"This Adventure Called Life" - Corey Westra, GPAC

This weekend I culminated my course of study at Briar Cliff University and received my Masters of Arts in Management (Leadership).  The 84th Commencement Ceremonies for Briar Cliff University were held yesterday (May 16) at the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Sioux City, Iowa.  I was asked to give one of the Commencement Addresses for the morning.  It was a great honor to be chosen as a speaker.  I have been asked if I will share my comments publicly, so I am using this blog to do just that.  These comments were made to the BCU graduates, but can apply to all our graduates this spring. Congratulations to the Graduates of 2015!

“This Adventure Called Life”

2015 Briar Cliff Commencement Speech - Corey Westra 

President Wharton, Board of Trustees, esteemed faculty and staff, parents and friends,

and the graduating class of Briar Cliff University.  It is my great honor to stand before you today representing the class of 2015 to say a few words on this Commencement day that will hopefully challenge you moving forward once you leave this Orpheum Theater.  

So what do you say on a day such as this?  I reflected back on a commencement speech I heard last year where the speaker said, being a commencement speaker is a scary task, but in most cases no one will remember a word you say. Of course…. UNLESS you are really bad then you will be remembered for a long time.  

So with that challenge in mind, I hope the words and thoughts I share are ones that you can tuck away somewhere from this exciting commencement day here at Briar Cliff University.

I turned forty years old this year and I represent that Masters Graduates of Briar Cliff …. A responsibility I consider a great thrill.  To my fellow master’s graduates it’s great to be with you today and celebrate this moment. Congratulations to you all!

However, I want to focus my address to the undergraduates today.  18 years ago, in 1997, I was in your shoes (or robe shall we say) when I received my undergraduate degree on a day very similar to this. 

I remember that day well, there was great expectations and excitement as we gathered early that morning for our final breakfast together with the President, Faculty, and Staff.  Then there was that great joy of being with my classmates lining up and sharing those final stories about our college years before the big event got underway.

One memory of that day is quite vivid. It was the first commencement at that time for our new President of our institution.  Some of the jokesters of my class thought it would be a humorous action to have the many graduates hand the President a marble upon receiving our diploma.  I was asked to take part in this little humorous exercise and all I could remember thinking is what would my mother say if to cap off this four year, rather expensive, college education I was going hand a marble to the President.  The last thing I wanted was to have my mother lose her marbles on her son’s commencement day.

However, what I remember most about the day wasn’t really what happened between 10 and 11:30am that morning during the ceremony (or the marbles). While it was a great thrill to receive a signed diploma and graduate, I remember more the feeling that came over me about 3pm that afternoon.  College was over.  What was next?  Was this really Day one of the rest of my life as the Mathew West Christian Contemporary song says?  To say the least there was this rush of feelings that came over me that it was really all over and I was moving on to a new chapter of my life.

Today I want to briefly talk to you about this Adventure Called Life.  Dr. Kent Ingle wrote a book by this title that I recently read and the words really spoke to me and I feel can serve as a message you can take away from today’s commencement.  

In the opening to this book he speaks about one of the most empowering things we can know about ourselves is that we have purpose, meaning, and significance.  Engle goes on to say personal change and transformation is not always easy, fun, or predictable.  And isn’t that really true on a day like today?  Deep down we want to walk out of here and change the world don’t we?  Yet beyond the fancy doors of this place is a scary and unpredictable world that at 3pm today you will be standing in and you may have those same feelings I did 18 years ago.

Your college years are important.  Think about it …. Many of you came to this place

four years ago and cut ties with your comfort zone of many many years.  And in four or five (or six?) years you have undergone rapid changes.  When you undergo these type of changes in a short amount of time it can become very overwhelming.  

Now that I am a bit older, and life has changed much since that day back in 1997, I can truly say that my time spent at that time did prepare me for this Adventure Called Life.  As a father of three now, with a wonderful wife, time and time again I am thankful for the education and experiences I gained in my four years of receiving my undergraduate degree.  I wouldn’t trade it for anything, and I trust you all feel the same way!

One of the great thrills I have as a father is to coach my kids and their friends.  I began my youth coaching a few years ago coaching basketball with Upward Basketball right here in Sioux City.  In that league we had three key items that we instilled as virtues for the kids.  These three virtues have really been a guide for me in life (as a coach, father, and Commissioner).  These three virtues I feel you can take from this place today as new college graduates.

The first virtue is Faith - 2^nd Corinthians 5:7 says, “We live by believing not by seeing”

As you go into this Adventure Called Life you will need Faith and much of what you go through from this day forward will not always be easy to see. You have to believe and have faith in God to carry you through each day.  This belief system will give you that much needed Faith that you need each day to move on from this place.

The second virtue is Respect - I Peter 2:17 says, “Show proper respect to everyone”. 

