The PCA Blog - New England

Elevating The Game At Harvard With Jim Thompson

06.02.2017

The gray skies lifted and sunshine spilled into the spectacular Murr Lounge overlooking Harvard’s historic football stadium just as Positive Coaching Alliance’s “Elevate: Meet the Founder” reception began on Wednesday, May 31.

The event featured Jim Thompson, PCA founder and CEO; Katey Stone, coach for Harvard and USA Olympic hockey teams and member of PCA’s National Advisory Board; and Brien O’ConnorRopes & Gray partner, a two-sport athlete at Yale, and long-time youth sports coach. Guests included PCA National Double-Goal Coach® Award Winner Suzie Hoyt, ten PCA trainers, and numerous PCA Board Members and supporters—all people who care about doing sports right.


Opening with a welcome and an expression of appreciation for the evening’s host, Harvard University, and sponsor, Ropes & Gray, Executive Director of PCA’s New England chapter, Beth O’Neill Maloney spoke about how sports bring people together--to compete, to achieve a common goal, to experience joy, and to elevate themselves, others, the game, and life.

Watch the full event video below:

Guests had the opportunity to hear from Jim Thompson, Katey Stone, Brien O’Connor, and Suzie Hoyt, and to talk to them over appetizers and drinks.


Jim spoke thoughtfully about the challenges facing society today, and the opportunity to reach the 40+ million kids and 4 million adults engaged in youth sports in America to develop character, to elevate the game, and to elevate life through sports done right.


Highlights from the evening included:

  • Jim Thompson’s story about the Little League coach who approached a PCA trainer in the grocery store to thank her for giving him the positive coaching tools to help him transform a young player from one who feared the batter’s box into a confident player who hit a ball over the center fielder’s head
  • Katey Stone’s words of wisdom about her focus on recruiting athletes (and parents) of character who are willing to put team before self
  • PCA National Double-Goal Coach Award Winner Suzie Hoyt’s student-athletes describing her tireless work teaching life lessons through sports, molding real Triple-Impact Competitors–student-athletes who elevate themselves, their teammates and the game, making the world a better place (Suzie’s Tribute Video can be seen here)
  • The appreciation expressed by Brien O’Connor, a Ropes & Gray partner, former two-sport athlete at Yale, and sports dad who has coached his 5 kids over the last 14 years, for having had the opportunity to coach, and more importantly to learn from, young athletes
  • Beth O’Neill Maloney’s stories about the girls on the first “travel” team she coached who have demonstrated that they have elevated the game by taking the life lessons they learned on the field–discipline, commitment, sacrifice, resilience and more–and translating them into success in the classroom and beyond, and whose picture, of 9 nine-year olds arrayed in a human pyramid graced the evening’s invitation


Guests left inspired, and everyone made it into their cars before the skies opened and rain swept down.

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