SAY HELLO TO SALO

The Student Athletic Leadership Organization’s commit ment to service and community

by Morgan Hill staff writer

How many bowling meets can you say you’ve been to? What about swim meets? E-sports events? The band expo? Not many of us can say we’ve attended these things, but the Student Athlete Leadership Organization (SALO) aims to change that. SALO is a new, private club, led by Athletic Director Justin Thorington, that volunteers with sports, elementary schools, and communityrelated activities. SALO invites student athletes from each of Central’s sports teams that have the potential for good leadership capabilities. “[Our goal is to] develop leadership skills through different leadership opportunities,” elaborates Thorington. “[We] also have the goal of increasing school spirit and inclusion and strengthening the bond between us and our feeder schools.”

Once you’re in SALO, you are expected to volunteer. SALO’s volunteering comes in three forms: SALO Strong, TCAPS Strong, and Central Strong. SALO Strong participants volunteer to attend a CHS sports event and cheer on fellow Trojans, especially events that do not receive as much support from fellow Trojan students. Football games, for example, are already commonly attended by SALO members due to its popularity and their student section, so the group is encouraged to visit other games from other sports. Bowling meets or cross country meets, for example, are not usually attended by many students, so SALO is working to step in to fill that gap for these underappreciated sports. Meanwhile, TCAPS Strong is simply community service for the Traverse City area. This can include volunteering to pick up trash along the Boardman trail, donating food, or assisting with other community needs. Finally, Central Strong volunteers often go to elementary schools to inspire potential future Central student-athletes and have fun at their sporting events.

SALO looks for the best of the best, primarily Varsity athletes with great leadership qualities. Thorington asks each of the coaches of Central’s varsity teams to select two to four athletes strictly based on their potential as leaders. The selected athletes are then background checked by Central’s administration team (the principals and athletic director) for discipline history, grades, fitness in the program, and leadership qualities elsewhere. Finally, the student is sent an invitation to join SALO. If they accept, they are expected to attend monthly meetings in the library during zero hour.

SALO meetings are held monthly, but that doesn’t mean things don’t happen in between meetings. The team utilizes an app that gives SALO members weekly scenarios, making them think about what they would do as leaders in a particular situation. Within the actual meetings, the members of SALO are split into six different groups, each led by an elected captain, to discuss where to volunteer or what they want to volunteer for. “It really depends on what team wants to do what,” explains SALO member Lawrence Cubitt ‘25, “which is the nice thing. We get to choose what we get to go do.” Thorington also invites guest speakers to SALO meetings in order to allow them to give their own advice or discuss leadership qualities that tie into the leadership topic of the week.

Student-athletes are held to very high standards because they have to balance both school work and athletics. SALO members are even held to higher standards than normal student-athletes because they are the hand-picked and identified leaders of Central’s athletes. SALO has the responsibility of representing Central High School athleticism. Anything they do at sporting or social events represents their school. “The biggest thing about leadership is being a servant leader,” Thorington explains.

SALO hopes that their efforts will bring more Trojan unity, sportsmanship, and support for sports. Very recently, SALO has participated in attending several sports games and events not usually attended by students, and they have received great compliments and praise from other fellow athletes, musicians, and club members. Because of SALO, students are working harder than ever to connect all people within the Trojan community. “I want them to be better prepared to leave and succeed in the real world because they were part of our program,” Thorington notes. //