In this world and life adventure you will encounter all kinds of people, and as you know when dealing with humans no one is perfect.  I know your time spent in a college environment has played this dynamic out time and time again….never lose respect for your fellow man or woman.  The words of I Peter are a powerful challenge that we do show proper respect to everyone as we go through this Adventure Called Life.

The final virtue is Courage - Joshua 1:9 says, “Be strong and brave. Do not be terrified.  Do not lose hope. I am the Lord Your God.  I will be with you everywhere you go” 

If sometime this afternoon that overwhelming feeling of “what’s next?” comes over you reflect back on those words and know that you are not alone and God is with you wherever you go.  If you have those feelings, stop, pray and reflect on the words of Joshua 1:9 and know that God is with you where you go.

Earlier I referred to the song, “Day One of the Rest of Your Life” by Mathew West. 

In that song he states:

Well, every single day Your grace reminds me
That my best days are not behind me
Wherever my yesterday may find me
Well, I don't have to stay there
It's day one (of the rest of my life)

In closing I want to share some parting words and challenges of Dr. Ingle’s book This
Adventure Called Life:

Number one -- You are special.  Not just because someone told you are (or may I suggest not because you are getting a degree from this fine institution).  Rather, you are special because you all were created by God to solve a special problem in the world.  Be special as you leave this place.

Number two -- You all have a purpose. Briar Cliff has prepared you well to go into this Adventure Called Life and execute that purpose.  Believe in yourself and go out and be who you are and what you were called to be.  When I coach kids I call this the “Let it fly…mentality”

Number three --- You need to keep moving.  This is not the end, it’s just the beginning. Just as your life has transformed over the last years here at Briar Cliff you will be constantly evolving over time. Take it from a person who is back after 18 years on the commencement stage, change is always happening or as a colleague of mine once said, “Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine” – So embrace change and be prepared to enjoy your journey wherever it takes you.

Finally, you ALL matter. You are all unique and different, be proud of that.  You matter – just as you are.  Everyone is different you matter at what you can are setting out to do.

So as you leave this place graduates for the next Adventure in this life, remember your time at Briar Cliff and boldly move forward with God on your side and make a difference in the world today.  Truly make today, “Day one of the rest of your life!”  This is not an ending, rather an exciting beginning of endless possibilities….enjoy that adventure everyday as you go from this Commencement today.  Many view Commencement as an ending, but it’s not an ending, rather it’s a beginning, a beginning of a new chapter in this Adventure called Life.  Go from here and make this day one of the rest of your life.  

Congratulations!

-Corey Westra

Learn more about Corey Westra HERE

Follow the GPAC on Twitter @gpacsports 

Leading in 3D - Corey Westra, GPAC

It's been a while since our last post, the month of March was pretty hectic in the GPAC Office with the winter seasons winding down and the spring sports starting up.  It was an exciting end to the winter season with an All-GPAC Fab Four in NAIA Division II Women's Basketball (Morningside, Concordia, Hastings, and Briar Cliff - with Morningside winning the title in Sioux City) and Dakota Wesleyan advancing to the championship game in Branson at the NAIA DII Men's Basketball Championship.  Also, many of our league wrestlers and indoor track and field athletes wrapped up the year with solid performances on the National stage.   I wanted to get something new on the blog, so we return today with some more thoughts on leadership as we close in on the final months of this season.

This past week we had our annual spring GPAC league meetings.  It's always an enjoyable time to get our

conference athletic directors, faculty athletic representatives, and presidents together to review our league policies and discuss and plan for the future of the Great Plains Athletic Conference.  These two days of meetings took place at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa.  Today and tomorrow many of us will boarding planes and heading east to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the 74th NAIA National Convention.  This is an opportunity for our league to join up with the rest of the NAIA and celebrate our past and plan for the future for the more than 600,000 student-athletes in the NAIA.

As I think about our GPAC meetings that were recently completed and the move into the NAIA meetings in Charlotte I am reminded of what our roles are as leaders in intercollegiate athletics.  John Maxwell wrote a piece titles "Leading in 3D" that really speaks to a frame of mind we should have as leaders today.  The words are a great reminder of who we are now and how we plan for the now and future in athletics.

Leading in 3D...

Samsung and Panasonic have elevated home entertainment another notch with recently released 3D televisions. Now you can wear the funky 3D glasses in the comfort of your living room to watch feature films like Avatar in an extra dimension. With four of the top ten films in 2009 produced in 3D, electronics manufacturers anticipate a growing demand for the three-dimensional experience, and they are positioning their products accordingly.

The Three Dimensions of a Leader's Vision

The best leaders see in 3D. They have a clear vision of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, which enables them to make wise decisions. However, many leaders are stuck with two-dimensional vision and have a limited view of reality as a result. Let's look at how each of the three dimensions affects a leader's influence.

Dimension #1: Seeing Yesterday

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.~ George Santayana

If a leader does not learn from past failures and make necessary course adjustments, then he or she will continually be plagued by the same problems. This is especially true with regards to a leader's character. Gaps in personal integrity will come back to haunt us until we shore them up.

