Welcome Tampa!

Your Session Resources Are Below ↓

I’m so grateful you showed up for this conversation today. This work—the identity work, the belonging work, the hard-to-name but life-changing stuff—matters more than we often give it credit for. Below you’ll find every slide and resource from our session, curated so you can dive deeper, bring ideas back to your teams, and spark new conversations on your campus. The GRL Initiative exists to make sure girls never dim themselves to fit in—if that mission speaks to you, I’d love for you to stay connected.

A resource hub for leaders, educators and athletic directors attending Dr. Lauren Young’s Tampa session on belonging and burnout in athletic leadership.

Slides from NADC 2025, Tampa, Florida

If you like this content, make sure to subscribe to the mailing list.

Check out some of this other content about identity, connection and belonging.

*Breakout Room Conversation Guide

A group of football players in helmets and uniforms huddled together on a field with a sunset in the background, accompanied by bold text promoting building belonging in every space, and featuring contact information and credentials of Dr. Lauren Young, founder of the GRL Initiative, associated with the Vermont Principals Association.
A promotional graphic featuring a woman smiling near a body of water, promoting her social media handles, podcast, and upcoming book titled "Coming Soon: My First Published Book," with details about leadership guide in American English.
A group of female volleyball players in blue uniforms celebrating together, smiling and showing camaraderie. The background features a bright green design with bold text about belonging.
A poster titled "The 3 Core Conditions of Belonging" listing three key conditions with explanations and references. The conditions are Safety, Identity, and Connection, each with quotes and supporting points.
Infographic titled "The Formula for Belonging" with icons and words. Icons include a shield with a checkmark on a clipboard labeled "Safety," a person's silhouette labeled "Identity," two hands shaking labeled "Connection," and three people grouped together labeled "Belonging." Green plus signs connect the first three icons, and a green equal sign connects the last icon.
Infographic explaining the importance of safety in belonging and identity, emphasizing feeling safe to be oneself before a kid or adult can truly belong.
A poster with the title 'Do I Feel Safe Here?' displaying a checklist of safety signs and principles, including people speaking without fear, mistakes not being punished, questions being welcomed, body language being open, diverse voices participating, respecting identity, allowing disagreement, and people returning after setbacks. The poster features a graphic of a shield with a checkmark on a clipboard and the word 'SAFETY' in green.
A motivational poster with a black background, featuring a roaring bear's head with a jagged green starburst behind it, and bold lime green text that reads: "If there's a 'bear' in the room... I can't explore who I am, just how to survive."
Text-based infographic titled 'What Safety Looks Like for Kids' with two scenarios: a student asking a coach to repeat a drill, and an athlete asking for a break due to anxiety, with coaching responses emphasizing clarity and understanding.
A poster with black, white, and light green colors, containing text about what safety looks like for adults, including supportive responses to overwhelm, making mistakes, and the importance of human moments.
Comparison chart titled 'Unsafe vs Safe'. Left side titled 'In Unsafe Environments' lists: kids become invisible, adults become guarded, mistakes become threats, identity shrinks, connection collapses, belonging becomes impossible. Right side titled 'In Safe Environments' lists: kids try new sports, adults collaborate, honesty increases, voice strengthens, identity grows, belonging becomes natural.
Slide titled 'How Do You Create Safety' with questions about daily behaviors that make others feel safe and actions others have taken to create safety, set against a dark background with green and white text.
Quote about identity on a dark background with light green and white text.
A bright green background with bold black text asking, "What does your identity allow you to see clearly that others might miss?" at the top. Small black text at the bottom displays a website, "menti.com" and a code, "7598 4761."
Comparison chart titled "Fitting In vs. Belonging" with two columns. The left column titled "Fitting In" lists characteristics: performance-based, rules made by others, requires self-monitoring, driven by fear of exclusion, temporary, drains worth, exterior appearance. The right column titled "Belonging" lists characteristics: authenticity-based, rules co-created, feels natural, rooted in respect and safety, sustainable, fills with energy, interior identity.
A table titled "What ADs See: Fitting In vs. Belonging in Real Time" compares two students' behaviors and what is done about them, with columns for 'Fitting In,' 'Belonging,' and 'What We Do (Our Role).' The students are a laughing athlete and a quiet freshman, each with descriptions of their actions, how they are seen as belonging, and recommended coaching strategies.
A graphic with a lime green left side and white right side. On the left, bold black text reads "The Cost of Disconnection." On the right, bullet points list statistics about educator emotional exhaustion, teachers leaving within three years, and leaders who feel more likely to stay in their roles.
Text on a black and gray background titled 'Everyday Practices That Build Connection,' listing steps 4 to 7 for building connection, including check-in, recognizing good efforts, celebrating micro-moments, and following through on small commitments.
Poster with large black text reading 'Belonging is built, not assumed', and smaller bullet points explaining the concept of belonging, with a background of cheering children raising their hands and a green starburst shape.
