Having been part of a soccer team for 51 years, jumping straight from playing to coaching, Mike Avery is no stranger to working closely with teams. Avery is currently the head coach for Fort Wayne Football Club (FC), previously coached Valparaiso University’s men's soccer team, and often finds himself as the guy in charge in different areas of his life. After having numerous leadership roles placed on his shoulders over the years, Avery has come to learn about the power of intentional teams and how to steer teams closer together. Equipped with this knowledge, Avery has sought ways to share his expertise, giving speeches to people, organizations, and businesses that seek to build stronger teams.
“Teams have meant everything to me. If I tell you that teams have shaped my life, that would be true, but it would be an understatement. The reality is that teams have saved my life over and over again,” Avery said. “As someone who's getting into the second half of life, I get a bit more reflective about it. I'm blown away by the potential that exists in the team structure. I see it happen over and over again where people's lives are truly transformed by being in an intentional team.”
Many teams are purely focused on winning, but Avery has seen bigger accomplishments surface in a strong team environment. When done right, engaging with a team can lead to personal growth and bonds between team members that extend beyond the playing field.
“I work in a job where I understand winning better than anybody because if I don't win enough games, I have to find another job,” Avery said. “I understand that winning is part of it, but it's not the point. That’s the message I settled on. We are all trying to find success however we define success, but there are bigger things at play here. It’s about the transformation of the person and the relationships that we build.”
When Avery was head coach of the men's soccer team at Valparaiso University in 2012, his team was composed of a diverse group of people. Avery recalls that there were a couple instances of racism, and he knew he needed to find methods of establishing unity and acceptance as head coach.
His desire to prompt change within his team led to the creation of an Instagram campaign where he would take pictures of the team at different locations in Valparaiso and post it with the hashtag #oneVALPO. This small step toward strengthening his team quickly gained a massive following with tens of thousands of people liking pictures, sharing posts, and following the page.
With such a strong following, Avery decided to take it a step further and create the #oneVALPO Promise, which was a pledge the team encouraged their followers to sign, promising to show respect to others in all areas. Not only did many followers sign the #oneVALPO Promise but they also shared it on their own social media pages, spreading the positive message beyond the local community.
“When our team became about something bigger than ourselves, we started to represent this idea that was bigger than our own individual wants and needs,” Avery said. “That's when the team got really good. It's ironic in a way that all of the great success that we experienced during that era happened after the #oneVALPO initiative came out. I honestly believe it's because the guys started to buy into the idea that being part of a team meant sacrificing their own personal wants and desires for the good of the group.”
This team continued to grow and attracted many new recruits after the #oneValpo initiative and #oneValpo Promise up until Valparaiso University unfortunately dropped men’s soccer. Although this briefly put Avery out of a job, he quickly found a new way to build teams. Around this time, George Floyd was killed which fueled discussions of racism nationwide. Many coaches found themselves compelled to talk to their teams about diversity following Floyd’s death, and with many coaches aware of Avery’s #oneVALPO initiative, they sought his advice.
This led Avery to join 200 sports teams’ meetings over Zoom calls, sharing the story of #oneVALPO initiative and the overall impact of diversity and unity within a team. This unprecedented career as speaker led to the creation of Center Circle Influencers.
“Center Circle Influencers is basically a catch-all for me since I do a lot of keynote speaking and a lot of work with teams outside my own,” Avery said. “I’ve traveled to a Bangkok conference, I spoke at the NCAA Inclusion Forum last month, and it’s been gaining more traction. I have a conversation about teams that is really relevant right now, especially in the sports world.”
Avery has noticed a shift in sports with so much focus placed on name, image, and likeness (NIL) in the professional and college sports world. NIL is focused on athletes making money off their name, image, and likeness which is a far cry from the sports environment he has known.
“When I was growing up, the point of being on a team was really just to be on the team. You and all your friends were doing what you guys loved. Now, it feels like the point of being a team is to use the team to get to a better team. It's become very transactional,” Avery said. “I'm the guy saying, ‘What are we doing? Let's remember the point of all this.’ The point for me is transformation. That's all influenced by who you're riding with. It's about connection. It's about developing a culture of trust and a community of belonging. When that happens, it's an incredible thing.”
This belief in the power of intentional teams drives Avery to continue speaking at various conferences and meetings and lead change with his own team as head coach for Fort Wayne FC. Working with 18 to 26-year-old young adults, he knows it is difficult to break down barriers and be vulnerable. To simplify this process of breaking down barriers, Avery has developed the BE Team Model for High Performing Groups.
The first phase of the BE Team Model is BEING: recognizing what you have in common with those around you. After finding those connection points, the second phase is BELONGING: embracing what is different. Once teams have completed the BEING and BELONGING phases, they enter the third phase of BECOMING: taking positive and successful action together now that they have embraced their commonalities and differences.
To learn more about Center Circle Influencers or contact Mike Avery, visit centercirclein.com.