Friday, June 1, 2001

For Immediate Release
Tony Coates and Tina West Attend NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference

	GORHAM, Maine  --  University of Southern Maine student-athletes Tony 
Coates (Goose Bay, Newfoundland) and Tina West (Gorham, Maine) were among the 
300 student-athletes from across the nation that participated in the fifth 
annual NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference.
	Coates and West were selected from among a total of 1,084 nominees 
submitted by NCAA member institutions that participate in the CHAMPS/Life Skills 
Program.  They attended the conference that was held May 28-June 1, 2001, at 
Disney's Wide World of Sports (r) Complex and the Coronado Springs Resort in 
Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
	The conference featured "challenging and thought-provoking activities that 
will enable the student-athletes to become change agents at the colleges and 
universities and in their cities," according to an NCAA press release.  The 
student-athletes were involved daily in group discussions about critical issues 
and joined in team-building exercises and leadership-development games during 
the five-day conference.
	Criteria for selection to the conference include the student-athletes' 
demonstrated ability and strong desire to be a leader and potential to benefit 
significantly from a leadership-development exercise.  In order to be eligible, 
applicants must be in good academic standing and must have athletics eligibility 
remaining in the following academic year.
	Coates is a three-year member of the Huskies men's ice hockey team.  Last 
season (2000-01), he had six goals and six assists in 25 games.  He was the 
Huskies' leading scorer during the 1999-2000 season.  He has led the team in 
power play goals in each of his three seasons.  During his career, he has 25 
goals and 36 assists in 75 games.
	West is a three-year member of the women's soccer and softball teams.  She 
served as a tri-captain of the softball team this past spring.  During the 
recent softball season, West batted .333 (9 for 27) with five runs scored, six 
RBI and three stolen bases.  Last fall, she played in all 20 soccer games, 
starting 14, and had one goal and one assist from her outside defender position.

       Past NCAA Foundation Leadership Conference Participants from USM
  2001   Tony Coates, Ice Hockey, and Tina West, Softball and Women's Soccer
  2000   Kevin Faria, Men's Track and Field and Soccer
  1999   Michelle Cloutier, Softball
  1998   Kim Cochrane, Field Hockey, and Michael McCullum, Baseball
  1997   Heather Gilmour, Field Hockey, and Ed Pike, Men's Ice Hockey