Project Coach Crew

           On Tuesday, January 8th a number of our coaches, the graduate students, and Kayleigh, our program director, received our first official crew training at the Pioneer Valley Riverfront Club (PVRC, http://pvrowing.org/index.html) located in the North End of Springfield.  The PVRC is a rowing facility operating under the mission to promote river-based sporting activities, to develop river access, and encourage recreation in the Greater Springfield metropolitan area.  Project Coach is thrilled to have developed a partnership with the PVRC in order to aid them in their mission to expose Springfield residents to the wonderful, yet widely untapped resource that is the Connecticut River by exposing our own coaches and elementary-age program participants. Project Coach is always looking for ways to expand, in order to offer our participants as many unique and quality experiences as possible.  An opportunity to introduce not only a new sport, but also a wonderful new public facility to our kids was too good to pass up.

Learning some of the rowing fundamentals.

For the entire month of January a group of our coaches will be going to training sessions twice a week in order to learn about the sport of rowing and how to teach it to their elementary students.  Erin Sprong, PVRC executive director and “jack of all trades”, is leading the sessions with the Project Coach crew (no pun intended) and has some help thanks to Barbara Blank, a smith undergrad from the crew team whom also tutors with PC and was kind enough to come along.  The first session went over well with the coaches eager to learn about the new sport being added to the PC repertoire.  In the first tuesday we learned basic rowing terms, the fundamental rowing positions, the proper order of movements, and how to properly use the ergs (rowing machines).  It was a lot to take in, but by the second session the following thursday, the coaches had the basics down pretty well.  The group enjoyed completing an activity geared towards communication (a cornerstone in the PC program curriculum) in which one person had to lead their blindfolded partner through an obstacle course by nothing but verbal communication.  The activity not only stressed the importance of being an effective communicator in order to teach and lead, but also provided a few laughs for the group watching the blindfolded volunteer complete some silly tasks.  Overall the first few training sessions have gone well and the coaches will look to improve their knowledge of the sport and creative ways to teach it over the remaining sessions.  By the end of the month we expect that they will be ready to act as excellent ambassadors to the sport, to the PVRC, and the Connecticut River for their elementary students who look up to them so much.  So do not be surprised if you see a boat full of PCers out on the water in late spring once things have started to warm up!

Wasting no time getting in a bit of a workout on the first day of the January trainings!

Fall 2012 Banquet

Coach Carawell Speaks to Project Coach Staff at Banquet 

       On Tuesday, December 18th, many of the staff members of Project Coach including our teenage coaches, Springfield Public School teachers, co-founders, and youth community leaders gathered in the Brightwood Health Center Community Room to celebrate a successful first half of the year. Together, we enjoyed some good food, heard Loeb Rosario and Joseph Wray share some of the highlights of the semester, listened to Coach Carawell talk about how he became a coach and what he has learned coaching Duke and the Armor, and watched a video made by one of our graduate students with clips and pictures from our first semester. It was an excellent way to cap off a semester filled with new adventures, recognize the hard work of our teenage coaches, and thank all of our staff members for their dedication all semester. 

       To begin the night, Loeb and Joseph shared many of the great things Project Coach experienced from August to December. In just that short frame of time our coaches went on tours of 5 colleges, attended multiple college application workshops, ran 8 weeks of soccer games and tournament play, were trained by Smith College Volleyball team, ran 8 weeks of Volleyball for the first time in Project Coach history, and worked hard with their Smith College personal academic coaches to raise their GPAs. Many of our coaches also received G and F level trainings from MA youth Soccer and our veteran coaches took a trip to NYC to see Project Coach in action at the Boys Clubs of NY. With more elementary students than ever before, more coaches, and great literacy lessons on sports-themed books, this semester truly was a success. Loeb and Joseph also gave out three awards for perfect attendance to all Project Coach events in the first semester. These went to Coach Priscilla Morales, Coach Xavier Rosario, and Coach Brian Arroyo. The group cheered their accomplishments before welcoming our guest speaker for the night - Coach Carrawell from the Springfield Armor. 

        Coach Carrawell, who began coaching as an assistant coach for Duke and is currently the assistant coach of the Springfield Armor, shared many great lessons with the group. Having played college basketball all four years at Duke, been drafted into the NBA and then retiring and becoming a coach, Carrawell had many great experiences to share. Perhaps the most profound and relevant for our staff, was his story of moving from player to coach. He spoke openly about how difficult it was to let go of being an NBA player and become a coach. He shared something he learned from the great Coach K while working at Duke. He said that they were always taught to let go of whatever just happened in the game and focus on "the next play". By doing this, they didn't let any disappointments from the last play interfere with whatever came up next in the game. He explained how he tried to apply this to his life and took the opportunity to coach at Duke while getting his graduate degree. He also spoke about how important his education was in order to allow him to transition into coaching. After his speak, our teenage coaches asked a lot of excellent questions about his experiences coaching and in life. All of the staff members really enjoyed his speech and were great-full he came. 

