At the “Building a More Inclusive CSL” meeting on September 16, 2025, students from all over the Chicago Suburban League gathered at ETHS to share, learn, and connect about experiences in sports. This program has been going on since 2020, when racial hatred was spreading around our country. The workshop focused on developing future leaders and raising awareness about self-identities and the identities of others in sports. It was made to bring light to the injustices people experience in sports and how a stop can be put to them.
“What we want to try to do is give our coaches and our kids tools to be able to make their teams as inclusive as possible,” says Mr. Livatino
Mr Livatino also remarked that kids whose teams aren’t as inclusive to them, it’s going to be a lot harder for them to feel included in their team and also in their community.
“The benefits of this workshop are to build more student-athlete leaders and educate us on the depths of hate speech, stereotypes, and self-identity,” stated Sophomore Brooke Bowman.
One of the activities involved in the workshop was answering questions about our experiences in and outside of sports anonymously, then crumpling up the paper, throwing it to the back of the room, picking up one of the pieces of paper, standing in a circle, and people raising their hand anytime the question applied to the paper they had.
“This activity really opened my eyes to how many different things the people around us can be going through, and we would never know. Also, the amount of differences we can have with one another but still want the same things and have the same goals,” said Sophomore Clara Wartoski.
Mr. Livatino explains how workshops like this can help coaches and athletes build and develop the same qualities found in dynasty builders and Hall of Famers.
“Coach Gunter has been a common denominator across all those dynasty teams; he brings a level of discipline, focus to work ethic, and connecting with current athletes that has transformed the program. For the Hall of Famers, the common thread I hear in their speeches is work ethic, coachability, and discipline.”
For this CSL workshop, the CSL can be a dynasty, but that requires “schools to realize that they need to do more to make everyone feel welcomed and included, they need to be aware of hate speech protocols and how to make their environment safer,” stated Mr. Livatino.
This experience also helps athletes realize that what you see on the outside doesn’t always match the inside of a person. That everyone has a story to tell. People registered that what they experience in sports is not a solo experience, and other people have the same struggles and different ones too.
The CSL can build the traits of coachability, learn how to apply what they learn in these meetings, and take it into action. Raising discipline in athletes to do what’s right, no matter what their friends might think. Using our work ethic to work as an entire CSL and not only one school, raising the bar while the others watch. These workshops are not only a chance for the CSL to learn, but also help the CSL come together and help build a stronger and more united future.
