The IMG experience was awesome.  Simply put to see an event with so many moving parts being organized and run so efficiently was really impressive.  Now that I'm home, I only have one more scheduled time to go to AWP, but I have a lot of things to do on my end!  I got in late Sunday night and went to bed because I had to teach summer school the next morning at 7:30.  I spent all of the 24th after summer school getting film in order and contacting coaches about some players and how they performed in the 7v7 tournament.  Over the next few days I will be making phone calls and sending lots of e-mails and waiting for film to get completed by the staff at AWP to send those out.  I have found that Facebook has been a great tool to contact coaches that I don't have relationships with because their e-mail inbox is usually quite flooded and their Facebook messaging is not.  AWP has a free combine coming up on July 27th which acts as a chance for kids to come get a taste of the experience of being trained at AWP.  Throughout the day I plan on talking with my mentor and just understanding the business more and getting to know what is going on with the business at this point.
Other than the combine, there is so much going on behind the scenes to help build the entire organization it is very exciting to think about and sit back and discuss with Mike and the staff about potential partnerships that will be announced very soon. I have also found this mentorship quite difficult to manage as there are times where I feel a real information overload (which is a good thing), but it requires me to write tons of notes at the end of the day, take voice notes with my phone, and really write it out multiple times before formulating a blog that is somewhat cohesive and makes sense.

Well, we lost to South Florida Express, but it was a very exciting game.  We went back and forth, each team matching each others scores until the last minute and we were down by 6 we had the ball on the 40 and needed to score.  All game without Jordan Hogue we didn't even really miss him much because Shaq Vann, a running back in high school who plays in the slot at receiver for us, from South Bend Adams dominated the middle of the field catching big time touchdown after big time touchdown.  We also had other receivers step up and play great for us.  On fourth down we threw a fade and it was a bad read by our QB and it was intercepted (which gives them three more points) so we lost by 9, but it was a valiant effort on our part and all the members of the team knew we could have won this whole thing if we just took care of the little details here and there.  In sports, in business, in life, it all comes down to details and a constancy of purpose (similar to W. Edwards Deming's first point in his 14 points).  

As I sit here in the air port writing this all down waiting for a flight from Tampa to Charlotte, I think back at the weekends events and one of the biggest things we had to manage as a staff was the mindsets of the players.  The mental approach they take day in and day out and in football each drive is a mental stressor for offense and defensive players to forget what happened and make changes for the next drive.  So many players need to be coached in different ways and getting to know them over the past few months has been vital in becoming an effective coach to them.  To see these kids come from all different backgrounds and work together and our coaches come from just as diverse of backgrounds and experiences and find commonalities to grasp onto and create a successful environment it is clearly a small scale example of what life is all about.  Finding your niche, competing, overcoming adversity, and being emotionally invested in something even if the outcome isn't favorable is all beneficial for personal growth and development. 

Flight's about to leave my lap top must be shut off.  I will post tomorrow when I get home after summer school!  What an experience I had a ton of fun and learned so much about these people and myself.

We took the hard way.  We defeated Winning Strategy this morning, then lost in our second matchup against the Florida Fire which knocked us into the loser's bracket.  We have done a great job of managing injuries thus far and our first game in the loser's bracket was against Cam Newton's All-Stars, NFL QB Cam Newton's team.  Cam was talking a lot of trash to us on day one, wished us luck, but didn't think we'd make it far.  Cam's team had South Carolina commits, but it was not a difficult matchup for us as we destroyed them 37-6 putting us in our SECOND matchup against Core 6 from Chicago (again, we have never lost to them in our existence) and we defeated them again this time the closest game we've had against them 24-20.  The difficult part about the loser's bracket is all the games are back to back and there is no rest in between!  Our guys did a great job and really sucked it up.  We played a close game against Team Delaware, whom we defeated in Youngstown State earlier in April - they were led by a Boston College QB commit, but we came out on top by two scores.  

Final game of pool play we came back and defeated the Florida Fire out of Miami.  Much of the day was extremely hot and all the while the team was getting some significant recognition as a real threat for the championship.  We defeated one of the teams expected to be a favorite (Florida Fire) who was loaded with division 1 recruits and the Core 6 team who is full of Big Ten commits and a team from Texas that didn't look the part, but played very well together.  

As pool play began, one of our team leaders, Indiana University commit Donovan Clark (DB - Ft. Wayne, IN - South Side HS) tells a story about one of our players who is physically unable to play because of a serious condition.  This type of raw emotion is something that can fuel a team and it did just that.  It is great to see a young person have the fortitude to stand in front of his peers and lead through words and then follow through with actions.  Donovan is the emotional leader on the team and always steps up when a big play is needed.  That type of leadership is crucial for any organization's success and he clearly possesses it.  It will be interesting to see how he applies this in his post-playing career.  After our 7 AM practice, pool play began at 8:00 AM.  We won our first two pool play games over Core 6 of Chicago who we have never lost to as an organization, and also against a club team from Florida.  We now have about a 30 minute break before our final pool play game at 1:00.  Going into this break the players will treat their bodies and coaches will get food and meet to discuss what has happened so far and any adjustments we need to make.  

