Discussion: Job Posting: SOGO Head Coach & Program Manager

We’re SOGO Adventure Running, a Calgary-based not-for-profit organization offering high quality outdoor programs for youth aged three to eighteen.

*We’re Growing Exponentially – In just two years, our program participation rates have tripled

*We’re Recommended – 80% of our participants were referred by a friend or family member.

*Our Participants Love SOGO – 80% of our 2014 participants returned in Spring 2015.

We offer career opportunities to energetic, athletic, motivated, talented, dependable, trustworthy, well rounded, self-reliant individuals who

Have passion for the outdoors
Love working with kids
Believe in the importance of physical literacy

We offer tremendous opportunity for personal growth in an exciting start-up program with responsibilities including program development, strategic planning, coaching, finance, marketing, and fundraising. You will build experience and expertise, getting in at the ground level of the SOGO program that is expanding rapidly and has potential to be a great new thing in the well being of Canadian youth.

For full details visit: http://www.sogoadventurerunning.com/job-postings.h...

"we're growing exponentially"
Now that isn't something you read about or associated with our sport that often. Congratulations SOGO.

Sounds great!
If only I was a little younger...

"Now that isn't something you read about or associated with our sport that often."

Orienteers are too intellectually honest to claim exponential growth on data points, especially if extrapolation from the data would lead to a million kids orienteering locally in 16 years. ;p

Congrats and good luck with the hiring!

Haha good one. But ARK and SOGO are game changers for our sport in Canada. Large increase in youth participation, volunteers, full time employees and revenue.

Depends on the exponent.

Way to go, SOGO!

Youth programs like these may or may not increase awareness and participation in orienteering but they can't hurt and they are tapping in to two great needs in today's families.
1) Parents want their kids to be active, out of the house and away from the TV, computer and video games
and
2) Parents need/ want help loking after their kids.
The market is unlimited.
The BEST thing these types of programs do for the children is to help them feel good about themselves. The next best thing they do is help them be comfortable in the outdoors. The third thing I imagine is that they teach parents that it is okay for their child to get dirty, scratched and a bit bruised.

Gord - you are exactly right on the money.
At the risk of getting "fired" ... when I began work on SOGO my aim was to get more kids orienteering. Now when I go to SOGO sessions and see the kids running around with massive grins and determination on their faces I realize you are right. I can't imagine parents could dream of anything more ;-)

I now look at things slightly differently. For me the main purpose of SOGO is make the kids better people, and the tool we use is orienteering. For sure there will be more people at orienteering events and we'll probably produce some champions too - and that's nice. But 99.5% of the kids will be better for being part of SOGO - and that's great.

AZ: based in Calgary or Canmore or both?

Personally? Mostly Canmore.
SOGO? Calgary only (for now ;-)

Ha, sorry, yes I meant the job and not you personally.

Who took over the Ottawa program (Kids Running Free?) when Canadian left?

Guy: Jennie Anderson (J Anderson) and I have shared that role for several years. Jennie is now leading those programs on her own with great support from Stefan Bergstrom and others.

"we're growing exponentially" This pompous BS meant to be "projecting the image of success" etc LOL.

For full details visit 404 - Page Not Found

Perhaps the link should direct here instead:
Job Posting

(extra 's' in the link above)

I take it yurets won't be applying for the job ;-)

Thanks Rosstopher - that is another sign of our ambitions - we changed from "Job Posting" to "Job Postings" ;-)

@AZ Hell no. Mother Tereza would be disqualified for this job as being not righteous enough

AZ wrote: "For me the main purpose of SOGO is make the kids better people, and the tool we use is orienteering."

Amen AZ, I love it!

Mother Teresa probably wouldn't get the job on account of her having died quite a while ago.

Maybe if she comes across Yurets in the afterlife, she'll cheer him up. Nah--I guess that's less likely than either of them being hired for this job! ;)

j-man super funny

i smell a j-man

Are you sure? Maybe it is some funky cheese or more likely, Baltero.

Get the fire extinguisher. Time to put out this flame war.
My point way back up there was that it doesn't matter where you are in North America orienteering clubs can capitalize on parent's desire to see their kids more active and their need/ desire to have help looking after their kids. Simply set up and run a program that takes the kids off their hands, gets the kids active and sends them back happy and tired and the parents will be signing up their children in droves.
It helps that there be a learning component and also that the children will feel good about themselves as they learn. Then you get word of mouth sign ups and program growth.
And the funny thing about marketing to modern parents: the more you charge the better they will think the program is.

Just curious. Where does the term SOGO come from? Is it an acronym or something else?

Not an acronym. Just something we thought was cool sounding - an imperative to action, kind of bouncy and rhythmic, and lots of "O"s. I think it works - it is easy to say (even my 3 year old grandkids can say it), and its a bit unusual and easy to remember. We were looking, bizarrely, for a kind of Japanese sound too when we brainstormed that.

Sogo was one of the major Japanese department store chains when I lived there.