Age does not automatically bring maturity. Some people exit their experiences empty-handed. Only evaluated experience benefits a leader. We must dig into the lessons of the past to better equip ourselves to succeed in the present.

Dimension #2: Seeing Today

You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end - which you can never afford to lose - with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.~ Admiral James Stockdale

Leaders face the facts. They question their assumptions, study their environment, and refuse to shy away from inconvenient truths. By defining reality, they position themselves to make informed choices about what should be done and how to go about doing it.

People tend to exaggerate yesterday, overestimate tomorrow, and overlook today. Leaders are the exception. They know today matters, and they make the most of the minutes in their day. They measure success by the seeds they sow rather than the harvest they reap, believing that effort ultimately is rewarded with results.

Dimension #3: Seeing Tomorrow

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.~ John F. Kennedy

Leaders who see tomorrow are willing to let go of what worked yesterday. They don't marry tactics; they marry visions. They constantly reevaluate why they do what they do, and they continually make upgrades to keep pace with the changing world around them. Although change can be uncomfortable, leaders with an eye for the future would rather endure the pain of discipline now than suffer the pain of regret later.

Future-oriented leaders never stop growing. They have a sort of paranoia, always feeling inadequate in their wisdom. As such, they continually familiarize themselves with the needs of customers, explore industry trends, and investigate the cutting-edge in their field. Whenever growth-conscious leaders gain insights into the future, they diligently apply the knowledge to enhance their life and their leadership.

My challenge to you today is to Lead in 3D!

-Corey Westra

Learn more about Corey Westra HERE

Follow the GPAC on Twitter @gpacsports 

College Soccer....Lets See Where the Game Takes Us? - Chris Kranjc, Hastings College

Today's Blog entry comes from Chris Kranjc, the head men's soccer coach at Hastings College.  Chris shares his reflections on coaching soccer in the GPAC and NAIA.  Kranjc has led the Broncos to 15 straight GPAC regular season titles and the NAIA National Championship in 2010.   I thank Chris for sharing his insight and reflections with us this week.

As a small college coach, I have been able to witness the game at all different levels. I have seen U6

teams train and play as well as national teams train and play. Now, I will say I have done little research for this topic as many of the questions I will pose come from observations from the last 17 years of my coaching. We are getting better with our methods of coaching, we are becoming more aware of the development of the player but yet we still have not made the strides necessary to elevate the coaching and development of our players as we tend to emulate other countries or styles to create our own. So, let’s start with this hypothetical thought…..Go tell the DFB (German Soccer Association) that you like all their work. Then tell them Germany has expanded size wise to now include 7 time zones, you have added 200+ million people, soccer is now the #5-8 sport in the public attention and the Latino and African American populations are not really integrated into the mix. My point is we are so unique, HS soccer is a reality, pay to play is a reality, college soccer is a reality, etc, etc. We have the resources, we have the demographics but yet we still tend to follow the leads of other countries without creating our own brand, or have we?  What about curriculum vs player needs?

Let’s consider this excerpt from Soccer American where they interviewed Garces….

The club coaches say the Federation doesn’t dictate to them how they should coach their youth, or what formations to play, but Pachuca’s Sporting Director Marco Garces says there’s a general agreement of how Mexican soccer should be played. Soccer America August 2012.

“I think there’s an overall respect for the game, for the ball,” Garces said. “We all try to play out of the back. We try to play a more sophisticated type of soccer in the sense of having the ball, not losing possession. In general, there are always clubs that try different things. But overall the style of play in Mexico is to try and hold possession and to try and create chances. It’s positive for development."

Does our curriculum address this? More important does our environment address this? Is there any way to incorporate this line of thinking into how we “conduct business” in this country? While I truly believe soccer continues to rise in the USA, we still have issues at the grassroots level. Too much emphasis on winning, “levels”, and money rather than the focus on development of the player and person. At the college level, we continue to see players not prepared with the skills necessary to compete and even lead from within their team. Even though we have moved in a good direction with our academy teams, it also has seen ripple effects on the non-academy groups. What is our mission within this country to better promote the game, promote development, and develop positive interactions?

