Monday, March 19, 2012

Expanded contest eligibility

Process improvement in a hospital, company or other organization is a lot like process improvement on a sports team.  As I have set forth in my book Goal Play!, the coach has an important role in both settings.

Along those lines,  the other day I announced a contest for boys and girls to send in a poem or essay about their best soccer coach.  I said:

I, along with a small group of coaches and referees, will judge the entries, and we will pick a winner from among the girls and another winner from among the boys.  The two winning entries will then be posted on my companion blog, Goal Play!, for the world to read.  In addition, I will make a personal contribution of $50 each to a sports-related or education-related non-profit designated by each the two winners. 

Susan Day submitted this comment on my other blog:

I understand that you are running a competition for youth soccer players to comment on the best coach that they have had and why. My daughters were never into soccer and instead choose to pursue other athletic pursuits where they have had their share of great, mediocre and those best un-named types of coaches in their activities. Why can’t they share the best coaching practices that they have seen so that others may hear what works in other youth sports and learn from that?

After some thought, I replied:

Great idea, Susan. I was being too limited. We’ll open this up to all sports, but let’s still hear only from kids between 11 and 14 years old.

So, please spread the word to children who play baseball, lacrosse, hockey, or whatever other sport.  The topic is:

My favorite coach ever is or was [name].  Let me tell you why.

The deadline for entries is Saturday, March 24 at 9pm Eastern Daylight Time.  Please see my earlier post for all the rules.

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