January 2012 Update

This month for CHAMP we are hosting our Community Breakfast and Fund Raiser. This year Dr. Scott Stoll will be our keynote speaker. We will also present The Keli McGregor Service Award along with The Sonny Lubick Coach of Character Award.

This is a great event and many people look forward to it including the coaches we recognize and the athletes that attend. We look forward to seeing you on January 25^th.

December 2011 CHAMP Athlete of the Month :

Once a month CHAMP (Character in Athletics – Make it a Priority) selects one student athlete from our community to be recognized as the CHAMP Athlete of the Month (CAM). This individual displays character, discipline, and leadership on and off the competitive field and by doing so have become a student-athlete role model for character in athletics.

CHAMP is proud to recognize Jenna Jordan, a softball player who plays club softball for Triple Crown Sports, as our December CHAMP Athlete of the Month (CAM). Jenna has demonstrated through her actions and words the definition of being an athlete of character and is a role model for her teammates and community. Due to her work ethic, positive attitude and strong faith, Jenna is every coach’s dream, according to Coach Krista Judge.  “Jenna is extremely coachable, puts forth 100% in everything she does, is a great teammate and is a top notch role model off the field.” At her softball practices, Jenna displays discipline and unselfishness by putting in the extra time to improve herself and her teammates. “She is willing to sacrifice, by coming in early or staying late for her pitchers and she will go with any of them to their pitching lessons” say Coach Judge. Off the field, Jenna is a family person who values the time she has with her family.  Jenna is compassionate and is very involved with her church.  “Anyone who associates with Jenna is a better person because of her. It has been an honor to know her”, states Coach Judge.

CHAMP is honored to present Jenna as the December Character Athlete of the Month for her dedication and her hard work in softball, and with her skills and generosity to be a role model for youth in Fort Collins.

CHAMP is a Fort Collins based non-profit organization serving as a catalyst in our youth athletic and education organizations. Requirement, is demonstration and recognition of good character in youth athletics.  Please visit CHAMP at www.CHAMPFC.com.

Ettiene De Grellet Quote, New Year Update

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

— Ettiene De Grellet.

During this month is The CHAMP Community Breakfast. The theme this year is “The Legacy You Leave”

Greetings!

New Year’s has always been a time for looking back on the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It’s a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

As a coach maybe a suggestion for this New Year could be:

Stay informed about the changes in your sport, the rules, and the new ideas being developed each year. We all know that the basic principles remain the same but the methods do change.

Engage your assistants more. Perhaps if you have done so already, it is time to create an environment that encourages more input and discussion with your athletic director all the way to your assistants and invite them to think about strategy, not just tasks.

If you are the typical high profile coach, and this is your off season, spend more time with family and friends. Recent polls conducted by General Nutrition Centers, Quicken, and others, show that more than 50% of Americans vow to appreciate loved ones and spend more time with family and friends this year. Tough to do if you are in the basketball or wrestling season. March does come up quickly though.

A poll was taken by some older coaches that had retired from coaching for some time and in looking back they made reference to this question, “If you could live your coaching career over again, what would you do differently?”

The 3 most common answers were:

I would reflect more

I would risk more

I would do more things that would live on after I am gone.

The Elephant Rope

The Elephant Rope

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” the trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.

How do our beliefs impact us?

What self-imposed limitations have we put on ourselves and our players?

How are we teaching this concept to our players?

How must we change our thinking to break free from being stuck where we are?

Leading is Doing- Andy Andrews

Leading is doing. To lead I must move forward. My activity will create a wave of success for the people who will follow. My activity will be consistent. This will install confidence in my leadership. As a leader, I have the ability to encourage and inspire others to greatness. It is true: an army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

From “The Traveler’s Gift”

By Andy Andrews

Holiday Season Update

“There are many outcomes in athletics besides the score.”

