The Power of Initiative

SAVE THE DATE! Feb 24-25, 2012

FREE Character Building Clinic hosted by SportsLeader for Coaches and Captains

One of the athletes we are honoring this year at our SportsLeader Awards Night on Feb 24th is Joseph Fisher. Joseph is a remarkable young man who is truly an example of initiative - coming up with an idea on his own, following through and getting it done - all at the age of 12, 13 ...

Joseph is currently an 8th grader at St Agnes school in Louisville, KY. He played football for the past two seasons for Coach Paul Passafiume, Co-Founder of SportsLeader. He credits the SportsLeader Program as a big part of the success of his team. His team won the Toy Bowl in 2009 and 2010.

Joseph is consistently a 4.0 student, is a member of the Student Council, and the Kentucky Youth Assembly. 

Joseph is a volunteer at the Nazareth Home and created a group known as "Fifth Down Equipment Locker" where he collects used football equipment and donates to underprivileged football teams. He looks forward to attending St. X and playing for the Tigers.

In the past two years he has helped collect over 350 pieces of football equipment.

Joseph and teammate Colin delivered this season's collection to the Louisville Broncos of the Louisville Metro Youth Football League. The Broncos are a 1st year team and are led by Coach McAdory. Coach "Mac" was proud to announce that this year's team made it all the way to the Semi-Finals. Joseph and Colin shared the SportsLeader virtues of Charity, Humility and Determination. 

Coach "Mac" expressed his extreme gratitude and promised the equipment would go to good use and that it will help to include some who may not be able to participate otherwise. 

If you'd like to check out Joseph's work please visit his web site at: 

5TH DOWN EQUIPMENT LOCKER
http://5thdownel.weebly.com/

5TH Down Equipment Locker is a program to provide used equipment for football players of need. It is called 5th down because like a 5th down on the football field it gives us all another opportunity. 

In giving, we practice generosity. Not everyone has been blessed the way we have. We also display leadership by setting an example for others. When others witness the joy we receive in giving, it will inspire them to do the same. 

The person getting the equipment gets the opportunity to play football and experience the fellowship and camaraderie that we all know it brings. 

Here is how it works:

We will collect your used equipment (equipment you own). Please clean any equipment before you bring it in. We need anything you can spare: cleats, pads, pants practice jerseys, gloves, helmets, etc… you get the idea. Once we have the equipment gathered we will get representatives of our team to deliver them.

Please give freely. There are plenty of kids in our community that can’t play because of the cost of equipment. Let’s share the opportunity of playing football with them and make a difference in someone’s life.

We encourage others to follow Joe’s footsteps. If you would like to participate here in the Louisville area please contact us at flyingdfish@yahoo.com. 

We can help you organize your local collection and get you in touch with needy teams. We would also like to help you if you want to start one up in your local community.