Inspirational quote on a dark background: "Who you are shapes how you move through the world." with additional text: "What you see. How you show up. Who you connect with. Where you belong." and a concluding statement, "You can't feel seen if you're not showing you." in green and white text.
A collage of childhood and adulthood photos in a green-themed layout with text. The first row has images of a girl playing hockey, a girl in a hockey uniform, a girl with a basketball, a girl playing tennis, a group of girls playing rugby, a woman lifting weights, a woman running outdoors, and a woman and girl in hockey gear. Text below describes the person's life stages: early years, middle and high school, and now, emphasizing qualities like honesty, hard work, and confidence.
A motivational quote about identity and leadership in bold green text on a black background.
A motivational slide with a quote about connection, featuring a white background on the left with large black text and a light green background on the right with smaller black and italicized text.
Motivational quote about roles and performance with the title 'Adults + Students' in green text on a dark background.
A chart titled 'What ADs See: Fitting In vs. Belonging in Real Time' comparing adults' perceptions of fitting in and belonging with advice on how ads can help, including quotes and descriptions for two categories: The Overcompensating New Coach and Agreeable AD.
Infographic titled "The New Ad in the District" showing a formula: a single user icon plus a handshake icon equals a group of supportive, engaged individuals. Text explains that a new ad supported by admin and mentor, connected to ad peers, makes users feel supported, ask questions, be part of the community, and avoid isolation. The quote at the bottom states, "Identity stays the same, but without connection, belonging never forms."
A slide with a gray background on the right and a black background on the left. The right side features bold black text reading, 'EVERYDAY PRACTICES THAT BUILD CONNECTION.' The left side contains white text with numbered tips about building connection, including points about modeling steady behavior, inviting voice and participation, and repairing quickly when needed.
Text stating, "For LGBTQ+ young people, having just one affirming adult in their life makes them 40% less likely to attempt suicide" written in bold black letters on a bright green background.
Infographic titled 'Long Time Ad' showing icons of a person, handshake, and group of three people. The text highlights that experience, trust, and community lead to stability, grounded school culture, and belonging, with additional notes about challenges like conflicts and feeling shaky.
Graphic illustrating that safety, identity, connection, and belonging together create a sense of belonging. It shows icons of a shield with a checkmark, a person, a handshake, and a group of people. Accompanying text explains that when people are safe, know who they are, and are connected to others who value their identity and belonging, it naturally emerges.
A webpage for Vermont Principals' Association featuring a message about unlocking the full potential of students with a background of a cloudy sky and a sports field with players and spectators.
A graphic chart with three sections titled 'Home,' 'Work/School,' and 'Third Space,' each explaining different types of spaces and their qualities.
A black background with green and white text emphasizing the importance of belonging and sustainability, with key points about identity, connection, belonging, and sustainability.
A chart with the title 'What it Looks Like for Us' comparing home, work, and third space. Home is described as family, routine, responsibility; work as schedules, oversight, performance; third space as connection, honesty, shared purpose. Additional comparisons include caring for others, comfort zone, privacy levels.
Bold black text on a bright green background reads: "Strong programs don’t come from exhausted leaders. They come from connected ones.\
Green background with bold black text stating, "This isn’t just about better programs. It’s about saving the people who run them."
Bold lime green text on a black background states: "A study by the Trevor Project in 2024, ⅓ of LGBTQ+ youth don't think they'll live past age 35."
A webpage about the importance of third spaces for adults, featuring a green background, bold black title text, and two photos: one of people holding open books, and another of someone holding a paddle on a tennis court.
Graphic with green text saying 'Create Your Burn Out Watch List' and black text asking about top signs of burnout on a dark background.
Green text on black background asking, 'What's one idea or reminder you want to carry forward from this session?'
Quote about shoes and belonging on a dark background.
Text-based infographic with a white and light green background, emphasizing the importance of connection and belonging. The infographic compares recognizing a child's needs in a hallway check-in and noticing when a coach is burning out, with actionable advice and key points highlighted in bold.
A visual with a bold title 'Everyday Practices That Build Connection' on the left side, and on the right side, a list of three practices: Be Present on Purpose, Listen Fully Before Responding, Ask Curious Questions, with detailed bullet points under each.
An infographic titled "Belonging Changes Brains + Behavior" with large green text on a black background, explaining the positive effects of belonging on stress, motivation, and academic achievement.
Inspirational quote on a dark background saying, "It takes one. One adult who listens without judgment. One space where people can show up as themselves. One team that chooses kindness over conformity."
Bold black text on a bright green background reading, "Belonging is the foundation of sustainable leadership."
A poster with the title 'How ads can model and protect belonging.' The poster lists six strategies in bold with explanatory text, highlighted in bright green.