I would like to begin by saying that I am not in favor of “participation” trophies for youth athletes. The reason is not that we are giving out trophies to every player; instead, it’s the lack of creativity in what we call them and the meaning behind them. After coaching dozens of youth teams, I know that an eight- year-old player who came to practice, worked hard, played in the games and cheered on his/her teammates is not excited to be recognized as a “participant.” As parents and coaches, we have to be able to come up with something more meaningful than “participant.” [Read more…] about Sport Participation Trophies: A New Perspective
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APIVEO Presents the Safe at Home Game
Atlanta Inner-City Youth and Atlanta Police Department Come Together to Play in the Safe At Home™ Game, August 1 at Georgia Tech
L.E.A.D., APIVEO & the Atlanta Police Foundation to Address
Race & Law Enforcement Through Baseball
ATLANTA: July 16, 2015 – L.E.A.D. (Launch. Expose. Advise. Direct.) and APIVEO (Always Play IV Each Other) today announced details for its first annual Safe At Home™ Game sponsored by the Atlanta Police Foundation, Russell Athletics and Zaxby’s.
The Safe At Home Game is a self-officiated baseball game between a special group of young, Black, inner-city youth, called Ambassadors, and members of the Atlanta Police Department.
The event will be hosted at Georgia Tech’s Russ Chandler Stadium on August 1st with first pitch at 11 a.m. Grammy nominated gospel artist, Canton Jones (cantonjones.net) will perform at the event as well.
While the country has been gripped by violence in inner city communities, L.E.A.D. is determined to be a positive voice and a model for other urban communities.
“Providing platforms for our L.E.A.D. Ambassadors to be admired as positive leaders instead of marginalized statistics is my Divine Purpose in life,” said C.J. Stewart, Atlanta native and co-founder/CEO of L.E.A.D. “We’ve partnered with like minded organizations who understand now is the time to act, and any quality, sustainable change must include our young men.”
“We are committed to making Atlanta the safest and most inviting city possible,” said Dave Wilkinson, President & CEO of the Atlanta Police Foundation. “Our youth play a special role in helping us achieve this goal. We are proud to partner with The Ambassadors in this endeavor.”
“The Safe At Home Game will give us a unique opportunity to do what we should be doing everyday in our communities – overshadowing the bad with the good,” said Brad Jubin, founder of APIVEO.
WHAT:
Atlanta inner-city youth will play vs. members of the Atlanta Police Department in a self-officiated baseball game, to help foster trusting, cooperative relationships between Atlanta Police and the community.
WHEN:
Saturday, August 1, 2015:
10 a.m. – Ambassadors host baseball clinic for children in the Police Athletic League 11 a.m. –
First Pitch
1 p.m. – On field Program includes special presentations to Atlanta Public Schools
WHERE:
Russ Chandler Stadium at Georgia Tech 255 5th Street Northwest
Atlanta, Ga. 30332
WHY: A testimony about the inspiration for this game…
“Last September CJ Stewart, Co-founder of L.E.A.D., invited my 10 year old son, Christian, and I to speak to his L.E.A.D. Ambassadors prior to one of their Legacy League fall baseball games. The L.E.A.D. Ambassadors are all high school students that attend various Atlanta Public Schools. The game was played at Booker T Washington High School which sits in one of the highest crime ridden areas in the entire country much less our city or state. Needless to say, I was apprehensive about the environment.
After our 10 minute leadership talk my son and I stayed to watch the first game. There was a lot of baseball talent on the field. The players from both teams were talented and invested great effort. After an inning or so we noticed that there were no umpires. If the batter didn’t get a hit after a few pitches he either went to first base or to the dugout. There was plenty of cheering and encouragement and friendly joking and prodding going on but not a single disagreement or complaint.
After the game I thanked CJ for having us and told him we really enjoyed the game. I then asked him what the rules were. He said that because they couldn’t afford umpires, all games are self-officiated. The rules are 2 balls are a walk and 2 strikes are an out and the catcher makes all calls. I wandered what happened if a player doesn’t agree with the call. CJ quickly said, “They go home.”
