| The Mission (Statement) is Possible (January 2004) |
By Joe Cummings
Editor’s note: The following article is taken from an address Cummings made at the NSCAA Convention’s Awards Banquet on Friday, Jan. 16, in Charlotte, N.C.
In the TV show Mission: Impossible, (for the younger NSCAA members, there was a TV show before the movies!), the main character was given instructions via tape recorder of his next assignment. The secretly-delivered taped message began with, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is…” What unfolded during the next hour was the pursuit of this mission. More about this opening later.
During the past three years the National Soccer Coaches Association of America has engaged its Executive Committee, Board of Directors and a collection of soccer personalities in two strategic planning sessions. Although there were many other objectives during these sessions, the development of mission and vision statements were foremost in our planning.
As an organization heading toward its 70th year of existence, it certainly was time to crystallize who and what we are so every subsequent act and/or policy would be developed and performed with these mission and vision statements in mind. In essence, those statements defined the NSCAA’s future.
That strategic process involved careful examination and reflection. What was the NSCAA? What did it mean to each of us? Responses to those questions dealt with the Convention, its banquets and meal functions, academy courses, the high school all-star game, the symposiums and Soccer Journal. Still, they did not totally capture the essence of this organization. After all, periodicals and activities do not encompass the full scope of the NSCAA, the largest coaches organization in the world, for they did not answer the predominant question - for what stated purpose do we exist? In a philosophical sense, what is our reason for being?
In laying the groundwork for the creation of the mission and vision statements, the committee identified our three main reasons for being: EDUCATION, EXCELLENCE and SERVICE. That broad and important foundation was followed by word games and exploration. Which words should be used, how should they be connected, does the statement flow and where do the commas belong? We were bull-headed during some moments and reflective during others, but throughout this time-consuming and satisfying process, we always knew what we wanted and where we were headed.
With the mission statement completed and the vision statement to follow, we pressed on until we reached a moment in time in which we seemed to be guided by other forces, guided by the hands of the association’s founding members. They helped us realize, individually and collectively, that we were shaping the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for the next generation of coaches/teachers of this remarkable game. With that inspiring moment of recognition upon us, we nodded approvingly and added our final touches.
The following two statements now guide us as an organization:
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) educates coaches, encourages excellence and serves the soccer community.
The NSCAA will be a globally-recognized coaches organization dedicated to member services, education, awards programs and the pursuit of excellence at all levels of the game.
Now to complete the analogy of my opening remarks: Remember, the main character in Mission: Impossible was given an option with the trademark line, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is...” Our committee accepted the challenge of developing those statements of clarity, direction and foresight. So, as members of the NSCAA, you too have a mission: to learn and to live these statements. In doing so, you will help to grow the NSCAA. As the 56th President of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, I too will learn and live these words and allow them to steer me throughout the upcoming year. Educating coaches, encouraging excellence and serving the soccer community doesn’t seem to be a difficult mission. In fact, it is a mission that seems quite possible.
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