Deep within the CHAMP organization and board of directors is a

carefully-put-together organization whose pulse beats for coaches and athletes that are developing and reaching their potential. The things that coaches struggle with daily touches us deeply. We (CHAMP) listen when coaches call us or want to meet on a regular basis.  We pay attention to what coaches have to say about connecting to their teams and organizations (especially parents).  That is what makes CHAMP unique compared to other non-profit organizations in Northern Colorado. Everything has a price tag, including CHAMP. We could not provide services to coaches and athletic directors and recognize programs were it not for some very faithful financial supporters.  It has been an outstanding year for CHAMP, and as we look back over it with gratitude, it sets in motion the ideal mental attitude to carry us through into next year. We approach the end of the year with a humble spirit of gratitude. During this holiday season let’s pledge not to let ingratitude become our creed or cynicism or stumbling block. CHAMP hopes the holidays will become a special time of enrichment, personal renewal and genuine gratitude for you and your families.

·         “But things of quality and this is what I know you know in Fort Collins, and this is why Fort Collins will always be special, things of quality are built slowly.  Character is built slowly, character is encouraged slowly, the qualities of organizations are built slowly, and good communities are built slowly, one layer at a time.”

·         “One thing that holds true, is that sustainable success is something that we all desire; sustainable character ultimately defines sustainable success.”

·         “If you’re all about is winning, it’s not really worth it, I’m after things

that last.”

Keli McGregor

Warm wishes this Holiday Season,  see you January 25th, 2012 at the CHAMP Community Breakfast.

Bob Parry

CHAMP Director

Two New Board Members Have Joined CHAMP

Two New Board Members Joined CHAMP:

Dean Barber

CHAMP is honored to welcome Dean Barber as part of the board of directors. Dean has been on the McWhinney team since 2002, and he has over 20 years of experience in the real estate development industry. As the Vice President of Development, he oversees all facets of McWhinney’s commercial vertical development along the front range of Colorado, primarily focused on projects in McWhinneys’ Centerra and North Park communities. Since joining McWhinney, he has developed over 30 projects which total over 1,250,000 s.f. of commercial space.

EDUCATION

* Bachelor of Architecture, California Polytechnic State University

* Master’s in Science, Construction Management, CSU

AFFILIATIONS

* NAIOP Member

* Northern Colorado Economic Developer Corporation, Board of Directors

* CSU Everitt Real Estate Center Advisory Board

* Adoption Dreams Come True, President, Board of Directors

* C.H.A.M.P. – Board of Directors

Jason Burkett

CHAMP is honored to welcome Jason Burkett as a member of the board of directors. Jason was born and raised in Fort Collins, CO and is a graduate of Poudre High School and CSU, majoring in math with an actuarial science concentration. Jason worked as an actuary for Deloitte and Touche in Chicago, IL and Denver before moving back to Fort Collins to raise his 3 boys, Triston, Llayton and Brady in wonderful Northern Colorado. Jason is a partner with the Northern Colorado Wealth Management Group at UBS Financial Services and has worked as a financial advisor since 2004. Jason is married to Julie, and they love being part of the Fort Collins community. They enjoy spending family time together and try to take advantage of all that Colorado has to offer including hiking, camping, biking, and skiing. Jason has passion for sports and enjoys coaching his boys’ sports teams.

Level 3 of Leadership: Production- John Maxwell

Level 3 Leadership – Production: Making Things Happen Separates Real Leaders from Wannabes

By John C Maxwell

As I read John Maxwell’s Leadership Level 3, I am writing this as I travel again back east to attend a Washington Redskins NFL game as a guest of one of their star players. From time to time as we update our web site we have been going over The Levels of Leadership by John Maxwell, it’s time for Level 3: Production. But before I go into the definition and value of production in a leader’s life, I want to clarify how the levels work. We here a CHAMP stress a lot about how coaching is developed,  it takes time and a long process. Keli McGregor always kept reminding CHAMP, “Things of quality are built slowly one layer at a time.”

The 5 Levels of Leadership are like a building – all the higher levels rest on the lower ones. Every leader must pass through every level to get to the next one. Level 2 builds on Level 1. You can’t be a Level 3 Leader until you’ve mastered Level 2: Permission. But once you’ve built a relationship with your people, you’re ready to focus on producing results.

