Going Big! PC launches training initiative with HSLI / YMCA

Last night, Project Coach team members traveled outside their comfort zone of the North End to visit Dunbar Community Center, where 108 local YMCA staff members were waiting to participate in a two-hour training session.

The session featured loads of small group discussion and a host of interactive activities between PC team members and the YMCA staff.  Our discussions and activities touched on coaching and leadership styles, effective and ineffective communication techniques, the creation of the “perfect coach” (a PC favorite), and building a positive team culture. Using coaching clips from Project Coach archives, and from famous fictional and non-fiction coaches, participants also considered the importance of effective verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as critical listening skills.

All of these themes are routinely discussed and thoroughly analyzed over the course of a season by our high school students in Project Coach, as these issues take time and concentrated effort to master.  That being said, the YMCA staff did a wonderful job engaging with the issues in a way that left everyone here at Project Coach excited about the YMCA’s summer programming.

The two-hour session was a great success in its own right, but what is best about these types of events is the transfer of knowledge and expertise between two organizations that previous to this time, have been working towards the same goal- enriching the lives of youth in their community through strong mentorship- independent of one another. This was abundantly evident in the composition of the Project Coach team that carried out the workshop; Directors, experienced “redshirts”, incoming “redshirts” (for whom last night’s session was their first formal venture into the PC curriculum!) and - most importantly - a cohort of veteran high school-aged coaches, who did a tremendous job sharing their knowledge and facilitating group activities with what was - by far - the largest number of people PC has ever launched a training initiative for.

Collaborations like the one formed last night can have positive effects that reach beyond the limits of a two-hour training session, and here at Project Coach we hope that last night is the start of great relationship with the YMCA of Springfield, and Hasbro Summer Learning Initiatives, who have been instrumental in providing such collaborative opportunities for PC, and have played a critical role in helping to shape our third consecutive summer of employment opportunities for PC youth. We look forward to continued partnerships with both organizations, this summer and beyond.

A Final Farewell - Redshirts reflect on a groundbreaking year

As the 2011-12 Project Coach year begins to draw to a close, and preparations move into full gear for an exciting summer program and a new cohort of "redshirts" joining us later this month, our current graduate students reflect on their experiences in Project Coach, and what it has meant to them as they prepare for careers in teaching, coaching, and youth development.

Last week the Gerena 4/5 team won their first basketball game. The kids were excited. And so was I. But it wasn't the win, or the margin of victory, that brought tears to my eyes as the final whistle sounded. What made me so emotional that Friday afternoon was the realization that these kids were truly playing as a team. "X-man, here!" Henry had shouted, passing it to Xavier in the lane. "Rosie, get it in," Axsel encouraged, giving his fellow player the confidence to take her first shot of the season. "De-FENSE! De-FENSE!" Alex chanted from the sidelines, taking a break due to a sick stomach but still wanting to be part of the charge. It was incredible to see these fourth and fifth graders not only working together, but also looking out for each other, selflessly and enthusiastically. 

These values of sportsmanship, inclusivity and cooperation did not come out of nowhere. They had been modeled, discussed, and explicitly taught by our Blue Shirts. Indeed, I saw and heard echoes of high school coaches Loeb, Owen, Johnny, Natasha and Alex on that court, as the 4/5 Falcons soared. And that's what's amazing, to me, about the PC model; these elementary school students have grown as players and people as their high school mentors have grown as coaches and leaders. 

Much like a tutor whose ultimate goal is their own obsolescence, I have mixed feelings about saying goodbye. I will miss the relationships that have developed over the year, and the rewarding high of seeing the high school students interact with their teams. At the same time, it makes me happy to see how far all of these kids have come--both coaches and players--and know that they will only continue to grow as positive forces in their schools and communities. 

As I prepare for the next steps in my own life, I too will carry PC with me. Just today, planning to demo a lesson for a job interview, I have been thinking about the Project Coach games-based, athletes-first model; when I step into that classroom, I want to keep my lectures short, and the engagement high. Of course, this is but one of many take-aways from a phenomenally inspiring year. It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside my fellow Red Shirts, as well as Andy, Greg, Don, and Sam. I thank them for this life-changing opportunity, and--perhaps most of all--am grateful to the Blue Shirts for their hard work and dedication. I can't wait to see where they go next.