My son and I couldn’t stop talking about we just witnessed on that baseball field. While I honestly didn’t know what to expect; I can tell you that what we experienced was the last thing, in the last place that I would have ever thought it would happen; we experienced the greatest example of respect I had ever seen. It wasn’t that these kids respected the game or their school or some “thing” else. They respected each other. Each kid played hard and worked hard, while demonstrating complete respect for their teammates and competitors; for the friends and neighbors; and for themselves. This is what truly defines this community.
Through the end of 2014 and the first few weeks of January 2015 the media was (and still is) dominated by the growing chasm between our inner city communities and our police officers. The continuous airing of riots and stories about the aggressive actions of police officers has become this countries primary inner city narrative.
I don’t live in the inner city, but I did attend that baseball game last September. I saw the kids that live in these neighborhoods and I was overwhelmingly impressed. And I know many police officers that are deeply and truly committed to serving in our communities.
An idea is born! What if our inner city kids played a self-officiate baseball game against the police officers that patrol their communities? What if we showcase the great people that live in and serve in our communities? What if we put the spotlight on the solid, caring and good people that truly make up our inner city communities instead of the few examples that seem to get all of the media attention? What if everyone watched our kids and cops respect each other?
CJ and Kelli Stewart loved the idea. The Atlanta Police Department loved the idea. We all met in person, shook hands and have rolled up our sleeves to make the Safe at Home Game happen. The Safe Home Game will reveal the true greatness of our communities.
We are planning several events leading up to the July 25th game including joint practices, a community picnic, L.E.A.D. Ambassador player ride-alongs with the APD players and recognition at Turner field during a Braves game.
The Safe at Home Game is a blueprint for other cities. Our vision is to see other cities replicate this event and showcase their great people through the Safe at Home Game.” – Brad Jubin, Co-founder, APIVEO / Co-founder, the Safe at Home Game / Certified JMT Speaker, Coach and Trainer
Confessions of a Crybaby
(this blog was previously published on the TeamSnap blog)
I am a crybaby. Sometimes, I cry when I’m inspired or sad. Sometimes, I cry from disappointment or joy. I cried when my high school football team won the state championship. I even cried during an episode of Hannah Montana that I watched with my then 5-year-old daughter.
I’m sensitive, and a lot of things make me cry, especially the things I care deeply about. Tears are an expression of how I feel, and I don’t hold them back. In fact, I recently presented a leadership award to a 9-year-old athlete with tears in my eyes. I had to stop a few times during my speech to settle my voice. I am happy to report that during my speech, not one person attending shouted, “Suck it up, big boy. There’s no crying in award presentations!”
Why is it that that when kids cry during sports, they are labeled “crybabies”? When a kid cries, it seems to be some horrible indication of weakness. What I find most surprising is that the parents are usually the ones that get the most upset and embarrassed when their child cries.
We spend countless hours coaching and encouraging our kids to work hard and give it their all. Before games, we preach about having fun, making an effort and believing in yourself. It’s a fact of life that things don’t always go the way we plan. We will all experience the pain of failure. We won’t always make the tackle or record the strikeout. Throughout our lives, reality will often fall short of expectations regardless of preparation or how much we believe in ourselves.
Why cry? Because it hurts!
I have coached kids between 5 and 12 years old for many years. Each season I have been blessed with a few kids who work so hard and care so much that they cry when they fall short of what they expect of themselves. Here is a conversation I had with our pitcher after he hit two batters and allowed five runs in one inning. To set the stage, our pitcher came into the dugout in tears. His father immediately gave him a stern talking to and essentially, if not literally, told him to “suck it up.” I went over and sat next him on the bench.
Me: “Are you OK?”
Pitcher: (Sobbing loudly)
Me: “Are you tired of hearing that there is no crying in baseball?”
Pitcher: (Sobbing slowed)
Me: “What would you say if I told you that’s a lie? There IS crying in baseball. After all, there’s crying in life right? I cry sometimes myself and I’m a tough old man.”
Pitcher: (sobbing stopped and he looked directly into my eyes)
Me: “When you really care about something, and it doesn’t work out; it’s OK to cry. It shows how much you care. One of the things I like most about you is how much you care. Don’t ever stop caring that much about baseball and what you have to offer to your team. Are you OK?”
Pitcher: “Yes, sir.”
