When I stepped on the field to play coed touch football with the Philadelphia Sport and Social Club (PSSC) for the first time in the fall of 1998, I had no idea how dramatically it would impact my career and life.  Being the 30 year old I was at the time, I looked around and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  There were 12 games going on at one time and the sidelines were filled with good looking young people drinking beers, cooking on grills, playing with dogs and just having a great time. It was like one huge tailgate party. Then I thought to myself, somebody actually gets paid to put this show on? I want that job!

Fast forwarding 10 long years from that first day on the field in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park, I not only have my “Dream Job,” but I now own the business I fell in love with so many years before.  In August 2008, I became the company’s CEO, a West Chester resident, and purchased the PSSC with business partner and my former intern, Dan Feeney, from the Chicago-based Worldwide Sport and Social Club. Feeney, 29, interned with me in 2005-06 while earning his Master’s Degree in Sports Management from Temple University. Feeney is now the company’s Chief Operating Officer.  We also own the West Chester Sport and Social Club with West Chester University grad, Randy Herring. Herring, 27, serves as Director of the WCSSC.

Here is how I got my “dream job.” When I joined the PSSC, I was working selling sporting goods as a national sales rep. I liked my job, but the traveling was taking a toll on me and I was looking for a change.

No positions were available the time, so I volunteered my services to the organization. I later became a paid part-time referee, umpire and field monitor while patiently waiting for an opportunity to join the company full time. Tired of waiting for an opportunity to come along, I started my own adult sports leagues business in the spring of 2003 under the name “GoodSports.” The two companies merged in January of 2004 and I became the company’s Director of Business Development.  By September of that year, the entire organization was under my direction.

It should come as no surprise one of my favorite quotes is a classic!  Uttered in 1932, by President Calvin Coolidge:

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan PRESS ON has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

I discovered I had more than just a little more than “stick-to-it-ive-ness” going for me.  PSSC has flourished under my direction and continues to expand. When I took the business over, a little more than 400 teams played in the organizations' various leagues. Today, more than 1,400 teams comprised of nearly 17,000 participants play basketball, dodgeball, football, floor hockey, kickball, soccer, softball, and volleyball with the PSSC.

My secret formula for success is pretty simple.  Surround yourself with talented people, work harder and smarter than your competition, and deliver a great product at a fair price… and don’t forget to HAVE FUN!   That’s what being a Rhino is ALL about!

If you’d like to “Get in the Game” with the PSSC, you can find out more information at www.PlayPhillySports.com!

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