You're getting a chance to meet Waseem Givens, the Director of Youth Development for the Boston Celtics, in this month's edition of Beyond the Parquet.
Givens is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island and is a born-and-raised Bostonian who hails from Dorchester, Mass. He earned his degree in Business Administration from URI.
Givens' story is similar to others who are now full-time with the Celtics: he started out as a part-timer. He was a part-time Youth Basketball Coach before joining the organization in a full-time capacity in January of 2022. He's now in his third season with the team.
Within his role, Givens dedicates endless energy toward driving the development of new business opportunities for the Youth Basketball department, and providing expansion strategies for the Jr. Celtics Academy.
He provides an overview of his role and his career in the below Q & A.
-----------------------------------------
Q: What brought you to the Celtics?
A: Growing up, basketball had always been a part of my DNA, from playing as a kid to being a fan of the NBA. After college, I found myself in multiple youth development roles; from coaching and training on the court to mentoring and volunteering off it. I naturally found myself giving back to the next generation as I’ve always believed in personal growth and development. After many years working in a corporate setting at BCBSMA and working part-time as a Jr. Celtics coach (from the job's inception in 2017), it was a no brainer to apply for the opportunity when available, as it bought my basketball background together with my business background.
Q: How did you discover the job opening?
A: Working as a part-time Jr. Celtics coach, it gave me a great opportunity to learn a bit of the business, meet some of my current colleagues, and be inspired by the growth of the program and organization. So when the opening occurred, I was close enough to learn about posting and application process.
Q: What does your typical non-game day look like?
A: Typical might be a stretch as each day looks a bit different, although I’d say that’s a good thing. But overall, it’s a mixture of internal collaborations on different growth initiatives. Planning and executing programming with external partners and stakeholders. Then ultimately focusing on building a strong program structure and foundation, through alignment, automation, and gap analysis.
Q: What does your typical game day look like?
A: Game days are a great way to raise awareness of JCA. This year we kicked off a new Kid’s Zone on the concourse providing kids with an exciting game day experience before and during games (section 7, stop by and check us out). It’s a great opportunity for us to activate our JCA coaches, bring our programming to life, collaborate on theme nights, as well as market our upcoming events. So typically, you can find me there overseeing that.
Q: What other departments do you interact with the most, and why?
A: Recently I found myself working a lot with our Corporate Strategy and Partnership teams as there is a great opportunity to connect JCA with some large national brands. In these interactions I could be working on anything from data collection and presentation curation, to ideation for program alignment. Additionally, I work closely with our Marketing and Digital Teams. As we continue to rebrand JCA, it allows me to assist in growing the program via our marketing channels and website, helping to promote our mission, vision, and upcoming events.
Q: What are the greatest challenges of your job?
A: Prioritization for sure! There’s a lot of good things happening for JCA right now and it feels like there’s no ceiling to what we are doing. The opportunities feel endless. Staying organized and prioritizing what’s important can be challenging at times as you find yourself wanting to do everything.
Q: What’s your favorite part of the job?
A: My favorite part of my job is the ability to bring what I’ve learned through my own experiences as a kid, basketball player and professional to the next generation. I get to tap into my childlike wonders and mindset regularly, while also leveraging my professional experience in disciplines like user experience and journey mapping. Ultimately working with great people to build a transformational program that children can learn about themselves, shape strong habits, smile and laugh while improving their basketball skills. Not much more you can ask for.
Q: What’s your favorite memory from being on the job?
A: Lately I find myself sitting in the arena during game days taking the atmosphere all in. Hearing the absolute joy and love Boston fans have for the home team is unforgettable. Whenever I think it can’t get any louder it always does. Experiencing this regularly is pretty special.
Q: What skills have been most important to your success?
A:. The ability to get things done! Working in a small team with large ambitions, there are many times you need to wear multiple hats (it can feel like a start up a lot of times). And in the Sports and Entertainment industry things can move and come at you fast, so it’s important to find a calm state to ultimately get things done. The ability to adapt, leverage your resources, and build strong relationships are important to the success of completing the assignment. I constantly find myself rolling up my sleeves and jumping into whatever is best for the greater good of the program, which is such a great learning experience too.
Q: What’s the greatest lesson you’ve learned on the job here?
A: I’ve learned to have a deeper appreciation for patience. My co-worker (Chris Sparks) and I always say, with a brand like the Boston Celtics it’s easy to roll out basketballs and hand out jerseys and call it a youth basketball program, but it’s always been important for me to be a part of something greater that drives social impact. To do so we wanted to build a program with a strong foundation that allowed for long-term success. Having patience in building it right has been a great lesson for me through the process.
Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to a prospective Celtics job applicant?
A: The advice I would give to prospective applicants is to find experiences that help you to become multi-faceted. The Sports and Entertainment industry once again moves really fast. Having the ability to lean on previous experiences to allow you to jump in and out of things confidently and comfortably is a great skill to have.