SoapBlog 3: Give to be Engaged
Brian Polark, Founder Cincinnati Sports Leagues
In the first few months after my graduation from Xavier University in 2000, I learned some valuable lessons about my own resiliency.
I was trying to make ends meet by running a youth athletic camp for kids from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. I was also an umpire for softball games from 6 - 10 p.m., and a bartender and cook at a local establishment until 2 a.m. each night. Oh, did I mention, I didn’t have a car either? My circa 1995 mountain bike was getting quite a workout.
Although they didn’t last long (thankfully), those crazy months were important to my development as a future business owner. Somehow, I proved some classic clichés:
- Things are never quite as bad as they seem, and
- The grass isn’t necessarily greener on the other side.
I even almost became victim to the “Brain Drain.” I was going through the motions of living in a city that I wasn’t actively involved in. I was looking for any reason to leave, a job, warmer weather, places with cheap cars… anything. Fortunately for me, I found an opportunity here in the Queen City. Looking back, I’m thankful that I wasn’t so caught up with trying to get out that I missed these opportunities all together.
Even after starting CSL, I was still restless and looking to leave. I remember taking trips to Southern California and Arizona, and after returning, starting to look through job listings and apartments in those areas. My problem was that I still hadn’t fully engaged this city. It wasn’t “my” city.
That changed around 2003. Two or three years into growing Cincinnati Sports Leagues (CSL), people started to look to us for their social needs. Our leagues were selling out, and parties and happy hours were packed. At this point, I began to realize that in order for it to be “my” city, I had to provide something worthwhile for the city.
My roots in Cincinnati came in the form of the city and its YPs accepting my business into the community. The abundance of YP groups and programming in Cincinnati are a testament to this generation’s ability and desire to be engaged. I wouldn’t be here without it, and CSL definitely wouldn’t be here without it. For that, I (along with my wife and my business) will always be indebted to the people, as well as the City of Cincinnati.