Street Soccer USA

Although the World Cup may be over, the passion for soccer lives on. Rob Cann, Cohort 32, has been heavily involved in the development of Street Soccer USA (SSUSA), a program established in 2004, which aims at getting homeless people off the streets by “scoring goals on the field and achieving goals in life.” Rob and his brother, Lawrence Cann, Founder of Street Soccer USA, were inspired with this idea when learning about the international event the Homeless World Cup. Both former Division I soccer players and Lawrence, already a case-worker at a homeless service agency, started a team and Rob joined him less than a year later.

Rob is now the National Program Director for SSUSA and is involved in the development and implementation of the program and its curriculum with partner agencies. He came to the University of San Francisco Sport Management program to acquire the skills needed to effectively drive the organization into the next phase of development. Street Soccer USA is a social service agency first, engaged in changing the lives of the homeless forever, but is inherently a sports organization and a Master of Arts in Sport Management from USF will provide SSUSA the expertise to succeed in the sport industry. The Bay Area is a hot bed of creativity and innovation and is an ideal location to expand programming. Robs entry into the USF Sport Management network will be crucial as the Bay Area becomes the West Coast headquarters of SSUSA.

During the early development stages of the program, both Rob and Lawrence saw the major impact with players and felt compelled to spread their message of “soccer for social change”. They have gone on to create homeless soccer teams in 20 different cities across the nation, including San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver,New York and Seattle. Teams train two to three times a week and each year unite at the Street Soccer USA Cup where a national champion is crowned and eight men and eight women are selected to represent the country at the Homeless World Cup.

In addition to soccer practices, SSUSA aims at improving social skills, self esteem and mental and physical health to eliminate barriers to employment and self sufficiency for the homeless. All players as members of the team are required to set 3, 6 and 12 month goals and abide by team rules. Jobs Academies help with finding job placement and niche services like financial literacy, resume writing, legal service and workplace readiness workshops prepare the players for reintegration into mainstream society. SSUSA also heavily relies on volunteers, their motto is "ending homelessness is a team sport" and to that end they train volunteers as sports mentors and using the talents of the community to help players reach their goals.

The future vision for SSUSA is to be the leader in Sport Development in the Unites States and to be the primary source of research and experience based authority on Sport for Social Change. The organization seeks to expand into 50 cities over the next five years and effect social change by pushing public policy toward a more holistic approach to serving the homeless and impoverished among social service agencies.

Street Soccer USA players are playing for more than scoring goals and winning championships, to learn more about the values SSUSA players stand for visit www.iplayfor.org

USF Sport Management Cohort 33 and 12S

Welcome
Cohort 33 and 12S!

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Cohort 33 and 12S into the University of San Francisco Sport Management program. Many who come from different backgrounds and different parts of the world have moved to California to be a part of this unique and reputable program.

Both cohorts started the course with their own orientation dinner where new students were able to meet their classmates, other current students, faculty members and alumni from the program. The new students were able to get a better idea of what to expect in class and ask questions about internships from the panel of current students and also start making connections with the alumni that attended the orientation dinner.

Cohort 33 from the Northern California campus was able to meet and greet with alumni Bobby Baska, Community Relations Assistant for the San Francisco Giants, Christine Wilson, Event Manager for the Northern California Special Olympics, Lenli Corbett, Compliance Manager for the University of San Francisco Athletics, and a few others while Cohort 12S from the Southern California campus met with DeSha Runnels, Assistant Athletic Director at USC, Mariella Trombetta, Assistant Director at UCLA Athletics and Cassie Zebisch, Sr. Communications Coordinator at AEG.

All the alums had the opportunity to stand up and share their experiences and words of wisdom with the new cohort as well as offer a helping hand into the sports industry. “Work hard and don’t be shy to contact other students and alumni who work in the area you want to head in,” advised Lenli “When I first moved here I was nervous to talk to other alumni but when I finally did they were so nice and helpful."
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A panel of current students from the Northern California campus, including Raymond Tioseco, Ticket Sales Representative for the Golden State Warriors, Leilani Wagner, Athletic Director of a local high school in San Francisco, Michelle Gong from Cohort 32 and a panel from the Southern California campus, including Todd Brewer, Olympic Organizing Committee Intern and Nate Bautista, Volunteer Coordinator Intern for MLB All-Star Game, also attended orientation to help answer any questions the new cohort had.

“How do I balance school and internships at the same time?” and “What are some of the struggles you experienced?” were some of the questions the new students had. The panels strongly expressed that everyone’s experience through the program will be unique as students start to follow their own path and that everyone gets out of it what they put in. “It was hard for me to juggle multiple internships and school at the same time but I was open and honest with all my supervisors and they were able to work with my schedule,” said Michelle. “If you work hard you will be rewarded,” added Leilani.

