In this episode of the podcast Carl sits down with his long time friend Sheena Lister, founder of Workforce Athletics (WFA.)

LISTEN TO SHEENA’S EPISODE HERE

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.

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.  

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. 
 

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? 
 

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!”

And so she did. Introducing Workforce Athletics, the NCAA for Companies, dedicated to the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes. 

WHAT IS WFA

Workforce Athletics, the NCAA for Companies,  strengthens company culture  by investing in the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes. 
 

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.

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.  

THE WFA WAY

At WFA, their mission is to strengthen company culture through sports by investing in the lifelong success of Employee-Athletes.  WFA does this by ensuring  safe, structured, authentic sports environments that promote teamwork, healthy competition, and inclusion.

WFA is committed to ensuring our 4 core values fuel everything we do!

1. Diversity
WFA is committed to being an inclusive and empowering professional environment where all participants learn, grow, and have fun.

2. Healthy Competition
Whether a beginner or advanced player, WFA has a place for you. We promote healthy competition based on skill and experience, not age, ethnicity or gender.

3.Sportspersonship
The safety of our Employee-Athletes is a top priority for us at WFA. We want everyone to feel comfortable playing and we encourage all  of our Employee-Athletes to respect their teammates, officials, opponents, and the rules of the sport.

4. Spirit
We are passionate about the power of sports at all levels and how it can have a transformative impact in the workplace. We believe spirit fuels everything we do, and why should your company sports experience be any different?

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