News from the Field Department - October 2020

The Importance of Connection:

From Hugs, High Fives and Fist Bumps to a Virtual World

What a challenging 6 months this has been! The global pandemic of coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced us to navigate everything differently. We are missing people and activities, and that leads to sadness and isolation for many. With all the changes you may be feeling overwhelmed, tired and defeated. You are not alone. 

We are here to support you, and we know you are working hard to support your team and your athletes. In order to best support each other, we need to effectively communicate. As a Field Team, we are working hard to connect with our programs regularly to check in and offer support. Let us help you by being honest about what you need. If you are feeling overwhelmed let’s work together to find solutions. We are a team and we need to lean on each other.  

One of the ways you can connect within your program is through your program Management Team meetings. Local Programs are supposed to have at least six Management Team meetings a year. We know many of you have put your meetings on hold, but it is important that you are virtually meeting. The meetings may look different, but they are important. Connecting with your team and talking about your needs and the needs of the athletes will allow you to support each other and also ask for support if you need it. There is still business that needs to be managed within your program. We hope you are finding creative ways to use Zoom, Facetime, and use other technology platforms to connect. These are great tools to create virtual meetups, celebrate birthdays or accomplishments, to share jokes, music, stories, and simply talk about anything other than coronavirus. If you are not familiar with these platforms, we can help.

We are an organization that is focused on building connections and freely sharing hugs, high fives and fist bumps to celebrate success and to show our support. Although we can’t connect through these physical connections, staying socially connected is even more important. If we support each other, communicate regularly and ask for help when we need help, we will get through this challenging time together.