Coach Bill / Dad, Entrepreneur Special Educator, American Political Scientist, Writer, Musician.

My children, my personal goals, the community projects I strive to bring up to speed and the students I work with fill my mind and heart.  U nless I am writing or driving,  sitting on my derriere is something I am not a big fan of. It is hard  for me to sit still and watch meaningless 'entertainment' on television. I don’t own a TV on purpose. Yet, every once in a while there IS something good on TV. i don't know how the Lords of Television manage, but they actually got something worthwhile on the airwaves. R ecently, I managed to get the gist of what appears to be a show with a great purpose,  Pitbulls and Parolees  on Animal Planet’s network.  ‘Short story long,’ it is about a woman who has taken it upon herself to rehabilitate pit bulls with pit bulls. That is to say, actual dogs who have been maltreated, neglected or abused with ex-convicts looking for a second opportunity to empower themselves. Tia Torres leads the pack as a master dog tr...

(Updated 11/27/15 2:40 pm) Did you know that Scalzi Skatepark in Stamford is actually called a ‘flow’ park?  That’s a skatepark that has both a a street course and a skating bowl in the same location and having both skating ‘style of segments’ easy flow from one on to the other. At Scalzi, we have two tremendously awesome skate bowls and yet, the ‘street course’ venue is truncated and demure …off to the side sort of. Currently, I am working on landing an ‘ollie?’ I grew up surfing long-boards and not trick skating so I am nowhere near as great on the board as most others at the park, but I have come a long way in just the three months I have been practicing at their. Others do ollies AND kick the board flipping it once or twice in the air as they seemingly hover above it placidly before they land back confidently on it again. Creating independent operating systems tied to a common goal Chris and Brian, are two operating systems within the context of our common ...

As a performance-based Special Educator and Executive Function Skills Coach it is imperative to have a healthy understanding of the best instructional practices, methods and strategies in relation to the students one coaches. Consequently, identifying and implementing practical, novel approaches that can be easily incorporated by students and their support system is a must. Not only that, being able to convey these in an understandable effective and efficient manner so that they are carried out successfully in the coaches absence is a priority. In light of these points of frame, the search, experimentation, practice and polishing off of contextual activities buttressing the development of cranial connectivity between right and left hemispheres and the prefrontal cortex where our executive function skill abilities fire off is paramount to my work. To this end, the use of the below activities create a ‘back-door approach’ to distill the strenuous development of our cognitive sk...

Just yesterday I arrived at the skatepark to see that some kids had spray painted a wide swath of the 'street course' within the gates of the Scalzi skatepark. One of our top officers was there to witness it. He did not intervene. I am glad he did not. Later, when I arrived at the park right before a beautiful sunset, another one of our top officers told me that he'd love to use his give the amateur artists a good measure of his time, perhaps let them feel his skateboard. Immediately, I realized that things could get out of hand and derail our stride. I vocalized that we should not make ourselves targets of animosity. One of the officers, Cello, piped in that we we could hoist wood panels on the gates to create 'canvases' to channel the need of aspiring artists to still create, yet directing their 'art' to these panels. Brilliant I thought. Just brilliant!! That's Cello for you! "Lovingkindness fears not It holds its stance" You just...

If you’ve been to Scalzi Skatepark over the last few weeks and checked on the progress the local skaters are having in our revival campaign, you’d think that progress is slow, to nonexistent . Yet it if you would stay a while, meet the locals and chat with some of of them, you’d know different. We are moving forward at lightning speed! Faster than CERN can split particles actually and at no monetary cost to anyone! As I get word of new skate parks being planned in Fairfield County, the crew and I double our epic commitment to becoming the gems of the country as far as social responsibility goes from the bottom up!  Cello, a top officer and born leader and I are going to our second meeting with another city officer in Stamford to discuss and receive guidance on various new initiatives all aimed at the revitalization and establishment of Scalzi as THE flagship skatepark in the county.  In our multi-fasceted, multi-pronged campaign to reach various milestones,...

The role of the father in the life of their children cannot be underestimated. It’s absence or presence directly impacts the rise and fall of a community. That said, the role of the mother is as equally pivotal as well. Many a times, it is the mother who is the safety net and ‘fall-back’ position for children when crisis, emergencies or divorce break up the family unit. In my line of work as a Special Educator of 13 years across multiple states ranging from Massachusetts to Hawai’i, I have seen and experienced first hand the ins and outs of families that go through the gauntlet of divorce, drug use, violence…and apathy. As a male and a  father of three, I am sad to say that a lot of the times, the father is the one who is no longer in the picture. This is a hard truth, more so as we go down the socio-economic ladder. In Hawai’i for example, the prevalent use of hard drugs, such as crystal meth, has delivered a super-blow to many families. Dad’s in these situations end...

Developing one’s executive function skills, those prefrontal cortex abilities which include the ability to modulate behavior, control our emotions…our impulses… with focus and sustained attention, these are best put to use when the mind is engaged with the heart. Aligning these two is no easy accomplishment. It takes experience, soul-searching, time, knowing who you are, what makes you tick and a penchant for wanting to be understanding of one self and others.  Many of us simply are not trained in school to think along these patterns. Curriculums move quickly on their own time tables and agendas. Tests have to be studied for, homework has to be completed, common core milestones have to be reached. This leaves little to know time for the rise of the entrepreneurial spirit. This spirit is a set of mindsets… perspectives which drive one like a framework of outlooks by which adventures are dreamt, charted and strived for. The traditional school movement uses such cornerstone...

