Colorado University Athletics
Refining Night For Football, Soccer Players
November 11, 2009 | Football, General, Soccer
BOULDER - Even linebackers need to know which fork to use.
Midfielders, too.
Based on that premise and several others that should serve them well now and later, members of the Colorado football and soccer teams attended an Etiquette Dinner Monday night on the east side Club Level at Folsom Field.
"We want to help them with anything from college to their careers . . . anything that will help their comfort levels from interviewing, to attending banquets, to whatever," said Alice Swanson, a former Boulder Chamber of Commerce executive who teaches at CU's Leeds School of Business and is director of the CU athletic department's STEPS (Success, Training and Exit Plan for Seniors) program.
Continued Swanson, who also has a business called Learn To Earn: "We want to teach some things that, hopefully, they can use for the rest of their lives."
Monday night's dinner was the first of its kind "in a long time" at CU, Swanson said, adding a similar evening for athletes in other sports could be planned for the spring semester.
Teaching proper etiquette began when attendees embarked from the Club Level elevators. Name tags, noted Swanson, are to be worn on the right side, providing another person easier identification when shaking hands.
No surprise here, but tips in table manners started with Swanson asking diners to switch cell phones to off or vibrate. Then, their attention was directed to a large video screen featuring a mock-up of a formal table setting.
Pointing out proper utensil usage (remember: work from the outside in) was Janice Torkildsen, Manager of Marketing and The Customer Experience for The Department of Housing & Dining Services at CU.
Torkildsen was filling in for Assistant Director of Dining Services Cairon Moore, who was ill.
"I was a pinch hitter . . . I got the call (to fill in) an hour before the dinner," Torkildsen said. "But the kids at the front tables were very supportive and asked great questions. It was a wonderful evening."
Once mastering which knife/fork to use, Swanson and Torkildsen stressed that proper etiquette mostly involves common sense - cough into your napkin, no slurping soup, no belching, etc.
"Let your host lead . . . and use your brain," Torkildsen advised.
Should one ever come, most of the student-athletes and others left believing they were prepared for a formal dinner invitation from the chancellor.
"I could even entertain him," said Kelci Newlin, a sophomore defender from Aurora.
The sumptuous six-course meal/etiquette session was timed perfectly to conclude about 10 minutes before kickoff of the Broncos-Steelers game at Invesco Field at Mile High - relieving considerable pre-dinner stress at many of the tables.
Said Swanson: "I'm not an evil person who doesn't like the Broncos."
