Jordan Yang ‘Lighting the Torch’ at JMU after NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum

In April, James Madison women's soccer sophomore Jordan Yang joined over 230 other student-athletes and coaches in Bethesda, Md. for the 2024 NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum — all there with three core values in mind to help them "light the matches": gratitude, connectivity and growth.

For four days at the conference, student-athletes spent time learning from small groups and keynote speakers about what it means to carry leader-like qualities and how to implement those characteristics into their respective teams and everyday lives.

"Somewhere in your life, someone's looking up to you," Yang said. "How you carry yourself, and how you want to treat other people is so important, and so they really talked about how our core values and beliefs are super critical to how we want to lead."

The Sun Belt Conference was represented by a JMU student-athlete for the second year in a row, as former men's soccer midfielder Rodrigo Robles attended last year's forum.

Yang said overall the trip was "an incredible experience," and said before she left for the conference she spoke to Robles who told her that she would come away from it with new relationships she could foster for years to come. After experiencing all the forum had for herself, she said Robles was more than right.

"I got put in a position where I got to meet people from not only the DI, DII and DIII levels but also administrators who are coming from positions of overseeing a conference or a school," Yang said. "To actually experience that and be able to say I have people from DI, DII and DIII schools now if I ever need help on something … maybe finding internships and jobs, I now have connections for multiple conferences, from multiple schools in a bunch of different industries. And I just never would have had that had I not gone to this."

Alongside the long-lasting relationships, Yang said she was bringing impactful lessons about leadership back to Harrisonburg that tied back into this year's theme, "Light the Torch."

She said the main message of the forum was to make sure you're lighting your torch and being uplifting to yourself while also ensuring that you light the torches of those around you such as your peers and teammates, even at times when you aren't in a leadership position.

"The emphasis was, 'Yes, of course, light your torch, but how are you going to light someone else's? How are you going to be the person that's not holding the torch and leading the way, but lighting them as you go and lighting up the entire walkway?'" Yang said.

Yang, who was also just named one of the two team captains for the 2024 season for women's soccer, said she's always valued serving others when the opportunity arises — whether it be just words of encouragement or her actions — adding that the conference encompassed the need for people to embrace performing acts of service because it makes all involved more successful.

"I get a lot of fulfillment and pride when I know some of the words I said to someone are causing them to be successful … I genuinely do think if people can be successful and I was there in their corner backing them that's all I need in my life because that means they're going to be able to impact other people so it's like a chain reaction," Yang said. "You can and have all these accolades be congratulated, but if you have no one underneath you, who you've brought along the way, or who are standing by your side, what's the point?"

The forum brought in keynote speakers such as founder of the Connection Lab Jonathan Sprinkles and former track & field Olympian Hazel Clark to speak to the attendees about leadership and understanding self-value. Yang said Sprinkles — who was her favorite speaker at the conference — reminded the athletes there to not undervalue their skills or compare themselves to others during competition.

Alongside Sprinkles, Yang added that she found inspiration from Clark's talk as she talked about each player embracing the uniqueness that they add to their program. Clark's speech also resonated with Yang as she advised the athletes to make sure they're making time for their hobbies and activities outside of their sport.

With the forum over, Yang said with her two years left at JMU she hopes to implement the lessons she learned into her teammates and the women's soccer program as a whole. While she said some goals of hers are to work on opening better lines of communication, inclusivity and being a more positive and uplifting teammate, she also wants to bring herself up alongside others and be more confident when doing so.

"I don't know necessarily what I'm going to do in terms of soccer after college, but if I only have two years, I need to live it to the fullest," Yang said. "So that comes back to me not being nervous and I need to be courageous and step up if I need to be a leader or make sure I am uplifting all my teammates in the best way I can and in the most positive ways that I can."

Yang said she's grateful for the chance to attend the forum and advised those with the opportunity to attend a conference like the NCAA's to do so because the benefits are eye-opening and long-lasting.

"If you're ever given an opportunity to be able to go meet new people and put yourself out there to go try something new, it's nerve-wracking, but you're going to come out so different," Yang said. "Anytime you get an opportunity to go try something new, or go, just be in a different environment, do it. You don't know what's going to happen, but you always learn something and that's what's important."

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