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

If it be so that you have a desire to develop, strengthen and care for the local, national and global community, it is important that you care for yourself first, less you begin to build a house without having made the appropriate provisions bountiful. Having great amounts of money and a personality is not enough, nor is having pristine physical health alone the winning attribute, but a penchant for developing the whole package of who you are… from the inside out first, rather than the outside in. Our mindsets, for example, drive us to hone our skills, rather than having great skills being the precursor to achieving a great mindset. Mental clarity, confidence and the unstoppable spirit needed to keep going long after you have begun the journey to make things better for others have to be notions to be kept in mind. Not knowing that the growth and fine-tuning of our heart and mindset is of tremendous value, risks an expenditure of your life energy without recompense for your...

“How is the gold become dim! how is the most fine gold changed! The stones of the sanctuary are poured out in the top of every street. The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed as earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter! Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness. The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breath it onto them. Lamentations Chapter 4:1-4 Without a vision the people of the city fail. Existence becomes a daily exercise in survival that repeats itself on itself.  Without true education, the children are left to their own devices. Violence, drugs and gang warfare ensues.  The young and old princes of the land fall short. The people’s children refuse to listen. Their hearts know that the love is no...

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...

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...

I don't find my students. I put my bread in the water and the students find me. Where is his strength? Is this the teacher? Oh. I see now. Let's do this. I got this! A great coach role-models, leads, supports, instructs, guides, corrects, mentors... and gets out of the way. Coaching then, is an art of balancing the player's strengths, fleshing out talents, strengthening deficits naturally and nurturing the mind and heart to reach higher levels of performance. Learning is not just a solitary action anymore with this understanding, but a humbling mindset that opens the mind to receive.  A central tenant to coaching duties is being able to impart knowledge so that learning can happen. The effective transfer of intellectual property comes easily when you seek to engage the mind via the heart first. Understanding that the mind and heart move the body, just like a small tiller directs a large ship, a great coach becomes sensitive to the player's wellbeing. The...

The beginning of success starts in the heart. It slowly move its way to the mind and once there, momentarily pauses. It is calculating perceived total effort and drive required to manifest itself.  My students rarely think of ‘success.’ We focus wholeheartedly on process instead. Time goes by and I look back at their progress. The success happens daily in short increments that appear to accumulate over time and consistency. Success is in the details. Establish new ‘forward-operating beachheads’ in the quest for particular excellence is foremost on my coaching mind. That means that I constantly gauge and assess the effort level, motivation and clarity of purpose with my students.  Shedding light on the value behind a purpose becomes an initial priority. I understand that if I want my soldiers to go #allout,  they must be on-board with ‘why’ we work on what we work on. The value in a purpose helps set up a vision of things to come and provides a process fram...