          After enjoying the video of our first semester and having some desserts, we all went out separate ways thinking about how great this first semester and first experience with volleyball was. The leadership team, graduate students, and the purple shirts (veteran leaders in PC) have already met to discuss many ways we can continue to improve, grow and impact the lives of youth in Springfield next semester. In a little over a week, we will kick off our rowing training in preparation for our pilot program with the Pioneer Valley Rowing Club. 

First PC Volleyball - Kelly Coder (Smith Graduate Fellow)

Volleyball in Action!

       After our first 7 weeks of volleyball, Project Coach was pleased with the initial experience and full of new ideas for making it more active and even more fun. This was the first time the program had ever used the sport of volleyball as part of its curriculum. Going into this unit we knew it would be a challenge.  Our coaching staff would have to learn a game few had ever even played themselves and they would then have to teach this game to their groups of third to fifth graders.  On top of this, because volleyball can be a less active than our other sports, the coaches were taught a series of fitness activities that would be implemented along with the volleyball games. A lot to take on for any group of young aspiring coaches.
      While our coaches and youth leaders had suggested we add volleyball to increase our sports and expose kids to something new, we felt a bit overwhelmed at first by the daunting task. In the past we have kept it simple with our two sport seasons of soccer and basketball. We also usually don't run programming this late after thanksgiving. However, following our training workshop prior to the start of the unit we saw our coaches demonstrate an incredible amount of enthusiasm and excitement for both the volleyball and fitness pieces. We knew they'd be just fine.
      As the volleyball section unfolded our team was faced with more and more challenges each week. But rather than making excuses we thought of ways we could improve ourselves and these new methods of programming on multiple levels. Taking advice from the elementary students, our blue, purple and red shirts, as well as new ideas from our experienced founders and partners we were able keep the kids engaged and enthusiastic as they learned this brand new sport. The students progressed each week as we added new games and fitness units that our coaches implemented wonderfully.
       One of the biggest challenges we had to face with this new unit was the higher inactivity level. With soccer and basketball it is much easier to keep the kids active and constantly moving. With volleyball it's a lot more difficult, we had to modify games and add fitness whenever possible. Using devices called accelerometers we were able to calculate just how many calories were being burned and showed us how active the kids were throughout the volleyball/fitness unit. The data showed short periods of moderate and vigorous activity along with some lower levels of activity. We are going to take these results and use them to improve the quality of our program going forward. Project Coach will continue to use data from accelerometers and similar devices to help us make the proper adjustments necessary to create the high levels of fun and activity we aim to achieve while developing the lives of young adults and children.

        Overall this initial run of our volleyball and fitness unit was a success. We have set the foundation for our curriculum and we have expanded the program to new lengths. We are extremely proud of our coaches and the rest of our PC family who showed incredible enthusiasm and patience as we implemented this new curriculum. We can't wait to see where the program can go from here and just how effective we can make our ever improving curriculum which now consists of 4 sports and a developing fitness program.

Loeb and Joseph Speak at the Community Forum on Casinos in Springfield

Casino Proposals in Springfield, MA

                 Last night, two veteran coaches (now college students and leaders in the program), one of our graduate fellows who grew up in Springfield, and I attended the Community Forum for the two casinos (MGM and Penn National) who are attempting to build in Springfield, MA. Listening to the proposals was an informative experience, both of our veterans remarked how much they learned about the projects, what a nice job the companies had done preparing, and how exciting the prospects seemed for the city. I was struck by how few of the 300 audience members appeared under the age of 30. As a former resident and teacher in the city of Springfield, I was worried that the youth of the city had not come out to hear about such an important possibility and change. When it came time for community members to ask questions, I noticed that our two young men appeared to be among an incredibly small number of youth in line to ask these companies about their plans, their commitment to the city, and their ability to help Springfield. Yet, I could not have been more proud to see and hear Loeb and Joseph speak about our program and ask about the potential for these companies to support community building organizations like ours. 

 Loeb Rosario and Joseph Wray address the executives from MGM and Penn National 

          As you can see in the video, our young men were incredibly poised and well spoken, especially considering the large crowd, the people they were addressing (CEOs and COOs), and the fact that they were one of the first in line to ask a question. What struck me during and after this was that this event was not just important for our program, the possibility of connecting with these casinos, and our never ending quest for a beautiful facility in the north end; this was incredibly important for the two men who took a chance, had a great experience, and supported a program that meant so much to them. Afterwards, both Loeb and Joseph Wray were interview by NECN and Fox 6. A portion of that aired on both stations last night. Furthermore, the Young Professionals Society invited both young men to their next luncheon. In an email this morning, Loeb wrote, "I just really want to say thank you. Thank you for believing in me and trusting me throughout the past 6 years of my life. I know I could count on you all for anything." He continued on to say, "It seriously means a lot to me that you trust me talking about Project Coach to such important people." This solidified my belief that getting our name out, creating an opportunity to partner with these casinos, and promoting Project Coach, did not live up to the fabulous opportunity we had just given these young men. The chance to speak and be received as well as they were was undeniably powerful. 

