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

By replicating a similar model to the servant leadership, holocratic engine that is in operation with the Scalzi Originals Skateboarding Co., members of local skateboarding communities can easily create a teacher group that is grounded around the activity of skateboarding coaches kids, including those with special needs. There are many children who would love to know how to skateboard. Parents who have children with special needs, like being on the autism spectrum can help develop gross motor skills, executive function (prefrontal lobe) and increase the speed and amplitude of their children's brain development overall by consistently having them go train at a skatepark. Having a teacher helps big. No Teacher System A central problem holding back the growth  of community skateboarding at a skatepark like Scalzi Park in Stamford, Connecticut is that there is no organized teacher system. I took an example from a surfing organization of surf teachers and volunteers that come...

Ideas like servant leadership when applied to activities that can develop physical health and cognitive development can become a catalyst for others once it is put into action in a consistent manner. To find such an activity that is engaging for people of all ages and still keep it local is hard. Dancing comes close, but we still don't have designated dancing areas at parks, so in the mean time, consider what skateboarding offers and how it is directly connected to Dr. Marting Luther King, Jr. An activity like skateboarding at a skatepark welcomes people from any nationality, ethnicity, or age and is a sport of growth and development for the brain and body when practiced consistently.  From an Special Educator standpoint, skateboarding also happens to be an excellent vehicle as an early intervention tool and strategy for the social-cognitive-physical development of children on the autism spectrum, ADHD, or any special need. Knowing this is not enough though....

Cutting red table, bureaucratic policy and top-down approval in order to move full-steam ahead is easy when one is starting from scratch. Being able to lead successfully while keeping everybody on board is a chess game though. In order to pull it off, I decentralized myself as the primary leader from the very start and looked to do what I do very well as a teacher…establish and build relationships by empowering those I work with to lead in their own right. This is servant leadership. I serve the team. Starting up an organization such as the Scalzi Skate Crew is doing can be likened to a circus performance. Though the announcer may be the most vocal, it is the performers that make the show with their actions. In this instance, I am also a performer, yet my skateboarding agility is far surpassed by seasoned locals who pull-off incredible aerials and flip-a-ma-doogies (I made that up). Each player plays a pivotal part, and we have new players coming on-board with initiatives th...