Now, here is passage from Ian Barker, DoC of the NSCAA…
“Collaboration and consolidation. The leaders in all the constituent groups need to come together and work in the best interest of not only their constituents, but also the development of the game. There needs to be common ground and healthy respect for where there is agreement to disagree. The game could also be empowered and invigorated at a youth level if some of the acronyms partnered or merged.” Soccer America October 2012
Interesting thought as we have too many “rival” organizations vying for numbers. It is about money, ego, and wins as discussed above. If we are to develop the game and the players, should we consolidate clubs, leagues, etc? We know high school soccer is a reality. Are we taking those opportunities away for kids to play for their high school? Does it seem the USSF is solely focused on the academy player rather than the whole? How do we collaborate and consolidate for the betterment of the game and for the total development of the player?
Follow or Lead?
Every time someone thinks they have the answer and it is Brazil, or Spain, or an “academy”, or a better youth organization than the next we get distracted from creating the US brand of soccer. We have best sport sciences in the world, we have vast network of coaches and scouts, we have some great minds….how do we take the lead in forging ahead with the development of our players? Should we continue to emulate Spain, Barcelona, Germany, etc. or develop our own methods, our own ways, our own brand? Discuss…..
Development of Coaches and our brand – Let’s get talking!
Steve McClaren, article in the December 2012 edition of the Guardian,-‘Dutch have a different agenda. Everybody here wants to get the ball out, they want to be a coach. They discuss with you not winning or losing, they discuss tactics. ‘Why did you play that team? Why did you make that change?” It is not about: “Win, you’re the hero; lose you’re the bum; draw, you’re somewhere in between. It’s a football nation, a coaching nation. The develop coaches here.’

How we develop this in our country? Conventions? Coaching schools? Surely those 2 avenues cannot be enough? How do we as coaching professionals bring this into our communities as we know in order develop players, we develop ourselves? Coaching Education is vital to the development and success of the game. Coaches need to be instructed on teaching of skill, strategy, physical, and pedagogical side to coaching. We also need parent education to be installed in communities to discuss the value of sportsmanship and bought into what development entails. Character education must be also be considered in grassroot programs and coaching education.
Training Environments for Player Development:
At my A license in 2004, Coach Arena said something very profound to our group that has had an everlasting impression on me: “To get better at soccer, you must play soccer.” Simple, right? I know. Also, at a NSCAA Symposium in 2002 Coach Gansler stated, “In order for technical development to occur, there must boundaries, pressure of opponent/time/space, and ball.” Ok Chris what is your point…my point is how can we simplify our training environments but yet make them more constructive, competitive, and economical for our players? How do we produce intelligent, technical players? And ultimately what are we developing for? I see so many players who are not technically proficient as our mindsight is to win, win, win. So players are taught to run, run, run. Kick, kick, kick. Even at D1 programs, the object is not on the game but the result. I see more NAIA, D3 teams that play soccer. Can we change this? Can we implement more competition in training and take away the need to win before U16? Absolutely. Lets see where the game takes us.

-Chris Kranjc

Learn more about Chris Kranjc HERE

Follow Hastings Men's Soccer on Twitter @HastingsMSoccer

 

Five Positives of Travel Basketball - Corey Westra, GPAC

It’s 6:30am on a Saturday morning and I am in the lobby of the Embassy Suites in Omaha, Nebraska.  After not being able to sleep I grabbed my laptop and headed down to catch up on some work (and social media if I am being honest) and so far two volleyball teams have come and gone from the

breakfast table before the sun has even come up.  At 6:30am on a Saturday already over 30 kids have had breakfast and are ready for their day.  What is this?  Yes, you guessed it the big two words “travel ball”.    Whether it be volleyball or basketball this is the heat of travel season in both sports and Omaha is apparently the Midwest gathering spot this weekend with two rather large tournaments.

Notice I did not say the two “dreaded” words in reference to travel ball.  The truth be told that’s why we are here too.  My son’s fifth grade basketball team is playing here in the Omaha area (Bellevue) as well this weekend.  This is my wife and I’s first year in this “travel ball” system.  We are learning about how this works and what it is all about.  It’s been an interesting couple of months of observations so far.  However, this blog is about the positives and not the negatives of “travel ball”.  Believe me I wrestled with doing this and am very cognizant of rat race it can be, but that can be a focus of future writings.  

I am going to share my casual observations of what good has come from our experiences so far on the road this winter.

1.  My son loves it.  Period. Explanation point even!  This is his journey and not ours.  He loves his teammates and the game of basketball and he is happy playing with these guys.  Let me repeat this is his journey not ours.

2.  Team makes all the difference.  We are lucky, his team is a bunch of great kids.  In all seriousness you couldn’t find a better group of 10-11 year old boys.  Respectful, courteous, and compassionate.  I can tell you this because my son had fears early on before the first tournament and the veterans of the group took him under their wing and walked him through it (not parents, kids helping kids…yes it can and did happen).

3.  Coaching Counts.  I am not talking x’s and o’s here, I am talking coaches as people and humans.  I am also not talking winning here, I am talking the big-picture approach to the game and life.  We are fortunate and have two great coaches that get it.  Our team is focused on leadership (hence the name

Leadership Basketball) and our boys are learning it from two of the best leaders I know.

4.  Family time.  We have about as many little sisters and brothers at games as we do players on the team.  They run around and get along as well as the players on the team do.  For my daughters these travel weekends are not about the games ,but those times spent with friends as gym rats.  For us this includes grandparents as both my wife and I’s parents have not missed a tournament yet.  My brother has come and sister have come to games to support our son, that’s a true blessing.

