group discussion and reflection. Rich DeCapua, associate dean of students, Fr. Chris Calderón, BC baseball's team chaplain and Caitriona Taylor, director of campus recreation, all presented. John and Nancy Frates, the parents of former baseball captain Pete Frates (2004-07), who was the catalyst behind the 2014 social media phenomenon the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge that helped raise millions of dollars for research and home care for ALS, also addressed the student-athletes.

Taylor enjoyed having the chance to speak the student-athletes from all grades as she was able to learn from them as well.

"The Xcel retreat is important to our student-athletes as they develop as leaders on their team and into the leaders of our future," Taylor said. "I am grateful for the opportunity to work with our students as they teach me so much about resilience and mental toughness. I look forward to seeing the goals we worked on translate into athletic and personal success."

Julia Barron, a senior on the track and field team, appreciated the opportunity to hear from the four speakers. Barron was particularly struck by Calderón's speech about the Jesuit ideals.

"He talked about magis, which is striving for excellence," Barron explained. "In sports, magis is finding out your purpose so you can realistically hit standards repeatedly by giving your whole self. Basically, he talked about giving it your all, which stuck out to me."

Barron found that the retreat as a whole helped her take a step back from the every-day demands of being a student-athlete.

"It reminded me the importance of being present, being in the moment and being grateful for the position that you are in," Barron said. "I thought what they said reminded student-athletes to take a step back and realize, no matter how difficult things can be, we are so fortunate to be in this position at BC playing a Division I sport."

Jack Nelson, a junior on the baseball team agreed that the retreat gave him perspective.

"John and Nancy Frates gave a really good talk about understanding how lucky we are to be student-athletes here and taking advantage of that every day and carrying that with enthusiasm," Nelson said. "It was very introspective and a good way to get off campus and look at yourself and what you can do better. I was able to evaluate myself and realize how I can impact other people on my team through my body language and energy."

Jen Kentera assistant athletic director of student-athlete development, talked about the importance of the retreat.

"The Xcel retreat is a unique opportunity for selected student-athlete leaders from each sport," Kentera explained. "It allows them to take time off campus to engage with each other, strengthen their athletics community and reflect on where they are right now, how they can impact those around them and where they want to grow and go."

The Xcel retreat engages student-athletes and challenges them to apply what they learned to both their team dynamics and their own personal lives during their time at The Heights.

Eagles Learn Valuable Leadership Skills on Xcel Retreat

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