As we look ahead at the collaborative work to be headed up in the revival of the flagship skatepark at #Scalzi park in Stamford, Connecticut I see the roll-out of the vision. ..I see the action steps and how it will play out easily. The creation of a non-profit, Just Life Skills, will house a framework to push a slew of repeated yearly initiatives aimed at fomenting and sustaining community action that goes beyond the personal efforts of any one player (or coach). These community-actions will set precedent in the next phases by not only integrating new players into the foray, but create the opportunity for new leadership roles that will not just inspire more action, but create tangible, on-the-ground forward movement to reclaim, polish and bring out the diamond this skatepark is. In a maneuver to catapult the rapid advance of creating awareness a leader understands that he/ she will not have all the answers and comes to terms with the fact that any worthwhile endeav...

edited 11/18/15 ;) My graduate degree is in Special Education, my bachelor’s degree is in Political Science.  As an entrepreneur educator, delivering practical, natural solutions that empowers a student or group of students is in my best interest as a performance-based teacher. Amongst other things, this means creating or putting forth natural, rapid and practical interventions that not only address topical, surface concerns, but reach the crux of the matter. This strategy is the lifeblood of my coaching work. Why so? Well, delivering stellar results in breathtaking speed is what good business is all about. As I go about in completing my business plan to start my first non-profit organization called ‘Just Life Skills,’ I have outlined my mission statement in such way that it transcends my work as a clinical educator and allows for a plentitude of projects which I have in mind to be fomented and funded. These include my work with children and adults on the autism spectru...

When I was a young boy, my Uncle Guillo, a consummate sailor’s sailor took me under his wing.  Off we would go on sailing adventures, sometimes through storm, sometimes by night, but always to paradise. It was clear that he was the ‘Capitan’ of the ship, I was one of his mates, happy as a fly on apple pie. Out at sea, everything is restricted and unleashed at the same time. The constant motion of the bobbing sailboat, the tacking and the jiving, the occasional command by Guillo..Hour after hour, wave after wave, making slight course directions here and there, Guillo brought the boat safely to its destination expertly every time. Confident and spilling grit by the way side, ‘Tio’ mastered the depths of the sea like a seasoned poet with vision and purpose drops words on a page. My heart and his heart are intertwined. A part of him lives in me a part of me lives in him. He knows this…Young at heart and always with a quick reassuring phrase to make you smile. That is my Uncle Gu...

…and Ty gave me the word ..and it helped sustain my heart. There was little sleep. Constant discomfort and uncertainty I had. Yet, I read this word and it gave me some rest. …and my sisters.. and my mother..troubled and not knowing My pain was great and I hid it. “Only be strong and of a good courage” ..and I held back my tears in the daytime. Lovingkindness fears not It holds its stance sending ripples of energy hitting and disarming hearts long since drugged numb and my body was drained constantly and it was hard for me to breathe and i felt my energy leave me I found it hard to replenish it The fountain was being tapped by 244 souls ..and Pastor Pat, now my friend and who is no Pastor,  but a father of ten and a crack head said, ‘I need your soul!’ and they all gravitated to me eventually …and then I recalled my time in church when I was a boy how the energy was drained from me I had to sit outside the congrega...

Today is Friday, November 12, 2015 ..and what happened that made you change your mind?  and how far did you go to change your heart? and what moved you to let go?  and how is it that you go to sleep?  how do you rise?  and what is it at mid-day that makes you tick?  and how do we tell each other how we feel when we walk by each other? and what makes you turn away? and what makes you not care? and what makes you check out? and what makes us check in? It was slow at first, but I held my stance and gravitation took hold.  Soft and hard polished edges a clear purpose a settled heart and a bed that is made make it easy to make new friendships when the time and space is there.  All my new friends were either sons and fathers. Soon enough I will go up to bat for my new friends. Let the chips fall where they may and may God have our back as we move cautiously forward in the eye of a peculiar hurricane. ...

Today is Tuesday, November 3, 2015 Yesterday at 7 pm est, I joined a weekly special #tweetchat on Twitter for the first time, #LeadWithGiants. It was a lot of fun. Felt like I was back in school! Being the newbie I thought I would just be a listener and occasionally chime in…well, at least that was my intention:) I found it hard to keep quiet, especially after Dan Forbes (as in Mr. #LeadWithGiants), reached out to me in such a welcoming fashion, as he does to all. His humble, outgoing attitude is replicated by the other leaders in the chat and this adds to an open, dare I say, nurturing atmosphere (teacher speak, bear with me). The topic at hand was ‘consensus,’ and everything that goes with it: finding common ground, the traits of effective leaders, the size of  teams being led, orchestrating through differing politics, titles, departments, challenges, participation by all, solution-focused mindsets and last but not least, sustaining an environment where individual tho...