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

A pessimist approached me in conversation yesterday. He said to me, “for two years, you have been talking about bringing people together at the skatepark and nothing has happened. He continued, “I look around and nothing has changed. There is no one here and no one knows about what you do.” I sat and waited for him to finish. He was not done. “Skateboarding is not about bringing people together. ‘Scooter kids’ come in and take over with no respect. The students you bring in are not skaters, they have nothing to do with skateboarding. To them, skateboarding is a fun thing they do at a scheduled hour. They are not ‘thrashers.’ You failed Bill and you the true skaters do not even show up at the park anymore. Bringing in  ‘special needs people’ to skateboard is dangerous too. This is not a place for them. They should not be allowed to skateboard here. In here, it is possible to die. The ‘special needs kids’ will never be true skateboarders. It is not right what you have d...

March 3, 2017 Coach Bill Social Entrepreneur & Special Educator Life Skills Corp. CoachBill.US Chaplain of Bridgeport Correctional Center, Bridgeport, Ct. Re: Social Entrepreneurial-Mentoring Proposal to the Bridgeport Correctional Center Dear Chaplain, I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to propose a two-step program for the inmates at your correctional center. My goal is multi-pronged and involves lowering recidivism rates of male citizens through bringing awareness and vision of how inmates can go about self-empowering their position in the community. My program would have two phases and would require the establishment and deepening of relationships between the inmates so that I can best understand them on an individual level, step into their shoes, and together, plot out a way forward for them. ‘Real-world’ life skills that are often not recognized, such as grit, honesty, humility and leadership can be identified and rein...

Merry Christmas and Happy Hannukah to all across America. Today’s essay is simple and affords a glimpse into my operations as a private Special Educator to a student of mine whom I call #theCowboy and #DearLeader. I have worked with him for a bit over seven years. He likes to ride horses and communicate with statements and declarations. ………………….. December 24th, 2016, about 1400 hours (Zulu time) New Canaan, Connecticut I was on the job with #theCowboy as we walked into a saloon called Tony’s Deli. #TheCowboy opened the door and established his presence, letting it be known to all present that he was interested in a buffalo chicken wrap. Being headstrong, he would not be deterred and made it clear throughout the New Canaan saloon that he was there. I hovered over him as his coach, though he makes me feel like I am the Secret Service to Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader. #theCowboy is a lad who knows what he wants and when he wants it.  We sat down b...

It was Sunday afternoon. I was driving home down one of Stamford, Connecticut’s homes when I saw an elderly manner working with a sledge hammer next to him, a door step with the floor demolished and a heap of rubble next to him. He had a great job to do and was all on his own. A ladder protruded from the whole he had shattered, broken bricks, a pick axe and ten buckets of debris surrounded him. This was great-grandfather Alex Orr. Father of six children, eight grandchildren and one great-grand child. Mr. Alex Orr, an American of Jamaican-descent, married fifty-seven years and still working hard labor as a mason…a brick-layer…a man comfortable wielding a sledge hammer, clearing rubble and making new foundations.  All I could do was pull my car over step out and get his story. I told him that I like to honor servant leaders. In the most sincere tone I could muster, I asked him for his story. My heart was grabbed and a flurry of life lessons came into clarity for me on ...

Action Letter for the Scalzi Originals Foundation  The creation of the foundation is purposed on the facilitation of positively disrupting educational instruction across the United States of America’s public and private systems, as much as it is an exercise in liberty fomenting  social responsibility through the generating of a culture of servant leadership. To this end, ground level operations began in the summer of 2015 in the U.S. state of Connecticut’s Fairfield County with ground zero being at the city of Stamford’s Scalzi Skate Park. A relatively quiet sport, skateboarding has the ability to sync the brain and body in a constant fluid motion making it an excellent life skills activity for typical folk, but more poignantly, for individuals with special needs. These special needs include Downs Syndrome, Intellectual Disabilities and autism, but also include what is commonly known as attentional and executive function skill deficits. Primary act...

Is it the responsibility of the teacher or the student to pave the road for success in the education environment? What happens in the physical education class of twenty students whereby seven have above average gross-motor skills, ten are right on, and three seem to fall behind? In a school setting with a forty-five minute class duration, the impetus is for the teacher to ‘run’ the class as best as possible, rather than teach to the lowest common denominator. ‘Stragglers’ can tend to ‘fall behind,’ and soon enough class is over. This can repeat over and over again, week after week, semester after semester.  What happens to the three students after many classes is that they begin to develop a sense of failure which is confirmed by the teachers continued approach in orchestrating the class. Is the student at fault or is it the responsibility of the teacher to better integrate these three into the class? As a teacher of thirteen years and a father of three, I alwa...

