Hendrick Hudson Student-Athletes Build Leadership Skills at Regional Conferences

This spring, two Hendrick Hudson High School student-athletes took part in regional leadership experiences designed to strengthen their skills both on and off the field.

Junior Addison Peskie, a member of the varsity cheer team, attended the NYSPHSAA Student Leadership Conference in Albany, where nearly 200 student-athletes from across New York State gathered for workshops, speakers, and team-building activities centered on leadership development.

“It was really interesting,” Peskie said. “There was a focus on how nobody should be afraid to ask for help. It made me think that I need to make sure I bring what I learned back to our school because you never know what people are going through.”

She said bringing those lessons back to Hen Hud will be the next step. One idea she was to start a Unified cheer team, following the path of Unified basketball, bowling and flag football, which have been launched in recent years.

Exchanging ideas and sharing them at home motivated Peskie to attend the conference.

“I knew that no one from Hen Hud had ever attended the conference before,” she added. “I wanted to learn to become a better leader for the different programs I am involved in at this school.”

Junior Carleigh Ortiz attended the Section I/IX Student-Athlete Leadership Summit at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh, where she joined peers from across the region for a day of collaboration and reflection. Ortiz described the experience as both meaningful and motivating.

“The event was a very inspirational experience for me,” Ortiz said. “I was honored to have met a lot of new students from all of Section 1. We spent the day looking at all the different aspects of being a leader and sharing experiences.”

Throughout the summit, students explored how leadership extends beyond game day, focusing on communication, team dynamics, and personal growth. Ortiz noted that one of the most impactful takeaways was learning how to approach difficult conversations with teammates.

“I learned about the different ways a leader should approach situations,” she said. “Certain situations might be uncomfortable to discuss, but are necessary to become successful. This is important so that my teammates don't just see me as the person to avoid, but instead the person they can come to without being worried about saying the wrong things.”

A three-sport varsity athlete and captain of the girls lacrosse team, Ortiz, like Peskie, plans to bring what she learned back to Hen Hud.

“I am hoping to create a program where I can take what I have learned and apply it into real-life situations at Hen Hud,” she said. “Being a captain myself, I plan on implementing my learnings with myself and my teammates.”

Both students returned to Hendrick Hudson with new perspectives and a shared goal of strengthening their teams and school community through leadership.

"We met to build out a plan for next year, and they shared what they learned," athletic director Beau Morki said. "We brainstormed how to involve other student-athletes next year and how we can bring those ideas to our athletic program. I'm looking forward to it."