We arrived a little late for the Skills Challenge, but that’s alright we weren’t going to have anyone compete in it anyways.  As we walk in we see all the teams who are participating and it is a pretty cool feeling to be one of the elite teams in the country, but also frustrating because we should have two teams on that board if our Grey team would have won one more game. 

A lot of the kids are looking for Cam Newton, but he’s not hard to find.  6’6” 250lbs is easy to see, especially with his flamboyant clothes! 

There is a lot of competition going on and more than that it’s interesting to see this grand of event and how it is organized.  I talked to an intern who actually attended Indiana University and she was explaining some of the organizational processes that have gone on earlier in the morning and even months prior to the event.  My initial duties were to work with another staff member to get all the kids signed up and submit the signed waiver form and hand out the uniforms and “goody bags” that are provided by IMG. 

Unfortunately during my duty, my mentor got a private tour of all of the IMG facilities!  Fortunately we are talking about that experience right now.  IMG, who does a great deal of marketing and media, opened their academy and have incrementally added more sports and students to their enrollment.  They are building a brand new football stadium and outdoor track and they have renderings posted all over the complex so the $60,000 per year tuition fee per student is going to good use! 

After nearly 10 hours out here this Florida heat is tiring, heading back to the condo to relax before a late night meeting TBA and an early 6:00 AM wake up for 7:00 AM practice!

Bus Rides

Being on a bus for hours on end can be exhausting and even more so with 20 teenagers!  The ride was long, but not overly stressful and extremely informative.  I found myself sitting in the front with my mentor and the staff.  Movies like Pistol Pete, 300, and others were shown to motivate, but also movies to bring a lighter mood and more comedy were shown as well. 

I found the best part of this ride was the camaraderie that develops.  With any industry it is important for there to be some empowerment within the staff, but more importantly some camaraderie and a feeling of vertical compression within the organization.  That vertical compression offers confidence to all on staff and increases the emotional investment of subordinates.  We drove straight from Ft. Wayne to a place in Ohio to change drivers then straight through the night to Atlanta, where we are now. 

An interesting conversation broke out about LeBron James and the pressure he is under due to the media and I brought up the measurement of success and a performance evaluation.  Thinking about LeBron James, before this most recent championship he lost 2 NBA Finals and won 1.  Before Michael Jordan’s stellar 6-0 in championship series came along, Jerry West, the man dubbed Mr. Clutch and whose silhouette is the NBA Logo, was 1-8 in NBA finals series.  With that said, Michael Jordan changed the measurement of success in the NBA.  To be viewed as the best or to be viewed as “clutch” or a success, the media must adjust their performance evaluation of NBA players.  W. Edward Deming once wrote that constant performance evaluation limits long-term growth and potential.  He talked a lot about short sighted American business evaluating performance in quarters to honor investments, but that it crippled long-term business performance and can demoralize employees.  In the same way that Deming believed, the constant evaluation by the media, which like it or not has an impact on perception of the athlete (employee), creates a high stress environment for the athlete and limits the long-term success.

Other than that long conversation, a lot of time was spent discussing the colleges we’ve been in contact with for each player and what the player needs to do to improve before their season starts.  Much of “Money Month” is over at this point and July will start high school camps and the kids will now shift their focus to the TEAM, but their function within that team has undoubtedly been improved throughout the spring and early summer.  We will arrive a little before the start of the Cam Newton Skills Challenge.  We are not going to have any players participate because of the long drive, missing some players, and the grind that will be a two day tournament which we expect to play to the championship.

A lot of the preparation leading up to this IMG national championship tournament is mental for our players.  We obviously have a lot of training to do, but with an array of backgrounds, a busy schedule in June just complete by the players, and a lack of structure during the summer without school it is important to ensure the players have laser focus and intent of purpose when they arrive in Florida. 

One thing I have been reading a great deal about in my classes is the constancy of purpose.  Leaders need to have constancy of purpose so subordinates can follow effectively and for strategy to be executed accordingly.  Dealing with young athletes who are subjected to so many outside influences and emotions it is even more important to model appropriate behavior, but also talk about growth potential and what can really be accomplished by having a successful tournament. 

Although I was not present for the development of the character development session held by Geoff King and Michael Ledo, I did sit in on the actual session and the message was clear: Partake.  What does it mean to be invited to something? They want you to partake in the event not just show up.  The example given was if someone invites you to a party do they expect you to sit in the corner and not talk to anyone? No, they expect you to partake: to join in.  So for the trip to Florida we received an invitiation to compete for a national championship.  Do not go down there looking to spend time on the beach and enjoy the weather, accept the invitiation and partake in the tournament by being successful.  It was clear by the reaction of the players that the message was received.  A brief discussion on outside influences and recap of the journey that brought us to June 20th, that day, was also mentioned and players provided their own perspective on what growth has occurred throughout the summer both individually, but more importantly as a whole and how their individual participation has played a role in that.