--Jason Anderson

My year as a Project Coach Fellow taught me the importance of mentors in education.  The program is based on the importance of relationships.  All participants act as role models for each other in formal and informal ways.  The teenage coaches mentor the elementary school kids on their teams, we as red shirts mentor the coaches, and Sam, Andy, and Don guide us with their advice.  More informally, we mentor each other on the van rides back and forth from Springfield.  The more experienced coaches mentor new coaches before practice and through their example.  Even the kids give each other pointers during games.  Project Coach fosters this culture of support and guidance.  

My experience in Project Coach inspired me to teach in Springfield this coming fall.  I plan to encourage and teach the spirit of mentorship in my classroom based on what I have learned this year.  I hope this will happen through partnerships with other classes in the school, between students who have strengths in different subjects, and between myself and my students.  Project Coach inspired me in many ways and I am very grateful to have been a part of the program. 

--Katie Joyce

"I think of you as my role model," 3rd grader Brianna said to Blue Shirt Priscilla Morales for her leadership video second semester. After blushing and thanking her, Priscilla turned to me and said in a moment of clarity, "Hey, it's cool! We all have people to look up to in Project Coach!" Moments like these are what I will remember most from this year. I have gained so much from my experiences in Project Coach. Helping 3rd grade students with their math and science homework allowed me to remember what it is like to learn a skill from scratch. More rewarding, however, was observing my high school Blue Shirt coaches explain these skills to their players, invested in their outcome in school. After finishing homework, the elementary students get to play sports for an hour with these same high school students - mentors from the classroom to the basketball court. The look on the 3rd graders' faces when their coaches dribble around them or let them steal the ball for a shot is priceless, and it is clear that they look up to them, both physically and emotionally. 

The relationships that the Project Coach system creates are truly unique. While we, as Red Shirts, got to work with many younger students, we also had the incredible opportunity to work with experienced educators like Sam Intrator, Don Siegel, and Andy Wood, and were able to use their knowledge to learn so much about how a nonprofit organization is run. In working so closely with five high school students, I have learned the value of being flexible, understanding, and of listening to each teenager with the same empathy. Each of our Blue Shirts has incredible stories, and they are willing to share when someone is willing to listen. 

As I move on to teach next year, I will use many of the ideas that I learned this year in my own classroom. I will try to listen to each student's story and hope to be the person they can seek if they need advice or simply need to talk. I would love to create some sort of mentorship program within the school because of the incredible outcomes I have seen both for the role models and for the younger students involved. Just as I have gained so much from my experiences with my Blue Shirts, I hope to continue learning from my students so that I can become the best teacher and role model I can be."

--Taylor Stevens

One of the most memorable moments of the year for me in Project Coach this year was when Jafette, a North End resident and father of a Project Coach player, came in to speak with the Blue Shirts on a Monday night about his experience as an adolescent who took a path that led him away from his education and ultimately, resulted in his arrest and the death of his best friend. One thing he said to us that evening, pacing back and forth, backwards cap tilted sideways, his hands moving as he talked, almost like he was going to break into slam poetry, was something to the effect of: "I think about how different my life would have been if I had had a positive adult role model in my life-- someone older to guide me away from that path I took and showed me the importance of my education, a path that would help me to find myself, not lose myself." 

These words, in a nutshell, speak to what my experience in Project Coach has left me with-- how powerfully the presence of a positive, encouraging, supportive role model can affect and change a life. Moving into my experience next year teaching high school Spanish, I will carry with me the knowledge that the presence, attitude and encouragement role models-- especially teachers-- give to their adolescent students plays an enormous role in influencing the paths they choose to pursue. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn and grow alongside the Blue Shirt coaches this year and watch them develop as leaders and powerful individuals.