The Production level is where leadership really takes off and goes to another level. Production qualifies and separates true leaders from people who merely occupy leadership positions. Good leaders always make things happen. They get results. They can make a significant impact on an organization. Not only are they productive individually, but they also are able to help the team produce. This ability gives Level 3 leaders confidence, credibility, and increased influence.

No one can fake Level 3. Either you’re producing for the organization and adding to its bottom line (whatever that may be), or you’re not. Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, noted, “The outstanding leaders of every age are those who set up their own quotas and constantly exceed them.” That is a good description of Level 3 leaders. They are self-motivated and productive. As a result, they create momentum and develop an environment of success, which makes the team better and stronger.

Another benefit of leadership on Level 3 is that it attracts other highly productive people. Producers are attractive to other producers. They respect one another. They enjoy collaborating. They get things done together. That ultimately creates growth for the organization.

Leaders can get to Level 1 for an almost endless number of reasons: They show promise. They have connections. They play politics. They have seniority. The organization is desperate. You name it, and someone has probably become a leader because of it. Leaders who are naturally good with people or who take pains to learn people skills can move up to Level 2. But some people never move up from Level 2 Permission to Level 3 Production. Why? They can’t seem to produce results. When that is the case, it’s usually because they lack the self-discipline, work ethic, organization, or skills to be productive. However, if you desire to go to higher levels of leadership, you simply have to produce. There is no other way around it.

Are you producing?  Are you constantly evaluating your own production?

Do you set up our own quotas/goals and exceed them?

Are we also helping the team produce?

Clint Hurdle recently sent me this text message, usually for some reason he sends them to me at the most appropriate times and very few of his text messages I get from him do not ever apply:

“It is the responsibility of leadership to provide opportunity, and the responsibility of individuals to contribute” Leading is doing. To Lead I must move forward. My activity will create a wave of success for the people who will follow. My activity will be consistent. This will install confidence in my leadership.

As a teacher, I have the ability to encourage and inspire others to greatness. It is true: An army of sheep led by a lion would defeat an army of lions led by a sheep.

CHAMP Update November 2011

Coming January 25th:  CHAMP Community Breakfast at The Marriott. The Sony Lubick Award and The Keli McGregor Award will be announced along with special recognition to coaches and teams of character for 2011.

Theme – “The Legacy You Leave”

If you are interested in attending our Community Breakfast in January, please contact us. Winter Olympian Dr. Scott Stoll, formerly from Poudre High School will return with a great message on character, health and nutrition, and leadership. Please plan to attend, seating will be limited. If interested in sponsoring a table for this event please contact cmog67@gmail.com

We currently have Two Sponsorship Levels:

$ 2,500 Sponsorship Level:

-Two tables, one for your guests and one for local coaches and clubs to attend

-Special name recognition on the stage banner at the breakfast, on the video screen before/during/after event, and on the program & website.

-Invitation to the Medical Symposium Tuesday January 24th @ FC Marriott

-Invitation to CHAMP’s 2nd annual Tee It Up Golf Tournament

-Special Winter CHAMP Event and future workshops

$ 1,000 Sponsorship Level:

- One table with 10 seats

- Logo in program, video screen before/during/after event, and logo on website

Athlete of the Month

Thank you for your responses for nominations for CHAMP Athlete of the Month. October was an outstanding month of reviewing some outstanding athletes in the Fort Collins community. Look for our next month’s CAM (Champ Athlete of the Month) student athlete coming out end of November.

Colorado Women’s Sports Fund Association (CWSFA) Announces Twenty $500 Scholarships Available in 2012 for girls and women participating in sports! Essays and Letter of Recommendation Due January 2nd. For more information, visit: http://www.cwsfa.org/Pages/scholar.html

Quote from John Ortberg

As championships conclude hard fought contests to determine the best of the best, and as November and Thanksgiving Holidays bring family and friends together for a long week or weekend, stories will be told, some new and some old on how people and events dealt with adversity. Remember the stories of the first Thanksgiving… it was forged out of adversity.

From The Me I Want To Be by John Ortberg …

One line of thinking is that adversity can lead to growth.  Another line of thinking is that the highest levels of growth cannot be achieved without adversity.  It may be that somehow adversity leads to growth in a way that nothing else does.