Is social entrepreneurship a giant key to opening up new energies for the United States of America? Could it be a collective answer by the country to respond to many of the disheartening events and circumstances that have become a part of the American experience? How do we answer the rise of mass-murder tragedies?  Do we not have to meet apathy with empathy at some point? How do you impact the culture to cause a small, yet seismic shift in focus? We Work Together Something close to the answer of those questions is integrating revolutionary thought with capitalistic principles. Some call these kinds of people unstoppable in pursuing the empowerment of others on an individual and group-level. Younger generations are motivated to serve their local, national and even global communities in creative ways that make life better for individuals. Social Entrepreneurs, or self-employed individuals who’s missions are aimed at alleviating or rectifying the pligh...

How many dollars is a life worth? Can a skatepark make hard crime, like murder, plummet in a given geographic area? Recently, I read in a New York newspaper (with all the news that is fit to print) about the top most crime-ridden sectors of New York City. The article identified rape, murder and robbery as the main issues. How would a top-of-the-line skateboarding skatepark benefit Harlem, New York?  How about South Norwalk, Connecticut’s, Ryan Park, right next to Washington Village?  In California, Pennsylvania, and in many smart towns and cities across the country there are mega skateboarding park facilities, complete with night lighting and ample skateboarding space.  These allow a greater number of athletes to skateboard simultaneously, as well as provide a longer period of time where people with different schedules can use the park. The intensive-cognitive-physical strengthening, plus the low cost of purchasing safety ...

@WashingtonOriginals Saturday, September 3, 2016  Ryan Park 6-7 pm  with Coach Bill, MA SpEd scheduled activity:  soccer air dribble practice Cognitive-Physical Development in the heart of South Norwalk, Connecticut. rain date: Sunday 9/4/16, 6-7 pm

The system of operations to raise up the Washington Originals shifts into second gear. Coaching staff is being confirmed and a second town hall amphitheater meeting is set to take place to share the lineup of projects for the youth and families. These include establishing a chess club, outfitting all Washington Originals with jerseys and discussing the funding of basic operations. As of now, Coach EJ, Coach Deuce, Coach Jimmy and Coach Kevin are in collaborative talks with me to facilitate the cognitive-physical programs for Ryan park. Aside from creating a theater and dance program, a chess club for the youth and families of South Norwalk is set to begin this very Fall of 2016. Last but not least, the establishment of a skateboard school that will be the sister arm of the Scalzi Originals Skateboarders in Stamford’s Scalzi Skate Park is being established. I initially started my focus on South Norwalk. Having moved into Norwalk and looking to sign up at the local...

A holocratic organization has been purposefully established at Scalzi Skate Park, in Stamford, Connecticut. Our particular form of holocratic organization is rooted in the concept of leading through service to others and decentralizes leadership allowing the company to be led by any team member. The Scalzi Originals Skateboarding Company has a co-founder base that retains full ownership of the company, yet ideas and tactical leadership implementation from any person in our organization is encouraged, discussed and followed-upon. Everyone matters. The individual strengths of each team member is unique and is integrated supporting increased operations management. What We Do With clarity of purpose, we focus on toning executive function skills, social-emotional skills and cognitive-physical synchronicity by teaching skateboarding to typical youths, as well as those with special needs, like autism and Downs syndrome. Why We Do It We want to serve our community in dynam...

A holocratic organization has been purposefully established at Scalzi Skate Park, in Stamford, Connecticut. Our particular form of holocratic organization is rooted in the concept of leading through service to others and decentralizes leadership allowing the company to be led by any team member. The Scalzi Originals Skateboarding Company has a co-founder base that retains full ownership of the company, yet ideas and tactical leadership implementation from any person in our organization is encouraged, discussed and followed-upon. Everyone matters. The individual strengths of each team member is unique and is integrated supporting increased operations management. What We Do With clarity of purpose, we focus on toning executive function skills, social-emotional skills and cognitive-physical synchronicity by teaching skateboarding to typical youths, as well as those with special needs, like autism and Downs syndrome. Why We Do It We want to serve our community in dynam...