5.  Win or lose there is always a pool at the hotel.  The games do not matter once they get that swimsuit on and go to the pool at the hotel.  Our job as parents to help them remember that there is always a pool to jump into and forget about anything bad that has happened.  There is probably a metaphor here of “cleansing” but did I mention it’s early in the morning so my brain isn’t fully awake yet.

So it’s now almost 8am and another three teams have come and gone from the breakfast table on a Saturday morning at the hotel.  I guess the Saturday mornings of my youth of sleeping in and watching cartoons are slightly different these days.  That’s probably ok too.  As I shared with my wife last night, “there is just something enjoyable about that sweaty smelly kid with a big smile in your car after a game.” 

Remember it’s your kid’s journey and not yours!

-Corey Westra

Learn more about Corey Westra HERE

Follow the GPAC on Twitter @gpacsports 

Being a Servant-Leader, What does that really look like? - Corey Westra, GPAC

For my Masters class this week I was asked to research servant-leadership styles and how those styles impact the decision making process.  Servant-Leadership is a focus of the NAIA through the Champions of Character Program and much of our focus is on what that means for our student-athletes.  However, what does it look like to be a Servant-Leader as a Coach or Administrator?  I felt the discussion board I did for our class had some points I could share in this blog. 

What characteristics can shape and guide a servant-leaders behaviors and decision making  processes?  It is easy to simply say that being a servant-leader is focusing on others, but what does that mean and what characteristics does this entail?

In researching this topic I found an article that focuses on ten key skills that define servant leadership.  Larry Spears from the Spears Center in the Journal of Virtues & Leadership identifies the following these items as key servant leadership traits when it comes to the decision-making process: 1.) Listening, 2.) Empathy, 3.) Healing, 4.) Awareness, 5.) Persuasion, 6.) Conceptualization, 7.) Foresight, 8.) Stewardship, 9.) Commitment to Growth of People, and 10.) Building Community (2010). 

As you consider how these characteristics apply to a servant-leader’s decision making process it is clear that there is a true focus on outward skills and actions of the leader in all ten of these traits.  None of these skills are inwardly focused and I feel that is a key to being an effective servant-leader.  Being a servant-leader is about those you serve and how you serve them.  Servant-leadership requires action. 

These ten items focus on varying areas of serving not only others but serving the whole as well.  I will break down my thoughts on three of the traits that Spears lists and why I feel they define servant-leadership.

First and foremost is listening.  Spears puts listening as the top characteristic of being a servant-

leader. I agree that it has to be first on the list because it drives all the other traits and in some ways is the stake that holds everything in place.  So much is put on what leaders say and do, but how do leaders hear and listen to what their followers are saying?  Spears states, “listening coupled with periods of reflection is essential to the growth and well-being of a servant-leader” (2010).  I would argue that this means active listening and not passive listening.  For example, many leaders tend to pass off listening as simply gathering feedback with no interaction (i.e. e-mail feedback or comment cards).  I feel that being there in person and listening with your ears (and eyes) is critical to a servant-leader.  I see this on our college campuses when a President can leave his/her office and go sit in the cafeteria and have conversations with the students.  First it proves that the President will eat cafeteria food, but being in and among those students daily life and listening is a very important to being an effective leader of their particular school.

The next trait I found as a key one for servant-leadership is foresight.  Everyone has heard the phrase that hindsight is 20/20, but what if foresight could be 20/20?  Obviously that can’t happen 100% of the time but looking ahead on outcomes is critical to the decision-making process of a servant-leader.  Much of this comes with experience and what I call the “being in tune” factor.  If you don’t know your workplace, company, or school, and the varying personalities within, then your foresight for them is probably not going to be very good.  I know I have worked with leaders with very poor foresight ability and it, to me, was a direct reflection on not being in touch.  Spiers states in his article, “foresight is a largely unexplored area in leadership study but one that is deserving of careful attention” (2010).  He goes on to say that foresight is, “…learning from the lessons of the past, the realities of the present, and make the likely consequence of the decision for the future…” (Spiers, 2010).  Reflecting on past experiences can be a key factor in future decisions for a servant-leader.  A servant-leader has to be able to tie things together and be able to review and reflect on all if his/her decisions of the past to have the ability to have foresight in the decision making process.

The final characteristic I want to touch on is building community.  Leaders, to me, can easily get
caught up in the inward part of their job.  As humans we want to build ourselves up in what we do.  How does this decision make ME look?   However, how a leader builds his/her community around them is a key trait to being an effective servant-leader.  This is done, according to Spiers, by simply “identifying ways that people can be a part of their particular community with the organization” (2010).  I agree that how a leader encourages and fosters this among their organization is paramount to creating a place that community is strong.  If the parts of the system are engaged in the group, with purpose, then the whole community is strong.  This all starts with an outward focus as a servant-leader. 

