Coach for America

Busy Week! High Impact!

Boys and Girl Club Camp Counselors, San Francisco, California

Sunday June 13, I flew to San Francisco where I met with an advisory group who are helping Coach for America impact Northern California. Monday morning we drove three hours north into the redwoods to Camp Mendocino where I led staff training for 120 camp counselors from the nine Boys and Girls Club of San Francisco. It was a wonderfully eclectic group of young men and women committed to impacting the lives of youth in a camp setting. As a Boy's Club member throughout my youth, I reflected on the role and importance the Club played in my life. I would say, given the multitude of challenges facing so many youth today, that the Boys and Girls Club has never been more needed or more important than today. If you have a Boys and Girls Club in your community, think of its importance and the role you can play in supporting their mission.

University of Iowa, Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa

On Tuesday the 15th, I caught a 6am flight to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mary Ferentz picked me up and we then met with counselors running a day camp for young teens. That night I spoke to campers and counselors challenging them not to let society define them by their race, economic class, zip code or any other external determinant. Only they themselves should define their value, worth and human potential. Every youth needs to own a clear and compelling definition of who they are, what they will stand for and who they will stand with. That night I had dinner with Iowa Head Football Coach Kirk Ferentz and his wife Mary. Both are extraordinarily kind, empathic and warm. I think Coach Ferentz is one of the best coaches in America and his Hawkeye program is exemplary. If competency, character, compassion and civic-mindedness are the criteria, then he has to be near the head of the class. The next morning high school and college coaches from all over Iowa joined Kirk and his staff on the Club Level of Kinnick Stadium for a 10-5 pm InSideOut Coaching Seminar. Mary sat next to Kirk the entire time and the Football Department was an excellent host to all.

California Coalition Against Sexual Assault Convention, Las Vegas Nevada

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Wednesday, right after the Iowa seminar, I caught a 7pm flight to Las Vegas. The next morning I had the privilege to Keynote the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA) national convention on Campus Training and Technical Assistance Institute. The conference was sponsored by CALCASA, Department of Justice and the Office on Violence Against Women, designed to help colleges and universities to create and/or strengthen a coordinated community response to dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking on college campuses. My Keynote was entitled Wounded Boys Become Wounding Men and focused on the socialization of men that fosters so much violence against women. Coach for America is committed to raising the consciousness and commitment of men, coaches, athletic administrators, institutions and sports leagues to become players in the prevention and intervention of violence towards girls and women. Coaches have an almost unparalleled position, power and platform to mentor and teach young boys about how to be men in ways that don't involve degrading, hurting or abusing girls and women.

Athletes for Others, Forsythe County, North Carolina

Late Thursday night I landed at the Raleigh Durham Airport and then drove to Winston Salem, North Carolina to continue my work with Athletes for Others. AFO is a non-profit organization that was founded in collaboration with Coach for America on the belief that by training coaches on how to demonstrate AFO's core beliefs, they will in-turn be equipped to teach the same beliefs to their players. To date I have trained over 600 coaches through AFO.
Saturday I was part of the 2nd Annual AFO Legacy Coach Football Clinic. I led a three hour InSideOut Coaching seminar in the morning; that afternoon, local high school coaches helped the 220 youth football coaches in attendance to work through their X's and O's and how to run effective drills and schemes. It was a wonderful day thanks to AFO and the commitment of high school coaches who shared their wisdom and expertise with youth coaches. Kudos to Renee Oglesby and the leadership of the Northwest Midget Pop Warner Football League for mandating attendance of every coach in their league.