As the leader of Integrity First Athletics (IFA), I wear numerous hats – CEO, Coach, Mentor, Fundraiser, and the list goes on…but the most important hat I wear is ‘community leader.’ Being a community leader means that I must find solutions to community problems that plague our citizens. One of the problems that IFA addresses daily is serving student-athletes that have been ‘priced out’ of personalized athletic training and academic tutoring. Personally, I do not feel that a student-athlete should have to pay for training and tutoring – especially since the goal for them is to acquire scholarships (academic and athletically) for college. In which case, the IFA staff and I consider free training / tutoring as an obligation to assist our student-athletes. We were all taught from an early age – when someone is in need, we help provide the assistance to whoever needs it. At IFA we are glad to provide assistance.
As community leaders, it is important to frame issues strategically for the benefit of the organization. They must be in position to shed light to potential problems and to definitively explain the issues when the problems are presented. Social problems can be defined and/or framed in numerous methods. Strategically being able to respond constructively to a distinctive problem is an attribute that community leaders must be catalytic. Considering the aspect of defining the public problems, the method of how a public problem is structured can influence the construction of strategy. Defining problems can introduce the need to re-frame and undergo revision amongst its stakeholders. This will provide a conduit for the community leader to guide individuals to be naturally drawn to discussions and identifying individuals to be recruited to neutralize the issues at hand.