Being a servant-leader is not easy and it cannot be done passively.  I felt the ten traits presented in this article covered a wide range of areas that can shape the behaviors and decision making abilities for a servant-leader. 

Works Cited

Spiers, L. (2010). Character and Servant Leadership: Ten Characteristics of Effective, Caring Leaders. Journal of Virtues & Leadership. Retrieved February 13, 2015, from http://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jvl/vol1_iss1/Spears_Final.pdf

-Corey Westra

Learn more about Corey Westra HERE

Follow the GPAC on Twitter @gpacsports 

A Parent’s Guide to AAU Sports - Chad Hanson, Dordt College

Today's Blog entry comes from Chad Hanson, the head volleyball coach at Dordt College.  I came across this entry from Chad in another online publication entitled In All Things . Coach Hanson graciously said we could re-post his thoughts on our blog this week.  Chad addresses a very important topic in this entry and I thank Chad for sharing his insight and reflections with us this week.

The topic of AAU sports is broad and I must keep it narrow. AAU sports is a general term that could

refer to the specific entity of the Amateur Athletic Union where 38 sports are currently offered. Within the official AAU entity, there are local or state chapters such as AAU Iowa where 12 sports are currently offered. AAU could also be used improperly to describe “club” or an affiliated grouping of youth sports teams representing a region (not a school). For example, USA Volleyball has over 5,300 junior clubs registered that compete for a national championship in different age and skill divisions each summer.

The narrow theme that I wish to engage is: Should my son or daughter play AAU sports?

To address these questions, let me present some questions below and add further thoughts within each question category. My hope is that the reader will find some helpful guidelines on which to base a wise and Biblically grounded decision for your son or daughter. The following is not an exhaustive list and is not in ranked order:

1. How much total time (daily, weekly and monthly) will this require of my child?
In the Biblical context of 1 day rest for 6 days labor, will the practice and tournament schedules honor that Biblical order? Some AAU sports and seasons have a few practices per week and local tournaments only on Saturday’s. Some could practice a few days per week and also play in consecutive 2 or 3 day tournaments on the weekends (usually over a holiday weekend such as Memorial Day). The length of an AAU season is also important to consider. Some AAU sports could last 6 weeks from start to finish, while others could last for 6 months from start to finish. Naturally, there are more repetition opportunities for the longer seasons.

2. How much financial expense (up-front cost vs. implied cost through my child’s involvement) is required for participation?
There might be an up-front cost of $100 per month for a child to play an AAU sport (some more expensive, others less expensive), but that may only cover the gym rental and uniform cost, tournament entry fees, and maybe also the coach salary. There are implied costs such as: spectator admission fees at the gymnasium door, hotel rooms, gas, food, souvenir purchases, airline fees if traveling to a distant tournament, and additional lessons that could surface from your child wanting more playing time or a greater role on their team. I have heard of some families paying over $10,000 for one “club” season, without implied costs factored in. The family justified that expense with the rationale that their daughter would get a college scholarship to play that sport. They were using her college savings to pay for her high school club experience.  I have heard of some families paying over $10,000 for one “club” season, without implied costs factored in.

3. What will the development and growth (physical, emotional, spiritual, social, mental) benefits be for my child by participating in this AAU program?
Luke 2:52 and 10:27 suggest that God wants us to continue growing and developing in all areas of our lives through love. Will my child grow godlier by his or her participation in this sport? Will my child be encouraged properly in areas of teamwork, accountability, trust, skill development, tactical

strategies, goal setting, perseverance, commitment, selflessness, diligence, self-control, responsibility, leadership, communication, and more? Is the person that will lead my child someone my child can respect for the right reasons? A reminder here for all of us parents: the coaches who spend time with our children in the sports context end up having a great impact on their development.

4. What kind of overuse or repeated physical motions will my child be undergoing in order to participate in this AAU program, as distinct from their school sponsored sport?
There is great athletic and health value for a child to play different sports instead of 1 sport year-round. Rest for certain muscles, bones and joints is very important for the long-term health of the child. Many AAU sports programs are managed during the off-season of the school sport. This can lead to structural problems as the muscles and joints need rest after 3 months of the school sport. The AAU season can change that rest opportunity by continuing the frequent use of the muscles and joints in the same motion required by that sport.

5. Does my child want to participate or do I want my child to participate in this AAU sport?
It is possible that the hidden motivation of signing a child up for the AAU season is out of anxiety that your child will miss out on a college opportunity unless they play year round. However, there are many different, and often times better, ways to expose your child’s athletic talent in front of a college coach. You could consider filming a practice or school sports match and sending a DVD to a college coach. YouTube has created a great platform convenient for both college coach and prospect to share video footage. Attending some specific sports camps of the colleges of interest can be an important way to increase exposure. If your child doesn’t stand out in a sports camp and get noticed by the college coach in his or her junior or senior year, then maybe they are not meant to play that sport at that level. It is important to ask yourself: Does my child want to get practice and play AAU or am I, the parent, requesting they get more practice in the sport?How can I help my team become more successful?