Me: “You can keep crying if you have to, but I need you to finish it up soon because we need you. The game is not over, and your team needs you.”
I’ve had similar conversations with kids from dozens of teams and in dozens of situations. After each conversation the child felt accepted and understood, which enabled him or her to accept, own and grow from his or her failure and frustration instead of hiding because of the fear of ridicule. Failures can be the signposts on our journey to success if we read them, understand them and take action. Pretending failures don’t matter and bottling up the emotions is not the way to build strong and emotionally balanced kids.
I am a crybaby because I care … just like the kids I get to coach.
Mackenna Stewart : : February 2015
Congratulations Mackenna and thank you for Always Playing IV Each Other!
Watch Mackenna’s inspiring story of leadership that aired on CBS Atlanta.
Excerpt from the APIVEO Player of the Month sponsored by Zaxby’s award ceremony;
Mackenna is already a gifted tennis player and I know she will earn a lot of awards and trophies to back that up. But that’s not why she’s standing up here today. At 7 years old, Mackenna is already a true leader. Mackenna already gets “it” and Mackenna already does “it”. “It” is love and concern translated into action. “It” is leadership. There isn’t an opportunity that comes up where Mackenna doesn’t finds a way to help. She is always stepping up and volunteering. Whether she’s at a tennis tournament with her sister or attending the youth ministry at church. Mackenna is not just at the front of the “how can I serve you line” she’s usually the reason there is a line! I recently got to see her in action. A few months ago we were at an event and someone brought a cookie cake. After watching Mackenna take her 5th piece of cake, I looked at my bride, Kristy, and said, “boy, that little girl can eat!!” Kristy looked at me and said, “she’s not eating it. She’s bringing it to all the guys at the front desk” …and she did that before she took her first bite!” That’s “putting others first” in action. That’s leadership. Well done Mackenna… You are a great leader! -Brad Jubin, APIVEO
Mackenna selected the Youth Ministry at Elizabeth Baptist Church as the recipient of the $1,000 donation provided by Zaxby’s.
Thank you Coach Kenny Thorne, Chris Eubanks, the GA Tech Tennis Team, Zaxby’s, Bobby Dibble, Jeff McPhail, CBS Atlanta, and Larry Smith for your enthusiasm and support. You have made a young girl feel appreciated and loved. That’s what is means to Always Play IV Each Other!
Coach, STOP that and START this!
“I’m a volunteer youth coach, however, I don’t coach football, baseball, basketball, soccer or any other sport for that matter. I coach the kids that play them. This is not a play on words; it’s a paradigm shift in the way a youth coach views his or her opportunity and responsibility. STOP coaching the sports played by kids and START coaching the kids that play the sports.” –Brad Jubin, APIVEO
Palmer Pressly : : APIVEO Player of the Month : : December 2014
Congratulations Palmer and thank you for Always Playing IV Each Other!
Watch Palmer’s inspiring story of leadership that aired on CBS Atlanta.
Excerpt from the APIVEO Player of the Month sponsored by Zaxby’s award ceremony;
Palmer is a gifted athlete and I know he has a lot of awards and trophies at home to prove it…I’ve seen the pictures. But that’s not why he’s standing up here today. At the ripe old age of 10, Palmer is a true leader. Palmer cares for people. He regularly volunteers at the Sandy Springs Mission, he has run food drives for the Food Bank and his All Star Baseball team raised money for kids in need. These are the things that leaders do. However, I have to be honest and say that there is something else that Palmer does that really hit home for me. Palmer is the kid on the playground that makes sure everyone is involved; that everyone feels included and valuable. You see, I get to stand here today because I had a Palmer in my life. Up until I was 13 years old I was the outcast. I didn’t fit in anywhere and I certainly didn’t play sports or games with anyone. My Palmer’s name was Mark Mills. Mark reached out to me; he told me, and he showed me that I did fit in and that I could be involved. Mark had the single greatest impact on my life. He was just 13 years old but he put me on a trajectory that lands me right here. After nearly 40 years I can honestly say that without my Palmer…I would not be standing here today. Palmer, keep doing what you are doing…you are changing lives. You are a great leader! -Brad Jubin, APIVEO