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This year marks the start of new waves. The East Boston team has doubled in size, with four full-time coaches now on board. Preston and Rachael joined Lucas and Lindsey in mid-August as the boys’ and girls’ coaches for the existing U12 teams and the new U16 teams.
In addition to the new high school teams, SWB Boston is piloting a new youth leadership program. Four high school students, two girls and two boys, on-boarded as student coaches for our elementary school "Little League" with Coach Lucas. These energetic go-getters represent four different Boston high schools and bring unique perspectives to the playing field.
The on-boarding process included real-world job preparation experience through personal 20-minute interviews and subsequent feedback sessions. Participants wore their best outfits, arrived a few minutes early, and were prepared with questions of their own. Individual motives included wanting to give back, becoming stronger leaders, gaining coaching experience, and test driving teaching.
On the field, student coaches are growing into their new roles, discovering the challenges and rewards of working with young children, understanding their own strengths and weaknesses, and finding their niches while having fun.
Each of the student coaches speaks a language other than English at home and English at the field. Through the on-boarding experience, and through mid-season and end of season evaluations, the student coaches have infinite opportunities to practice their spoken grammar, learn how to communicate professionally, and share back on their experiences promoting English with the Little Leaguers.
Wouldn’t it be cool if Little Leaguers could learn from alumni coaches, and then pass on their lessons years later? Some SWB locations have already accomplished just that – SWB Boston is on our way.
