I'm approaching my four-year anniversary as the Executive Director and just celebrated my 23rd anniversary at the MYAS.

Much of my time leading the company has, of course, been affected by COVID. For a time, we were in survival mode as an organization and the sports we serve, primarily baseball and basketball. I'm proud of where we are now, but I’m even more excited about where we are going as an organization and having a bigger and broader impact.

Several programs and services have been created over the past decade, and we've become this comprehensive organization to help youth participants, families, coaches, game officials, and the parent-volunteer associations that serve them. That is why we have hired a consultant to lead us through strategic planning and reassessing our organizational chart.

This has been a long time coming. In my 20-plus years at the MYAS in various roles, the current org chart is all I've known. This is not to say that's wrong, but I feel like we currently have an opportunity to go through some team-building exercises (like a SWOT analysis) and gain some perspective from a trusted outsider.

It's important for our organization to evaluate itself internally, to ensure that we are efficient and effective externally because our goal is to make a bigger and broader impact on youth sports in a positive way.

This exercise has included everyone involved with the MYAS, including our staff, Board of Directors, and advisory groups that are made up of former and current leaders in youth baseball, basketball, and wrestling organizations throughout our state. Our consultant is working hard to get a full scope of all the stakeholders, especially in the sports we serve.

There are so many ideas and opportunities, but we need to be careful that we don't try to do too many things too quickly, and that the impact is not only good but great.

All of this work has already helped us become better by moving MYAS team members into areas where they can utilize their strengths and be an even stronger asset to our organization and to others. For example, Rich Penick (Associate Director and 27-year veteran), has begun to shift his focus into a new role of Strategic Growth & New Programs, and Bobby Strickland (Baseball Program Director) has been elevated to the position of Rising Stars Sports Academy Director. We will look to shift others internally and add a new position in the short term, which allows our organization to be even more productive for the Minnesota youth sports community.

We must establish this vision moving forward of where we're heading as an organization, based on everything that's come out of this analysis and other vital factors. Hopefully, we will be ready to present the findings to our Board in early 2023.

I won't say that the process is nerve-wracking, but I am a bit anxious to see the findings. I have an idea of what to expect but I’m looking forward to seeing our consultant's assessment and perspectives, given all the conversations that have taken place over the past several weeks.