POLO DECANO, PH.D.
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Polo has devoted his adult life and professional experiences to working with young people in and out of sport and for a range of issues, all for the outcome of supporting wellness and a greater capacity for living a happy, fulfilled and meaningful life. Dr. DeCano's M.A. degree in Kinesiology, focused on youth and moral development through sport, provides him with a foundational understanding of human development, motivation and performance. His Doctoral work in School Psychology provides Dr. DeCano with a lens of prevention and a familiarity with systems-level activity and change, given the inherent role of school psychologists in education. The combination of these degrees, and collaboration with colleagues, resulted in the development of multiple resilience curricula, classes and workshops designed to foster resilience skills and strategies and the development of a the APT Framework for resilience that serves as a roadmap to increase the capacity for an individual or entity to experience resilience.
THE FIRST TIME I MET POLO, I KNEW HE WAS GOING TO BE AN IMPORTANT PIECE TO HOW WE APPROACH COMMUNICATION WITH OUR FENIX ATHLETES – ON AND OFF THE COURT. HIS TRAINING COURSE FOR OUR COACHES WAS SO EYE-OPENING AND IT REALLY SHOWED US HOW TO BE MINDFUL ABOUT WHAT WE SAY/HOW WE SAY THINGS + HOW TO BE AWARE OF OUR EMOTIONS & STRESS AS EDUCATORS AND MENTORS IN THE PROGRAM. THANK YOU, POLO, FOR ALL YOU DO FOR THE YOUTH SPORT CULTURE AS A WHOLE! – VICTOR JOHNSON