With all the support and help provided by current students, alumni and faculty members at the University of San Francisco, I have no doubt that Cohorts 33 and 12S will be very successful in their ventures.

Bonding Between Cohorts

The University of San Francisco Sport Management students from Cohort 30 and Cohort 32 recently joined together for an internship meeting on the Northern California campus with the program’s internship professor, Dr. Rich Cellini. Students from Cohort 30, who will be graduating this December, shared their past experiences with internships and gave their advice to the most recent Cohort 32 on the do’s and don’ts in the sports industry.

“Be patient and be persistent,” advised Francis Sorenson, Cohort 30. “Follow your passion but don’t put all your eggs in one basket. There are so many opportunities out there so make sure you take advantage of them while you can.”

With a wide sports network in San Francisco and Los Angeles, it often feels as if there are so many opportunities to work in different sports but not enough time to do everything.

“What’s the perfect internship? What do you do?” asked Nick Vay, Cohort 32. “Should I try something else? I asked myself these questions often. I realize it’s not about trying opportunities at different jobs but about creating different opportunities at one job.”

Every student had the chance to share their journey through the Sport Management program. Some students knew their dream job coming into the program and have worked hard to make that dream a reality. Others have continued to pave the way as the opportunities arise.

“I’ve always wanted to be a sports agent for the 49ers. Over the last year I have worked in marketing, sales, and operations for the 49ers and I think it’s a great organization,” expressed Chris Henderson, Cohort 30. “It’s important to stay humble and keep your energy up and eventually you will get what you want.”

Cali Gilbert from Cohort 30, on the other hand, was offered what she wanted and decided to take another path. “I was asked to take the position of what I thought would be my dream job but I soon realized I wanted to start my own business,” Cali explained. “It wasn’t easy, but I can honestly say there are two people who have your back in life, your mom and Dr. Cellini.” Cali now owns her own Promotions and Event Management business called Serendipity in the nearby town of Sausalito.

The meeting ended with a new bond and network between the two cohorts. To officially seal this bond, Cohort 30 challenged Cohort 32 to a softball match at the end of summer. Stay tuned for an update on the softball champions. As for now- Bring it on, Cohort 30!

The Tassle is Worth the Hassle

On Friday, May 21, over 300 friends and family members gathered together at the St. Ignatius Church on the USF Main Campus for the graduation ceremony of Cohort 29 and 10S. The Reception took place at Crossroads Café where USF Sport Management graduate students, professors, and family members enjoyed catered food and drinks while reminiscing over the past two years.

“It’s great to see my classmates who started off not knowing exactly what they wanted to do and now have such a clear direction and path to follow,” said Mike Levine, Cohort 10S from Southern California. “The program is very flexible and gave me the opportunity to do my own masters project which led me to find my passion in life. Now I am going to continue my education and get my Ph.D. from UC Riverside.”

The program has done a great job giving students the freedom within structure to explore their desires. “I got to create my own Triathlon which I used in a research project,” said Clare Rudd, Cohort 29 from Northern California. “Now I am moving to Ireland for a year and then planning to work for the Olympics in London in 2012.”

While some students are moving across the world, others are moving across the state. With the program spread in both Northern and Southern California, students have the opportunity to work in almost any sports entity in California. “I started the program in southern California and wanted to work with the San Diego Padres. I ended up getting an internship with the San Francisco Giants and I was able to move to San Francisco and finish the rest of the program in Northern California,” said Jameson Shaw, Cohort 29. “It was really a blessing because I got to meet people and make friends from both Cohorts and broaden my network. I now know people in the sports industry all over California and plan on moving back to Los Angeles.”

Students were kind enough to share more of their favorite moments while enjoying unlimited food and drinks. “My best experience was going to Korea with our marketing class,” said Isela Velasco, Cohort 29. “I learned so much about marketing and was able to get really close to my classmates. We had a blast.”

“I was able to take an elective in Public Relations with Professor Steve Webster, CEO of Crimson Marketing and Public Relations. He took us to different sporting events for class. We got the chance to do a one-on-one interview with Luke Walton in the Press Room and experience a Press Conference with Phil Jackson and Pau Gasol,” said Brian Morandi, Cohort 10S. “I spent some time working for the Los Angeles Clippers and I want to get back into doing PR for a professional sports team.”

When asked to share one piece of advice with the current and prospective students, most people responded with the same answer – to network as much as possible. “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Use the program, the professors and the connections you have to get where you want,” expressed Patrick Jones, Cohort 29. “There are so many alumni sprinkled throughout the sports industry who went through this program and are willing to help you, so take advantage of it.”

Congratulations to all the recent graduates of the USF Sport Management program on all your hard work and success. We wish you the best of luck through the next chapters in life!