6. Is this particular AAU program or coach a good fit for my child?
Parents and players who have previous experience with the same coach or the same AAU program, can provide some beneficial insight into what you might be considering for your child’s participation. They might respond to your financial questions in a positive manner and justify the “college savings” as rationale for their son or daughter to participate. However, you might be in a different position and unable to view “college savings” as the rationale, or unable to justify playing on Sunday’s, etc. Again, this is your decision, but the experience and perspectives of others can help you feel solid about your decision.

7. How will this AAU sport benefit or conflict with the training and philosophy of the school program? Will these benefits outweigh the conflicts?
There can be a great tension for an athlete when they are

being taught to perform a skill differently by different coaches. But, regardless of individual techniques, I believe that all athletes are best prepared for higher levels and mastery of skill when they are trained to become aware of controlling their body in space (a concept known as proprioception). What matters is the on court (or on field) result (what I call “the outcome”). Every repetition that the child gets is one more rep to improve the outcome. The more your child can develop quality outcomes via different methods, the more adaptable they will be when they enter college, where the college coach will likely do things differently than previous coaches.  While receiving coaching from multiple coaches, though, it is important to remember that each coach will likely want things done her way. If the school coach is asking you to do something one way, then do it that way while playing for that team. If the AAU coach is teaching a different way to do it, then do it that way while playing for that team. Coaches tend to factor the ability to follow their particular system into decisions about playing time; giving each coach what she wants will likely increase playing time opportunities. However, if questions about playing time do arise, parents should not raise those questions for their child. A middle school or high school aged athlete can ask those questions directly at a discreet and respectful time. And, a great way to ask the question by the athlete is, “How can I help my team become more successful?”

-Chad Hanson

Learn more about Chad Hanson HERE
Follow Dordt athletics on Twitter @dcathletics

 

Experiencing Diversity Through Sport - Matt Franzen, Doane College

Today's Blog entry on MLK day comes from Matt Franzen, the head football coach at Doane College.  Matt shares his reflections on how diversity has had positive effects on the building of a team in intercollegiate athletics.  He also shares how Doane College and the Tiger football team has embraced diversity in Crete, Nebraska.  Thank you Matt for sharing your story and reflections with us on our Blog.

Last Friday night I sat on the floor in our Crete home with my 1 year old daughter Cora, listening to
U2's Joshua Tree album and thinking about what I would write this blog post about.  She found the volume dial and gave it a healthy turn.  As she started to bounce up & down with the music (she gets her musical gift from her mother), her 4 year old sister Anna came running into the room yelling "turn the music down, it's hurting my ears!".

     

My first thought was that Cora would turn to her and yell, "If it's too loud, you're too old!".  But since she's not yet speaking more than a word or two at a time, her look said as much as she glared at me when I turned down the noise.  

I'd been thinking about writing about the unique opportunity we have in football to infuse our team with diversity and the value in this.  This subtle difference between these two sisters (Anna actually likes music just fine, but Cora seems to FEEL it in her soul) convinced me to share my thoughts on this topic.

Our team at Doane has always been fairly diverse, at least compared to other teams located in semi-rural Nebraska towns.  Building a team where all members come from a very similar background makes the job easier but I think an opportunity is lost.  

As a staff, we work hard to build diversity through recruiting and also to foster diversity once we get

our kids on campus.  Finding cultural diversity takes out-of-state recruiting in many cases and also takes time and attention once the kids get to town.  Handling a young man from Dallas, TX the same way as a young man from Thedford, NE generally does not end well.  As a coach, you have to go into this situation understanding that these kids come from very different backgrounds, both geographically and likely socially as well.  They listen to different music, dress differently, and probably see a different barber.  Getting to know the kids and their individual needs is critical.

We talk to our team very early in pre-season camp about understanding and appreciating the differences in their teammates.  Each of us come from somewhere different.  Many will come from different home settings (1 parent, 2 parents, adoptive parents, grandparents, no parents, etc.).  Some have been raised in a church environment and some never will step foot in a church.  Belief systems and priorities are going to be different among young men when you have 120 team members.

We work hard to create an environment of respect and tolerance among our team members at Doane.  One of the best parts of coaching, for me, is watching kids who come from a very homogenous environment get to know and genuinely love guys who don't look like them.  We all have prejudices and stereotypes and football provides an opportunity to break these while our kids are still young and impressionable.  As legendary coach Bill Curry points out, when a white kid from the country brings an African-American city kid home for Thanksgiving break, lives are changed - not so much for the kids in this instance, but for the families.  These offers are reciprocated and the impact on both sides is tremendous.

The beauty of diversity, in my mind, is also in preparing our young people for the world they will soon enter.  The ability to accept and appreciate differences in others that one will encounter down the road is priceless and opens up all kinds of wonderful life experiences.