But adversity does not automatically bring growth.  It can cripple people, and much of the outcome depends on how people respond to adversity.  Jonathan Haidt writes about three ways in which post-traumatic growth can happen.

1.       Rising to a challenge reveals abilities hidden within you (and beyond you) that would otherwise have remained dormant.  It is in adversity that we find out what we are really made of, just as we find out what is inside a tube of toothpaste when it gets squeezed.  We don’t know what we are capable of until we have to cope.  Your circumstances – even the best of them – are temporary.  But you – the person you become – go on forever.

2.       Adversity can deepen relationships.  Somehow suffering can soften a heart and deepen friendships in a unique way.  One of the most common results of people who go through deep grief is that they come to have a deeper appreciation for other people.  They quit wasting time and emotion on what doesn’t count.

3.       Adversity can change your priorities about what really matters.  It is as if in normal life we step onto a treadmill and begin running after something – money, security, or success – when adversity knocks us off.  Suffering enables us to see the folly of chasing after temporal goals.

What is our perspective of adversity?  Do we welcome it and try to grow from it, or do we try to avoid it?

How has adversity impacted my team this year?  Have we identified hidden abilities?  Have our relationships deepened?  Have our priorities been impacted?

How has adversity impacted our players this year?  Where did we help players respond appropriately to adversity, and where did we protect players from adversity?

CHAMP Athlete of the Month October 2011: Maggie Mawhinney

Colorado Women’s Sports Fund Association (CWSFA) Announces Twenty $500 Scholarships Available in 2012 for girls and women participating in sports! Essays and Letter of Recommendation Due January 2nd. For more information, visit: http://www.cwsfa.org/Pages/scholar.html

Thank you for your responses for nominations for CHAMP Athlete of the Month. October was an outstanding month of reviewing some outstanding athletes in the Fort Collins community. Look for our next month’s CAM (Champ Athlete of the Month) student athlete. The October CAM is: Maggie Mawhinney from Poudre High School.

Once a month CHAMP (Character in Athletics – Make it a Priority) selects one student athlete from our community to be recognized as the CHAMP Athlete of the Month (CAM).   This individual displays character, discipline, and leadership on and off the competitive field and by doing so have become a student-athlete role model for character in athletics.

CHAMP is proud to recognize Maggie Mawhinney a Lacrosse and Field Hockey player from Poudre High School as our October CHAMP Athlete of the Month (CAM). Maggie has demonstrated through her actions and words the definition of being an athlete of character and is a role model for her teammates and community.  Maggie is instrumental for bringing the program “Friends of Jaclyn” Foundation to Colorado. This foundation helps children with pediatric brain tumors. Besides being a member of Poudre’s National Honor Society, and involved in IB and Link Crew, Maggie finds time to work and assist in a local soup kitchen in Ft. Collins.  Maggie is a four year letter winner in Field Hockey and Lacrosse,  a three time TVHS Reporter Herald’s Player of the year in Lacrosse, and Maggie was an Academic All American in Lacrosse her junior  year, besides being a three time first team all-Conference in Lacrosse and 1st team All-State.

Poudre High School athletic director Craig Woodall comments, “What Character trait that stands out when I think of Maggie, besides being such an incredible athlete and student, would be HUMILITY. Maggie is very humble. Other characteristics of Maggie are how hard working, and diverse she is. She has an incredible family, her brother Teran won this same award last year; she is exceptional. She achieves all of these amazing things while maintaining a 4.1 GPA in the IB program.”

Maggie will be playing Lacrosse at the University of Southern California next year.

CHAMP is a Fort Collins based non-profit organization serving as a catalyst in our youth athletic and education organizations for requirement, demonstration and recognition of good character in youth athletics.  Please visit CHAMP at www.CHAMPFC.com or contact us at coachparry@champfc.com.

Coming in January:

If you are interested in attending our Community Breakfast in January, please contact us. Winter Olympian Dr. Scott Stoll, formerly from Poudre High School will return with a great message on character, health and nutrition, and leadership. Please plan to attend, seating will be limited. If you are interested in sponsoring a table for this event please contact coachparry@champfc.com