--Cait Scudder

Antioch Books a Hit with PC!

This past Friday, May 4th, PC elementary students from Gerena Elementary had the unique opportunity of interacting with non-fiction children’s books that were crafted specifically with PC students in mind.  These incredibly thoughtful and original texts came courtesy of Smith College faculty member Carol Berner’s graduate class from Antioch University in nearby Keene, New Hampshire.



The books from the students at Antioch were wildly diverse, with some hands-on books that taught the art of paper cranes and friendship bracelets, and other books outlining the steps to cleverly and cunningly getting away with passing gas around others.  Whichever book our students picked up on Friday, they had a great time and learned something new- the ultimate combination!

Project Coach would like to extend our most sincere thanks to all of the graduate students who put such an incredible amount of thought and effort into their work.  Their ideas and creativity were stimulating for students, coaches, and teachers alike and they should all be proud of how their books sparked an elementary classroom.

PC visits Eric Carle Museum exhibition

Paris, New York, Boston...Smith College, Harvard, and Columbia. All points on the map that our intrepid cohort of high school youth coaches have paid visits to in recent years as they explore new countries, colleges, and cultures. And yet Wednesday's visit to the Eric Carle Museum marked the first time that we have embarked upon a field trip designed specifically for our younger program participants - 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students from Gerena School.

In keeping with this year's focus on pivotal role-models in sports - such as Jackie Robinson, Althea Gibson, and Roberto Clemente - students were given the opportunity to learn more about the impact that the Negro Leagues had on the American sport landscape, and society as a whole. After viewing a presentation of Ken Burns' seminal Baseball series, students explored a dynamic exhibit of vibrant oil paintings that brought the stars of this often-forgotten generation of ball players to life. Legends such as Satchel Paige and the enigmatic catcher Josh Gibson - widely considered among the greater players of their generation, regardless of color, fascinated students, who were particularly captivated by Studs Turkel's analysis that "Gibson wasn't the black Babe Ruth...Ruth was the white Josh Gibson", and stories of Paige's fastball (famously referred to as "The Midnight Rider")!

As students took in the artwork, they were asked to consider which paintings best illustrated important themes such as "dignity", "prejudice" and "pride", and then even got the chance to make their own sketches of the artwork.

Our sincere thanks go to Billy McBride from the board of directors of the museum, Greg Rosnick, and Principal Diane Gagnon for providing this wonderful opportunity for our students, as well as the Gerena PC teaching team for sharing this great day with our kids!

PC youth meet Title IX activist and Supreme Court victor

Thursday 5th April, 2012 - Western New England University.

Earlier this evening, Coaches Efrain, Priscilla, Yesenia, and Josh paid a visit to Western New England University to meet with legendary high school coach Roderick Jackson, as invited guests of Professor Curt Hamakawa - Director of WNEU's Center for International Sport Business.

At a specially arranged interview session prior to Coach Jackson's public appearance, all four coaches were able to direct their questions at a man who's leadership and courage paved the way for greater implementation of the seminal Act, after a continued struggle to gain equality for the girl's high school basketball team that he coached in Birmingham, Alabama, in the late 1990's and early 2000's. Despite being unsuccessful at both the district and circuit court level, Coach Jackson failed to be deterred, and successfully petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States to hear his case in 2004, before being awarded a 5-4 decision in his favor in 2005.

Central to Jackson's case lay the fact that - despite the 1972 passage of Title IX legislation - the girl's team that he coached was forced to play in an inferior gym, practice with deficient equipment, and were not afforded the opportunity to raise funds in the same way as their male counterparts. Fed up with the injustices that he perceived, Jackson took his fight to the courts, despite being fired for being prepared to buck the system that had existed for decades.

PC coaches asked a series of thoughtful questions during their private audience with Coach Jackson, and were able to use his responses and ideas to help frame their own concepts of what leadership looks like -- central to a current Project Coach media initiative that will see each coach create a video detailing their growth within the program, and their own individual definition of success as a leader.

