Transforming the City

by Ryan Krzykowski

A few weeks back I wrote a post about the updated CFC Vision Statement, and dug into the idea of “A City Transformed”, which is the first and most prominent piece of that Vision.  We have been sharing that Vision with people, working to answer the question of what is could look like for sports used as a tool to change lives, and in so doing, transform a city.

Last week I received a text from our friend Mike Hilbert,

who serves as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Lee’s Summit North HS.  Mike shared a link to a story about his team and a recent service project that made the local news.  Check out the short video and article here.  In his message to me, Mike pointed toward his time in a CFC Coaching Life Group and how that experience inspired him to be more intentional with his team in the area of service.  In the video, we see Coach Hilbert sharing his Coaching Purpose Statement, “To use basketball to help develop young men that learn to love, serve and lead others with excellence and confidence.”

Just about anyone can come up with a nice sounding purpose or mission statement.  Coach Hilbert takes it a few steps further by seeking to live into that mission, and is helping his young athletes change our city for the better along the way.  Now imagine 25,000 coaches out there in Kansas City doing the same.  It won’t look the same for everyone, but the sum total of that type of a cooperative effort among athletic leaders in our city would be breathtaking — a city transformed.