C.J. Stewart – Page 108

Time for a good time

March 17, 2011 by C.J. Stewart

This has been a great vacation and much needed for the Stewart family.

My time in Orlando has allowed me to hear the laughter of my daughters as they swim in pool. We go throughout the day without a set schedule and I use my iPhone mostly for photo taking. We haven’t seen Mickey at Disney yet but he looks good in our Braves gear.

Being here makes me realize that I needed a timeout. When you love what you do, the last thing that you want is a break from it. I love baseball and I love L.E.A.D. and it has been good to charge the batteries back up under the hot Florida sun.

Time down here will be used to appreciate one another in the Stewart house. The girls can scream as loud as they want to and stay up really late. They deserve it. Kelli has been able to get some good rest and that makes me happy because she wears her cape everyday back home. I’m simply enjoying the ability to wear sandals and my Ambassadors visor.

It’s Friday and our time is almost up. Headed back to the ATL on Sunday and ready to work on Monday. In the meantime, my batteries aren’t fully charged yet. We miss y’all and we are having a good time.

High expectations

March 14, 2011 by C.J. Stewart

It is no secret that inner city schools struggle to meet the bar of academic achievement. Know one has the perfect plan but the key is to have a plan. APS has some of the most talented and dedicated teachers that you will ever find. That is why I am encouraged that Atlanta Public Schools will produce more Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s and Ceasar Mitchell’s in the future.

I am fortunate to have my organization L.E.A.D. to be a partner with the Atlanta Public School System through the Atlanta Partners for Education program. This allows me to be a part of the solution.

Within L.E.A.D., we meet our middle and high school male students where they are. We are dealing with at risk male students but our expectations are extremely high for them. We offer year round baseball programs with a methodology that helps everyone stay on track towards graduating from high school and enrolling into college. We realize and accept that it takes a village to raise a child.

Some students have risk factors that are more serious than others and we are sensitive to that but every student has the potential to be great and it is my responsibility to set the bar high for every young man in my organization. If a young man falls, it is also my responsibility to pick him up but push him forward.

One of the pillars of excellence in L.E.A.D. is exposure. I truly feel that a young man is less likely to fail if he is exposed to a high level of success on a continuous basis. High expectations has graduated 100% of our L.E.A.D. Ambassadors from high school and they all enrolled in college. High expectations within APS produced Dr. Martin Luther King from Booker T. Washington High School and Ceasar Mitchell from Benjamin Elijah Mays High School.

I am honored to be a part of the solution and I encourage you to do the same by joining our L.E.A.D. Tailgate Club at www.Lead2Legacy.org.

If not me, who? If not now, when? High expectations is more than a buzz phrase for me. The bar will continue to be raised high by L.E.A.D. within APS.

God is in control

March 9, 2011 by C.J. Stewart

The view is so clear from up here as I fly into Orlando with Braves baseball on my mind. Number 22 in right field is a living testimony that dreams become real. What does tomorrow hold? I don’t know, but I rest assured that God is in control!

I want tomorrow to bring me more resources so that more African American males will graduate from APS high schools and enter college. More resources will allow me to provide more mentors that can show them the way. These young men are smart contrary to popular belief. They need mentorship on a consistent basis more than math tutors. They need to understand how to manage their own lives. They don’t want to fail but failure is the only option when no one will walk the walk with you.

I want next week to bring me more resources so that more African American males in Atlanta will compete in baseball rather than just playing baseball. What is the difference? To compete requires skill development which demands sacrifice, patience and commitment from both the player and the coach. To play only requires showing up. The rigors of baseball have prepared me to be a successful professional off the baseball field. It can do the same for many other young men in inner city Atlanta. Baseball and baseball only made academics relevant for me.

I want next month to bring me more resources so that more African American males in Atlanta can understand the true meaning of leadership through service and civic engagement. Leadership is an action word and not just an adjective. Leadership doesn’t have a starting age. Service begins now! There is no reason that young men in Atlanta shouldn’t have opportunities to be involved in service every month throughout the year. If we want them “straighten up”, we have to first meet them where they are and L.E.A.D. the way.

I want next year to bring me more resources so that more African American males in Atlanta can be exposed to the amazing opportunities that exist right here in our city. We have more Fortune 100 companies in Atlanta than any other city in America. We can do more than taking a bus load of students on a field trip. What is the follow up? We peak their interest but what happens when the flame dies out.

Only God knows the destination of L.E.A.D. He has placed me in a leadership position to lead and I humbly accept it. I’m at the top of this vision and it is my daily prayer for wisdom and courage to fulfill the mission of L.E.A.D. We Launch, Expose, Advise and Direct! We achieve excellence in Academics, Athletics, Service/Civic Engagement and Exposure!

God is in control!

Wide eyes

March 6, 2011 by C.J. Stewart

Wider eyes mean that you can see more. On Saturday, March 5th, L.E.A.D. trained over 90 student/athletes from six of our partner schools (Parks, Young, King, Kennedy, Sylvan Hills and B.E.S.T. Academy) at my DiamondDirectors.com indoor training facility in Marietta. The rain didn’t let up outside on Saturday and there was no way that we could let our student/athletes down by not having baseball practice.

With one phone call to the APS Athletic Department, we had six buses at six middle schools in inner city Atlanta coming up I-75 to receive an amazing baseball experience. Each young man made the unforced commitment to wake up and get on the bus. That made me so proud as the bus drivers called and said, “We are on the way Mr. Stewart!”

Our guests came in and were welcomed by Kelli and I along with some of our executive board and advisory board members. Kerwin Giles, our Middle School Baseball Director provided a comprehensive training program that focused on kinesthetic, visual and auditory learning. The practice schedule was executed by our Ambassadors as well as each school’s coaching staff.

You should have seen how wide the eyes were of each student/athlete looking around at the 30,000+ square foot baseball training facility. They were amazed at all of the baseball specific equipment that they had access to paid for by their service in the community, commitment to academic excellence as well as commitment to L.E.A.D.’s mission and values.

Their wide eyes have now seen. Now they can dream. Their dreams of using baseball to access college can come true as long as they continue to follow our L.E.A.D.

I follow L.E.A.D.’s direction!

March 4, 2011 by C.J. Stewart

Going the L.E.A.D. direction has definitely molded me into a true Ambassador for the city of Atlanta as well as baseball. I am a senior at Benjamin Elijah Mays High School and I have my eyes set on attending college upon graduation. My short term goal is to be granted a collegiate baseball scholarship. I will be visiting Grambling University March 18th-20th and planning visits to other universities in the near future.

After hearing words from our very own Ambassador Andrew Young, I realize even more that academics are the key to my success. I work very hard in the classroom knowing that one day baseball on the field may be taken away. I have come to gain more respect for the game of baseball now that I have seen the fields that Jackie Robinson played on through L.E.A.D.’s exposure opportunities. Jackie Robinson opened the door for young men such as Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves and me.

Being able to talk to Jason Heyward who serves as L.E.A.D.’s Honorary Ambassador has helped me appreciate the game of baseball. His talks have also empowered me as I move on to the next phase of my life as a college student/athlete.

There are many others who preach the L.E.A.D. direction that I am following such as the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Hank Aaron. I know L.E.A.D.’s direction is right for me!

Desmond Stegall

2009-2011 L.E.A.D. Ambassador and Senior at Benjamin E. Mays High School

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