Willie Cromack had an idea.
The well-known community leader has worn a number of hats over the years, including high-level soccer player, bike shop owner, philanthropist, charity founder and community fundraiser.
Through his many life experiences, it became clear to him the willingness of people to go the distance if they thought it could help someone else. Last summer, tasked with serving as one of the coaches of his eldest son Henry's U11 North Vancouver Football Club team, the Falcons, Cromack saw an opportunity to put his theory to the test.
Trying to figure out a way to help his young charges improve their technical skills, Cromack wanted to institute an incentive program. Rather than give the boys a personal reward for playing better, he wanted to offer them an opportunity to help someone else. "I wondered what it would be like if these 10-year-olds had a cause that they might play for," he says. "So what I did was, I said to the parents, 'Look,
I know you spend $2 on a hot chocolate after the game if your kid has scored a goal. And that's really sort of self-serving. What if we asked you to reallocate your reward money from selfgain to community-gain? I will do my best to educate your kid in a different way using the language of soccer around cause, something they care about.'" With the parents agreeing to the pilot program, next, Cromack and his partner coaches chatted with the boys about what causes mattered to them. Many of the boys expressed their feelings around being impacted by cancer within their family and friend circles.
From then on, a series of expectations were set for the players each game, for example, increasing their number of passes. If the boys met the goal, their parents, coaches and supporters would in turn make a donation to their cause. "We took out this 'win at all costs mentality' and it became less about the goals and more about how many passes we got, and lo and behold we got lots of goals. .. Our coaching staff is parents and we were sitting there dumbfounded.
Our mouths were on the ground. It was like watching a sasquatch ride into the soccer park on a unicorn. There was no comparison to what it looked like," says Cromack.
Prior to the initiative, the team was making approximately 46 passes per game. With the new incentive, the players racked up more than 140.
The Falcons have one more tournament this season and are finishing with an impressive record.
"They played at the top end of the spectrum," says Cromack. "Their style of play has been massively wellreceived and each player has individually improved at a very high level."
In addition, they're all displaying good sportsmanship with each other and their peers.
The Falcons have raised more than $2,100 for cancer research (they plan to decide which organization their funds will be forwarded to this weekend) and Freekicks, which helps youths play soccer around the world.
Coaching staff plan to continue the program next season, which runs from September to March.
One other local team, the U14 North Shore Girls Violet Vipers, also participated in the program this season, raising approximately $1,700 for Stop A Bully.
To manage their fundraising, Cromack used Vancouver-based Chimp (chimp.net), an online giving platform that allows groups to raise funds for Canadian charities of their choice. He was pleased when the site founders, so impressed by the pilot, offered him a job as community manager for Chimp Sport. For the last month, Cromack has been working to get other soccer teams and clubs across the country on board with the program, which has been branded as Play Better.
"For me it's very rewarding," he says. "I'm inspired to help people get a simplified version of it so they can experiment themselves. Philosophically, it's helping the sport I love and kids engage in athletics and being healthy. .. It's helping kids expand their horizons and realize that they can have a bigger impact on the world and they can make a difference."
So far, Cromack has received interest from clubs in the Halifax, London and Toronto areas, and has nine Lower Mainland clubs on board for September. Focused on soccer for now, he hopes to see Play Better eventually expanded to incorporate a variety of sports. To sign up a soccer team or club to Play Better, email Cromack at [email protected]. To support the Falcons' fundraising efforts, visit chimp.net/groups/teamfalcons.
