From time to time, I ask some of the distinguished members of our administrative staff to write a guest column for this space. This week's column was written by Dr. Mira Martincich, Director of K-12 Physical Education, Interscholastic Athletics and Recreation.

This school year, Roslyn High School has initiated a chapter of Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA), a peer leadership program that emphasizes positive behaviors in sport and abstinence from the use of drugs, alcohol, and steroids. The program is now in place at 35 Nassau County and six Suffolk districts, and is coordinated and administered through Nassau BOCES.

The program calls for high school athletes with appropriate academic, athletic and citizenship qualifications to learn to communicate with elementary and middle school students on topics such as substance abuse and sporting behavior. The high school students are trained by professional athletes at periodic county-wide workshop sessions held at Adelphi University and at monthly meetings held at our high school. Once the high school athletes become skilled and confident in their ability to serve as role models, they will visit classrooms to pass on positive messages.

The hope is that our older students will help to create and support a climate that encourages younger students to make good personal choices and to exhibit sporting behavior---on and off the athletic field. It is unfortunate that in our society today, civility in sport is breaking down. Winning and losing have become all-important. "Trash talk" and irresponsible behavior by professional athletes are dominating the media and trickling down to school and club sports. Athletes Helping Athletes is a valuable tool to fight the decline.

Changing attitudes and behaviors is easier the earlier it starts, and young students respond well to the guidance of high school mentors.

Membership in AHA is regarded as a respected leadership position. This fall, all interested candidates were interviewed by a committee. AHA participants---and their parents---sign a pledge acknowledging their willingness to abstain completely from destructive behavior. An adolescent's decision to honor this requirement is a powerful and public statement. An important strength of AHA is that members value their membership in the program, and peer disapproval is a powerful deterrent to inappropriate behavior.

For athletes who participate, considerable work is required. Students must attend monthly training sessions to hone their communication skills and to develop their motivational messages. They must serve on subcommittees: to develop the constitution required of all of our high school clubs, to design the program logo, or to establish the computerized database for communications with one another and other schools. In addition, each AHA member is assigned to a Roslyn High School athletic team to promote the achievements of Roslyn athletes. This spring, AHA members will be paired to visit elementary and middle school classrooms to connect with younger students by role-playing and relating their personal athletic growth experiences.

While we are still in our infancy stage, we are optimistic that Athletes Helping Athletes will reap huge rewards for our students. We will be providing our younger students with role models of all that is best about Roslyn athletics. As our high school students see themselves as mentors, our expectation is that they will act accordingly and accept their obligation to make a difference with others. An additional plus is the program's reputation and recognition by college admissions committees.

The 17 students currently part of Roslyn's Athletes Helping Athletes program will set the standard on how to jump-start a new program and keep it vital at the high school. Athletes Helping Athletes is a part of our district's goal to utilize sports as a wonderful tool to teach important life values.