Created by Jack Alexander, one of the founders of the BCS, the BCS Leadership Academy is a great way for our former players to stay involved with the league, as well as give back to it – and have a lot of fun.
What is the BCS Leadership Academy?
The BCS Leadership Academy is a program that runs in conjunction with the Spring season. BCS alumni, at least 15 years old, are eligible to sign up and participate. The three major components of the program consist of:
- Personal commitment to team goals, time management, and personal responsibilities – the participant will be assigned to a team / coach and participate in many aspects of preparing the team goals for the season. The player will need to develop proper time management skills to accommodate their own school work, as well as those of the team and coach throughout the season. Finally, the participant will be held accountable for maintaining the responsibilities set forth by the league, team, and parents on the team.
- Reporting, analysis, and development of both team and individual goals – the participant will be responsible for assisting in individual player development in practice and drill planning, player and opponent analysis and scouting, team and player relationship development by providing the bridge between the age groups.
- Long term planning, motivation, and goal setting – the final component will allow the participant to prepare long term goals for the team and himself, learn how to be motivate themselves and as well as the team, and how to set goals the steps required to reach their goals.
What is the purpose of the BCS Leadership Academy?
The purpose of the academy is to improve the leadership abilities and help cultivate the future leaders in our community. To develop a real world practical application that helps illuminate and show the participant the various roles within leadership, goal setting, and personal development. Really, to develop and understand the skills need to have a positive impact on the community and how to apply the leadership qualities within their own lives. We call it the 7 C’s: a framework for leadership development.
- – Consciousness of Self: Awareness of the values, emotions, attitudes and beliefs that motivate one to take action, including how one understands others.
- – Commitment: Commitment to the service task implies intensity and duration. Commitment requires involvement of one’s self in the activity and its intended outcomes. It is the motivational energy to serve that drives the collective effort.
- – Congruence: Thinking, feeling and behaving with consistency, authenticity and honesty towards others.
- – Common Purpose: To work with others within a shared sense of aims and values. It suggests that these shared aims facilitate the groups’ ability to engage in collective analysis.
- – Collaboration: The basic means of empowering others and self through trust. Through collaboration, students can learn to have trust in the diversity of multiple perspectives that can lend to creative solutions and actions.
- – Controversy with Civility: Recognizes two fundamental realities of any creative group effort: those differences in viewpoint are inevitable, and that such difference must be aired openly but with civility.
- – Citizenship: The process whereby the self is connected to the environment and the community and that this interdependence is a responsibility of all in the leadership effort. Citizenship recognizes that effective democracy involves individual responsibility as well as individual rights.
What is the goal of the BCS Leadership Academy?
The goal is to provide a post BCS playing career opportunity to better develop the individual, while giving back to the league, as well as providing professional assistance in getting to the next level – be it college or a job. The evolution from player to leader for the participant with the hope that they come back to one day be coaches as well as showing the younger players the road map to a successful post playing career is only going to benefit the community.
What is gained by joining the BCS Leadership Academy?
BCS gets to help provide kids who want to give back and grow the game in our community while still being part of the BCS community. More BCS and community involvement. The participants get life lessons, coaching experience, and a league drafted letter of recommendation for college applications / jobs. The participants will also get website recognition, BCS swag, and are recognized at the Super Bowl.
What is the time Time Commitment required?
Students will be expected to attend one weekly practice per week to help the coaches train and teach players, and then each game (schedules vary, not yet out). The amount of input each student will have on their team will vary by coach – but we know some of our new coaches are thrilled with the idea of ex-players offering to help.
What are the next steps joining the BCS Leadership Academy?
Any player who played in the BCS is eligible; the program lasts for roughly 4 months, from preseason to the end of the year team party. There is no cost to the student.
Players can participate on the same team as sibling, but all participants will need to provide a report addressing the three components / 7 “C’s” in an exit interview. There will be be at least 3 Academy meetings (Per season kickoff, midterm, and end of season / exit interviews) to see how the process developed the participants. Coaches and parents will have the board member contact to provide feedback.
We hope you will consider join us today! Contact us today at: [email protected]