Taking the next steps - college and beyond

On Saturday, March 31, 2012, Joe Wray, Tom Messinger and Greg Rosnick headed east to Beantown for a day of college visits.  Joe Wray, a veteran coach here at Project Coach, was recently accepted to a host of schools in the region, and before he decided on where he would be studying next year, it was important to get out and see the schools one last time.

The morning started with a tour of the beautiful Mount Ida College campus in Newton, Mass.  Because the weather was a bit dreary, the campus was a little quiet as many students sought refuge in their dorms and the nearby academic buildings.  As we strolled around campus, we almost had the place to ourselves.  Joe was very impressed with the physical beauty of the campus and if he goes there, he may be interested in studying a program within Mount Ida’s School of Business.

After a nice tour of campus, Joe, Greg, and Tom headed downtown to grab a bite to eat and stroll around the Boston Common.  By this point, the wind had really picked up and the lingering winter cold forced the three to head out of the city center a bit earlier than expected.  So after a short lunch break, they made their way to Newbury College, which is just minutes outside of downtown Boston in the picturesque suburb of Brookline, Mass.

Because of our timing, the stay at Newbury was much shorter.  The three Project Coach representatives walked around and talked to a few students and staff.  However, because there were no tours at this time of day, their stay at the school was quite limited.

Overall, it was a very positive day for Joe, who will be forced to make a very important decision sometime in the next few weeks.

Everyone at Project Coach is proud of Joe’s transformation over the past few years and we look forward to supporting him as he makes these exciting decisions for his future.

Owning the process (and the program) - PC Coaches

One of the biggest strengths - and often challenges - of any youth development program is finding opportunities for teens to participate meaningfully in the decision-making process. Far too often, and usually as the result of hectic schedules and short timeframes, it can be all too easy for that process to rest squarely in the laps of directors, adult supervisors, and graduate students. In doing so, the most critical population - youth in the program - are often left out in the cold from influencing some of the most important aspects of the organization; perverse, when once considers that the program itself is designed around the needs of these core constituents.

In his seminal article*, Reed Larson determines that involving youth in the decision-making process within programs is critical to the success of such organizations. Moreover, he states that - despite usually being originally conceived of by adults - much of the ongoing decision-making within a successful program is driven by youth participants themselves; grant writing, curriculum development, scheduling, to name but a few. Without this 'youth voice', organizations fail to stir the intrinsic motivation among teens required for success, and - quite literally - go under. A strong sense of goal setting from youth themselves underpins quality programs, rather than such goals being dictated by adults.

With this in mind, the current recruitment search for next year's "redshirt" graduate students provided a perfect opportunity for Project Coach to put this belief into practice. Having already conducted a forum after the last recruitment process to learn more about what qualities our youth coaches were looking for in a mentor and coach, shortlisted candidates spent 2 hours this past Monday meeting with PC youth. Our coaches worked in panels to ask potential recruits several questions - which they had prepared during a prior session - to help glean which candidates would prove to be the best fit with our organization. "Blueshirts" generated questions ranged from those which inquired about the skills and qualities people could bring to our organization ("what past experience do you have working with teens", "what do you consider to be the greatest strength that you could bring to a team"), to those which asked applicants to put themselves into a particular scenario or predicament, ("if a blueshirt wasn't working effectively with their coaching partner what would you do to assist", "if you noticed that a coach was displaying low energy or appeared distracted what would you do to help").



Following the more formal interview stage, candidates then worked with groups of coaches to teach them about a particular skill that they enjoyed, in order that PC youth could get a better feel for their delivery style, ability to engage others, and their teaching methods. Examples included writing poetry, juggling, playing field hockey, learning 6 languages in six minutes, and surfing!

At the conclusion of the process, coaches regrouped to consolidate their feedback, share their findings, and give their insight into the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate. In keeping with the integrity of the process, their input will help shape what direction Project Coach takes in the coming weeks as we begin to make fellowship offers to the 2012-13 cohort of graduate students.

*Larson, R. (2000). Toward a psychology of positive youth development. American Psychologist, Vol. 55, No.1, 170-183.