Summary: <p>In this Episode of the podcast <a href="www.instagram.com/carlpaoli">Carl</a> sits down with his long time friend <a href="www.instagram.com/sistalista">Sheena Lister</a>, founder of <a href="www.workforceathletics.com">Workforce Athletics</a> (<a href="www.instagram.com/workforceathletics">WFA</a>.)</p> <p><br></p> <p>Sheena shares how she grew up in Calgary, Canada and from a very young age loved playing every sport she could get her hands and feet on, but eventually chose to focus on playing tennis which landed her a division I scholarship at Northern Arizona University.<br> </p> <p><br></p> <p>After enduring a career ending knee injury she left NAU to finish up her undergraduate degree in Montreal. First leaving Calgary to pursue playing collegiate tennis and later leaving NAU was tough as it meant leaving behind a huge piece of her identity - the sport of tennis, her routine, consistent practice and training, playing daily, and competing. </p> <p><br></p> <p>After graduating college and dabbling in everything from working on a film set to traveling all over South America, I Sheena moved to San Francisco, California where she began her career in Youth Sports Management. During her time in youth sports she yearned for the feeling she got every time she stepped onto the court. She missed her teammates, coaches, the nail biter matches. She missed wearing the team swag loud and proud. Sheena missed the early workouts and late night snack stops on route back from a tournament. Sheena missed being a high performance athlete even though she never forgot the "feeling" and incredible impact that sports had in her life. <br> </p> <p>It was during her time working for the JCC that Sheena couldn't help but ask herself: Why is there an enormous focus on youth sports? What happens to athletes once they graduate college and enter the workforce? Why don't adults have team sports coaches? How can we create that "feeling" I got from playing sports? <br> </p> <p>It was one night at 3am when Sheena woke up from a dream. She dreamt of a time and place where sports would have the same impact on adults as it does on youth. She dreamt of playing for her company, wearing the logo loud and proud. She dreamt of having a coach and learning new skills. She dreamt of competing and caring about the outcome. She dreamt of teammates becoming family and family watching me compete again. She woke up from her dream and announced to her wife - "The NCAA for Companies, A governing body for corporate sports - I must create this!"</p> <p><br></p> <p>And so she did. Introducing Workforce Athletics, the NCAA for Companies, dedicated to the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes. </p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>WHAT IS WFA</strong></p> <p>Workforce Athletics, the NCAA for Companies, strengthens company culture by investing in the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes. <br> </p> <p>WFA's authentic, "pro-like" sports leagues are guaranteed to deliver great value, energy and impact to Employee-Athletes's and their companies. WFA brings company values to life by providing sports league experiences that facilitate leadership, teamwork, retention, networking, inclusion, wellness and professional development.</p> <p>WFA takes care of everything from hiring amazing coaches, to roster creation, payment collection, custom uniform orders and scheduling! WFA is guaranteed to provide the best adult sports experience ever. </p> <p><br></p> <p><strong>THE WFA WAY</strong></p> <p>At WFA, our mission is to strengthen company culture through sports by investing in the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes. We do this by ensuring safe, structured, authentic sports environments that promote teamwork, --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/carlpaoli/message Support this podcast: <a href="https://anchor.fm/carlpaoli/support" rel="payment">https://anchor.fm/carlpaoli/support</a></p>