MGM Gives Answer to Loeb and Joseph's Question

MGM Thanks Loeb and Joseph for Coming and Their Courage to Speak 

Penn National Echoes MGM's Support for Our Youth Leaders and the Program

       As all of the videos show, the two companies were both eager to discuss opportunities to partner with Project Coach and other organizations developing youth in Springfield. MGM's diversity leader commented how interested they were in organizations that have youth involved in mentoring and developing other youth. Loeb and Joseph were excited by the opportunity in their responses and will be visiting the offices of both companies this week. We are all excited and encouraged and would love to create a partnership with either organization. Stay tuned for more updates on this opportunity! 

Successful Family Night! 

           Last week, Project Coach held its first Open House Family Night for the first semester. Planned by our Purple Shirts, veteran coaches in local colleges who have leadership positions in the program, the first Family Night surpassed all expectations. Following our normal Wednesday programming (literacy, sports, and dinner for our participants), a crowd moved from the Gerena cafeteria to the gyms. So many families showed up, that the large hall leading to the gyms was packed with siblings, parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Over 75 parents attended, with and overall attendance around 150 people. The gyms were full of activity including basketball games, volleyball with parents and kids, and PC youth coaches leading games from the week's practices. Walking around the gyms, PC staff were thrilled to see such a wonderful event with amazing attendance happening in the community. 

  

           During the activity, our Purple Shirts were getting parents to sign up for an adult North End Volleyball League they are starting. Over 40 parents signed up and received free PC Volleyball t-shirts. Parents also talked with their children's coaches and staff about how much the program means to them and their community. Many parents offered excellent suggestions on follow-up Family Nights and ideas for other ways we could connect to the North End. Meanwhile, the gyms were filled with sports, play, and laughter. Looking forward, our Purple Shirts are already planning a Project Coach Family Carnival Night with more fun games, stations, and other chances to enjoy active time with their children, PC coaches, and other members of the community. 

NYC and College Trips by Red Shirt Joe

It was a real pleasure to spend the day on Thursday with Kayleigh (Director), Kelly (Sports Director), Jon, Efrain, Loeb, and Joe (Purple Shirts).  Generally spending eight hours with anyone during a day is something I try to avoid, especially in the confines of a fast-moving van.  In this case, I enjoyed the company immensely.  What made the day enjoyable was how comfortable everyone was with each other.  I think that getting away does that, which is why I think that trips will be a great tool going forward to get to know our home teams better.

We first made our way in to Manhattan.  We arrived a bit early, so we ate at one of my favorite pizza places.  Here is a picture of Kelly mashing food into his face and Kayleigh apparently carrying on a conversation with a pizza pie.

From there we headed to the BCNY building in lower Manhattan to meet with three representatives from the clubhouse.  I was impressed with the questions and answers that each of the Purple Shirts offered--they knew that this was a business trip first and foremost.  We then got stuck in some rush hour traffic, but the guys did get to meet some of the BCNY high school students from Queens who are using the Project Coach curriculum.  One goal for me is to get BCNY to come up to Springfield--I think it'd be great for the Blue Shirts to share their coaching experiences with other students in different locations.  From there, we headed north to lovely Bethlehem, CT where my dad had cooked up a great meal.  Jon Cotto can sure eat.  Then it was back to Springfield.

Sunday was equally enjoyable.  We met Liam at UMASS and he led a tour of his old stomping grounds.  We got some pizza delivered to the basketball courts near the dorms, which is where this happened:

College!

Today, several Project Coach members spent a few hours working in Morgan Hall on their college applications and college essays.  The room bustled with activity.  Several Smith students volunteered their time to work with and advise the blue shirts as they began the college process.  Owen brainstormed ideas for his college essay.  Besides being a great coach, he also helped build a house with his class!  Loeb and Efrain started thinking about transferring to their target schools.  Lai'shaa worked on her essay, and she's only a sophomore!  Priscilla started her common application, and she's only a junior!  This kind of initiative is so impressive, and important to staying on top of a complicated process.  A big thanks to the Smith students--Anna, Perry, Glendean, Julia, Haley, Dena, and Carlie--for working with us today.  And now, a college-themed quote to send all of our readers on their way.  A prize for the first commenter to name the movie that this quote is from*:

"You know, a lot of people go to college for seven years."
"I know, they're called doctors."














*Prize is the satisfaction of being published on the Project Coach Blog.