By Dennis Miller
One of the core principles of the Ballistic United Soccer Club is not only for the players to be better soccer players, but to be better people, and be a star both on and off the field.
At the forefront is the leadership programs run by Brady Taylor and Walter Pratte.
I have done stories on the programs before, which you can find at the following links.
https://busc.org/busc-leadership-academy-helping-players-realize-their-leadership-potential/
https://busc.org/busc-adds-to-its-leadership-opportunities/
Taylor gets the ball rolling with the first two tiers, mostly comprised of middle school aged players, while Pratte takes what the kids learn from Taylor’s mentoring and applies it to the real world as the players move through high school.
I sat through one of Taylor’s classes before and it was very cool. What I noticed that really intrigued me was the kids’ processing of certain situations and how they reached a possible solution.
I work with middle school kids daily and processing situations you face in life is something that without fail everyone in the age group could improve.
For that matter, there are plenty of adults that fall into that category.
To get into the initial program, players needed to be recommended by their respective coaches.
The players will often work in small groups developing solutions to problems, utilizing their growing leadership skills in the classroom, which can then be translated to the field and life off the field.
The second tier is more of a roundtable discussion
Taylor’s guidance is huge and comes from what he learned as a player and has in turn transferred to the kids in the club.
“For me I was a captain on my youth team, and a three-year captain in my colleges,” said Taylor. “Leadership and impacting lives have always been a passion of mine.”
Walter Pratte
Pratte works with the players during their high school years and takes what they players learned in their first two “Leadership experiences” to the next level.
Pratte’s statement that, “we are humanizing the leadership process,” sums it up.
I firmly believe that not every person has leadership capabilities, but I also believe that there are people out there who don’t realize they can be leaders.
Programs like Ballistics’ nurture those qualities in the youth and young adults in the program and helps fulfill the Ballistic belief of making the players better people both on and off the field.
“We are about to gain an edge in a competitive world,” explained Pratte. “We dive into confidence, courage, character, and compassion needed to lead.”
Take Jayden Goodman, a goalie for the Ballistic MLS Next 2008 team. He is the perfect example of what the program can do.
“The boys’ impacted leadership program has helped me be able to speak more for myself,” said Goodman. “Before joining, I didn’t talk so much. It also helps me help others – people that never got the chance to have stuff that I did, and that makes me really happy. I really do love this program and everything about it.”
Goodman’s needs fall right into line with what Pratte’s program reaches for.
“We have a five-month program, and we meet once a month,” said Pratte. “One, we want to improve public speaking. Two, we will talk about adversity you have faced. You must lead yourself before leading others by going through the adversity you have faced.”
Pratte also has a program that takes things to an entirely different level.
The week of Thanksgiving he takes a coed group to Paraguay to delivers backpack to children with supplies. It costs around $3,200 a person, but the experience of working in that environment, well outside the kids’ comfort zone, is an invaluable experience.