I'll sign off with one of my favorite memories of late.  My wife and girls and I were at the Doane-Midland basketball game last November when our 4-year-old went on a little jaunt.  She's taken to helping herself to a drink of water from the cooler behind the bench and this time headed down to try some Midland water.  After grabbing a swig, she started back and then took a sharp turn, walking directly in front of the Midland bench during live action!  My wife and I (parents of the year at this point...) watched aghast from the opposite end of the gym.  One of our players, Ferrari Shores, casually walked over and took her by the hand, then walked her around the floor back to mom and dad.  Anna has grown up around the team and didn't think twice about him coming to the rescue.  I'm pretty sure everyone in the gym couldn't help but notice a 6'3" 320 pound young black man walking hand-in-hand with a sprite little white girl who was skipping (yes, skipping) her way back to mom and dad. 

Good stuff indeed.

-Matt Franzen
Learn more about Matt Franzen HERE
Follow Doane football on Twitter @doanefootball

The Support of Many Helps the Healing Process - Jon Hart, Dakota Wesleyan University

Today's Blog entry comes from Jon Hart, Associate Athletic Director at Dakota Wesleyan University.  Jon shares the story of his hunting accident on October 26, 2014.  Hart continues on the road to recovery and we continue to send thoughts and prayers his way as more is learned in the days and weeks to come.  Jon Hart is a former student-athlete in the GPAC before assuming his current role at DWU.  His father, Curt, is the Athletic Director at DWU and his sister Amanda is a GA Coach for the Tigers women's basketball team and former GPAC intern.  Thank you Jon for sharing your story and reflections with us on our Blog.

The date of Oct. 26^th has always been a day very familiar to me, as it is my father’s birthday. Now that date holds an additional meaning that will stick with me. 

I had just finished up a successful day of walking the fields pheasant hunting with a group of friends. We were a few birds short of our limit with the sun beginning to set. We decided to take the rural roads home with the hope of spotting a few more birds to cap off the day. Unfortunately we ended up seeing one bird too many.
  
As we were traveling down a gravel road (in basically the middle of nowhere) we spotted a rooster in the ditch on the right side of the road. I was seated in the backseat behind the driver of a four-door pickup. We stopped the truck in hopes we wouldn’t spook the bird before we could walk the ditch to flush him out. As I exited the truck and made my way towards the ditch, my friend driving was just getting out of the vehicle. As he stepped out of the vehicle he grabbed his gun with his right arm. As he tried to close the door with his left arm, his right arm wasn’t fully out of the vehicle and the door jerked his right arm back causing his finger to slip and pull the trigger. The gun discharged and I was standing roughly ten feet away as the shell struck the inside of my left ankle and partially exited the outside of my foot.

It took me a few seconds to realize what happened. I looked down at my hunting boot and obviously knew I had been shot. We drove to the closest highway and met an ambulance which took me to a hospital in Parkston, S.D. Shortly after that I was airlifted to Sioux Falls, S.D., roughly 70 miles away. To make a long story short, I underwent multiple surgeries from a plastic and orthopedic surgeons. The accident resulted in me spending eight days in the Sioux Falls hospital.

Those eight days in the hospital put so many things into perspective. After my first surgery I woke up to 172 text messages from family, friends, colleagues, and strangers. Like any ordeal you expect your family and friends to be there for you. I can’t even begin to explain how helpful and supportive those two specific groups were for me. 

Outside of my close family and friends I received an overwhelming amount of support from colleagues of Dakota Wesleyan University and the entire Great Plains Athletic Conference. After receiving many visits, gifts, cards, phone calls, and messages, I thought to myself how fortunate I am to be working with so many great people. Where else would you receive visits from the league commissioner, athletic directors, coaches, and student athletes from within the conference?

Working within the GPAC has been a phenomenal experience for countless reasons and the support I received after my accident is a perfect example. I realized how special our conference was while I was a student athlete at DWU. Being a sports management major, I paid close attention to how the GPAC conducted itself and hoped I could continue to be a part of it once I graduated. Now as an administrator I get to work behind the scenes and see why we are so successful. It starts with the people. We have so many great people working within the GPAC who strive to improve their program, school, the conference and the NAIA.

When attending national NAIA meetings I am always proud to say Dakota Wesleyan is a member of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. The entirety of the GPAC staff, schools, academic and athletic programs set the bar for everything the NAIA stands for.

Currently, I am still not able to bear weight on my ankle/foot. I get around from point A to B with the help of family and friends and also with a knee scooter. I am hoping to be back on both feet within the next few weeks. It has been a rough couple months, but the support of my family, friends, DWU and the GPAC have made things much easier. So, I wanted to take this blog entry as an opportunity to say “thank you”. Ultimately, our member schools share a unique bond and I am very humbled to be a part of it.

-Jon Hart

Learn more about Jon Hart HERE

Follow him on Twitter @jonnyhart5