COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Helping prepare her team for the season
and guiding newcomers on how to play her own position while she was
sidelined with an injury were two of the traits which helped senior
Ellen Conti, a member of the Tennessee Tech volleyball team, win
the inaugural Unsung Leader Award presented by the Athletics
Department.
Conti, a senior from Grove City, Ohio, came into the season
expecting to fill a starting role in the front line for coach Dave
Zelenock’s squad. She was a standout in the preseason,
providing strong play as well as important leadership to a young
squad that was working to incorporate five freshmen and one
transfer into the fold.
She played in the first three matches of the season, but a
shoulder injury placed her on the sidelines.
That didn’t prevent her from continuing her leadership.
“As a senior, she has been a role model on and off the court
for our large freshman class,” Zelenock said. “She is
currently injured but continues to find a way to help every day
with her voice or advice.”
So, Tennessee Tech’s Unsung Leader Award for September
goes to Conti.
Through three seasons, Conti had played in 84 matches for the
Golden Eagles, and last year averaged 2.48 kills and nearly two
digs per game. Losing her has forced the Golden Eagles to bring
freshmen forward much quicker than expected.
“We are starting two freshmen in her position and she is in
their ear daily helping them,” Zelenock said. “She is
our fourth coach right now.”
The Unsung Leader Award was created this year to recognize
leadership by student-athletes, with an award to be presented each
month throughout the academic year. A year ago, Tech’s
student-athletes and staff attended a leadership seminar, and
Director of Athletics Mark Wilson wanted to find ways to keep
student-athletes motivated toward following the ideals learned at
the event.
“The seminar allowed student-athletes to learn, interact and
discuss traits of leadership, and in turn we see our
student-athletes demonstrating those traits every day,”
Wilson said. “This award is a way to recognize that
leadership, which many times isn’t reflected in headlines or
other ways. It’s quiet leadership, behind-the-scenes
leadership, that makes everybody better.
“These young men and women are leaders, pure-and-simple, not
doing the right thing for recognition but to make themselves, their
teammates, and their teams better,” Wilson said.
Those are the things Conti has exhibited, according to her head
coach.
“Ellen is the heart of the team,” Zelenock said.
“On and off the court, she has a tremendous effect on the
team.”
She was one of six student-athletes nominated for the September
Unsung Leader Award, and was selected by a committee.
One student-athlete, nominated by his/her coaching staff, will be
selected and recognized for exemplifying outstanding leadership
qualities during the past month. The leadership can be shown on the
field, in the weight room, at practice, in the classroom, in study
hall, on campus, in the community, for a student club or
organization..
This award honors a varsity student-athlete who has made a
positive impact on their team and the Tennessee Tech community as a
whole, through his or her dedication to demonstrating leadership
traits, such as:
* Keep Learning, Growing,
and Improving
* Follow Through with
Excellence
* Accomplish More than
Expected
* Inspire and Motivate
Others
