Megan Narveson

HONRS 375

Dr. Emma Morin

November 14, 2022

Leadership Development Reflection

Running is a challenging sport; it pushes athletes to their limits both physically and

mentally. However, I wasn’t expecting running to push the limits of my leadership skills. During

my second year on the cross-country team here at Minnesota State University, Mankato, my

coach asked me if I’d be willing to host a recruit for the weekend. A recruit is a high school or

transfer student that is invited by the coaches to visit the university and meet the team. Hosting a

recruit entails taking them to dinner with the team and organizing a fun activity as simple as

playing a card game or driving to Minneopa. As a host you’re also in charge of the team credit

card and paying for the recruit’s meal. I felt hesitant to accept the challenge. Hosting a recruit

requires you to be outgoing and talkative. Since I tend to be a more reserved individual this

experience was very nerve wracking for me. I thought back to my experience as a recruit when I

was paired with a shy freshman. My recruiting visit did not make me want to compete for

Mankato. She was not personable and the whole experience was very awkward. I worried that

I’d create the same issue for the recruit I was hosting. I was concerned that I wouldn’t know the

answers to the questions she’d ask me. Nevertheless, I felt valued by the idea that my coach

trusted me with all these responsibilities and it gave me confidence in my abilities.

On the day of the visit I met with the assistant coach and the recruit at a hotel near

campus. The assistant coach gave me ideas on activities to do with her and places around town

and campus that she may be interested in seeing. When I met the recruit I realized that I had
nothing to worry about because she had a super outgoing and friendly personality. This made

conversations with her flow very easily. From there I took her to a photoshoot on campus where

she borrowed a uniform and got to pretend to be a Maverick for the day. Everything was going

smoothly and we were getting along great. We had a lot of common interests like genre of music,

faith, and hiking. That evening some of my teammates and I took her to the 507 for dinner,

where the smooth sailing ended. I had been doing everything right in terms of getting to know

the recruit and handling the finances, until I forgot to grab the itemized receipt from the table.

Unfortunately, I didn’t realize I made this mistake until the next day, but when I did, all of the

stress I had experienced before meeting the recruit came flooding back. I quickly called my

coach and told her what happened, and she told me to go back to the restaurant to see if they

could reprint the receipt. I followed her instructions, but it was too late, they couldn’t find or

reprint the receipt for me. I began to think of all the worst-case scenarios. Is coach going to be

angry? Will my eligibility be at risk? Will I get in trouble with the university? When I called my

coach to explain, she told me everything would be fine. She said, “you haven’t been the first

person to forget an itemized receipt and I’m sure you won’t be the last.”

I don’t consider myself to be a “glass half empty” type of person but this experience

made me realize how often I stress over the little things or assume the worst. Worrying about the

little things impacts my confidence. I feel inferior and judged when I am forgetful, but these

thoughts are not coming from other people, they are my own. This makes leadership difficult

because you can’t expect others to believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself. I am also a

very organized person. I write down my daily schedule both in my paper planner and on my

computer. I enjoy structure and I hate being late or forgetful. Being organized is both a strength

and a weakness. I am very thoughtful and plan-oriented with my time but taking this too far
causes me to stress over the minor details. I didn’t realize this about myself until reflecting on

this experience. For example, I think about this experience and how it seemed like a big deal at

the time, but it didn’t have as big of an impact on my life as I thought it would. For me it helps to

believe in greater things and know that this little incident is so small in the grand scheme of

things. Moving forward I will be able to recognize when I am being too conscious of my

planning habits and notice when I need to take a step back. Now I will often journal and pray

about my anxieties before I let them take over my mind. I have also found that making lists of

my “to-dos” helps clear my head. When my coach asks me next time to host a recruit, I will be

prepared with my list of things to do, and “get an itemized receipt” will be at the top.