During the character development session, the local news media was there and Michael Ledo and a select few players did interviews on live television to promote the company and our journey to the event.  We then loaded the bus and began our journey to Florida. 

A lot has been going on outside of the facility as "money month" continues.  I dubbed June "Money Month" because it is the biggest opportunity for players to earn scholarship offers by jumping on the camp circuit.  Schools will have numerous camps throughout June and a player could find a camp nearly every day to go to in June if he had the resources to do so.  Because there is a camp almost every day it is important to make sure there is legitimate interest or potential for a player to play at the school he goes to camp with because otherwise it would be a waste of money.

I have been doing a lot of research into colleges in our area which include: all MAC schools, Sun Belt schools, Missouri Valley Football Conference schools, and every FBS and FCS Division I school in the midwest to determine the best spots for some of my players.  After determining the current state of the roster I will call coaches that I know at those schools to confirm their situation at each position for players I'm looking to get them in contact with.  In those conversations either through phone call or e-mail I am going back to my calendar which has each player I'm dealing with and making sure they are getting to as many one-day camps as they can in the month of June.  It is important that those camps are schools that have some actual interest in the player and not just trying to get more people at their camp to boost revenues.  It is a lot of leg work, but definitely worth it in the end of the student athlete can get some money to pay for their school. 

Another element to this intense recruiting process is informing the parents and players themselves of realistic expectations and understand the process a little better.  A lot of schools send numerous general letters to a player, but it does not mean they are being recruited and that's hard for some parents to understand.  I have learned a lot more about this process as I have been a part of the AWP staff.  Not only has it helped solidify relationships with coaches, it has really provided me with perspective on how to evaluate talent objectively.  Using one of my players for an example, he has attended 3 camps since our June 1 visit to Toledo and I have been in contact with 6 other coaches from different schools about him going to different camps through July 12th. 

Additionally, relationships with media members can help create a buzz about players and get the players name out.  Local media is great, but 247sports.com, Rivals.com, Scout.com, ESPN recruiting are all more important to spreading the word about the players.  To share a quick story, we had one player who is ranked as one of the top players at his position in our state.  Because of that media ranking a school from far away was looking for the "top player" at that particular position in each state and by simply Googling "top player in Indiana at ___" the coach found a few names, watched the film and decided to offer a scholarship to our player.  The power of the media is intense and getting exposure is the job of each player's coach to put them in the best position to do so.  This type of attention is also important to control because it can lead to the aforementioned problems with parents and players thinking they are better than they actually are so it is definitely a fine

Previously I mentioned a conflict with some players who were going to attend the Notre Dame one day camp and 7v7, well we now have a good idea of what's going on with them and a plan of action for the trip.  We have five players on the roster who are attending the University of Notre Dame elite camp on the 21st and two of those players will not be with us for the entire tournament becuase their high school is participating in the Notre Dame 7v7 tournament on the 22nd.  The easiest way to accomodate everyone is to book flights, but flights are very expensive and the donation that was given to us through Parkview Hospital will cover the tournament fees and the costs of the condos, but we want to stretch that money as far as possible and booking 27 flights is difficult and very expensive.  After some research we found that chartering a bus that would leave Thursday night the 20th and return home by Noon on the 24th would be the most cost effective way to go about it.  The three players would fly down and ride the bus on the return trip.  In taking the charter bus, each player's fee for lodging and travel went down significantly which is good for everyone.  With the logistics of travel figured out the biggest issue with what we do at AWP is how are we going to keep these kids motivated? How can we keep them focused on the "mission" and not on going to Florida to have fun?  With the summer comes a lack of structure for the kids because they do not have school to guide their day.  Leading up to the trip we decided players report Thursday two hours early and we will have a character development session to get the kids focused on the mission of returning with a national championship.  Personally, I have an additional hurdle to clear because I am teaching summer school and I cannot miss any days so I will be flying separately which is not a big deal, but an added stressor leading up to the trip. 

Since the majority of the staff will be gone with the 7v7 team for this trip, the Fooball Academy will take a break for the Friday of June 21 and a make-up session will be scheduled for those clients on June 26th.  I did not attend this week's academy due to low academy numbers and it didn't make sense for two WR coaches to be present for this week's academy especially since the other coach lives in Ft. Wayne and to compensate my gas mileage wouldn't be smart business on the part of AWP which is understandable so to compensate I have had teleconferences with staff members to determine a plan of action for the coming weeks. It was an interesting conversation because some future plans were spelled out that were exciting to hear and will definitely keep me busy in the coming weeks bey