Leadership Academy

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself"

Working in conjunction with the Janssen Sports Leadership Centre (the world-wide leader in sports leadership development), the Guelph Gryphons Leadership Academy is one of only three institutions in Canada offering comprehensive Leadership development programming to its student-athletes.

In 2018-19 the Leadership Academy saw the graduation of the first Leadership 360 class, featuring a total of 27 Gryphon student-athletes. The class included profile athletes such as Connor Black, Cross Country National Champion; Women’s Hockey athletesValerie Lamenta and Kaitlin Lowy and football All-Canadian Luke Korol. Next season an impressive total of 106 participants will be enrolled in the Academy. What our Leadership Graduates are saying…

Val Lamenta, Women’s Hockey

“I am very grateful that I was able to be a part of the Leadership Academy for the past three years. I absolutely loved getting to know incredible leaders from all the different sport teams at Guelph. The 360 Leadership Evaluation was one of the most valuable pieces of feedback I’ve ever received. The comments were honest and they truly helped me understand what my teammates and coaches needed from me. I definitely think the program helped me grow into a better leader on and off the ice.”

Emilie Nicholl, Women’s Rugby

“Leadership 360 has been a great experience to meet and collaborate with strong leaders on other teams. It has helped me develop friendships with great people, and get the opportunity to learn from others who go through very similar situations with their respective teams. Having an open conversation and sharing opinions has helped me build so much confidence as a leader! It has been an incredibly thought-provoking experience that helps you self reflect and improve as an athlete, leader and person in general.”

James Caylor, Men’s Rugby

“The Leadership Academy has refined and enhanced the leadership skills that my coach saw in me before I did. With the help of multiple exercises and activities over the three years, I can confidently say I am a better overall leader now than I was before entering the academy.”

A C L a n g, Women’s Soccer

“Being a part of the Leadership Academy for the last 3 years has allowed me to grow my interpersonal, decision- making and vocal leadership skills. Getting to exchange ideas with other athletes, and leaders within the athletic department were invaluable and empowered me to take many different perspectives and ideas back to my own team.”