Shaka Lawal's Next Chapter With Team USA

[Shaka 228]

From Outside to Insider, Shaka Lawal Eyes "Next Chapter" With USA Hockey

 

On Monday, USA Hockey sent the sports world into a frenzy when they hired former SBA General Manager Shaka Lawal, a relative hockey-outsider, as Executive Director of the USA Junior National Team. The move, both heckled in inquisitiveness and praised for it's convergent thinking, showcases USA Hockey's desire to return to Gold form in S72 while simultaneously experimenting in culture-driven leadership. On Thursday, Lawal spoke on the move and elaborated on the "next chapter" in his illustrious sports management career.

 

In an interview with Hockey Digest's Renee Wright, Lawal lamented on one phrase a number of times: Culture-driving, explaining "In my career, if I've learned anything about myself or the team's I've engaged with, it's that I'm a culture driver. Culture has been at the heart of everything we've built, from Houston to Omaha to Los Angeles, from Duke to Brooklyn. The common thread was culture. The teams change, sometimes the sports change, but the mission has always been the same. We drive culture and culture has been the byproduct of a lot of success and I'm excited to help further that here with USA Hockey."

 

Lawal added "I'm excited to really open this next chapter in my life and my career. I've been an outsider when it comes to hockey, the VHL, USA Hockey, but it's always intrigued me. I've been around, but not involved. The timing has just never been there and it never felt like 'the right time.' Now, the timing is right. It feels like the right time. I'm just eager to get started and dive in with both feet. It's like having an opportunity to do something for the first time, with the perspective of doing that thing at the highest level and being successful. There's a level of confidence in the unknown I've never felt before and it's truly exciting."

 

The confidence comes from an extensive sports managerial career that ranges three decades, seven teams, 12 Championships and now his forth sport. 

 

A champion team builder in the EFL and SBA, as well as the architect of the most prolific program in NCAA Basketball history, Lawal transformed from a successful front office administrator to the most sought after culture-drivers in professional sim sports, building winning programs at every stop. It's for those two reasons, the leadership and the proof of concept, that has USA Hockey most excited - and the process has begun as can be expected.

 

Toronto Legion Assistant GM Kaden Carter Was Named GM of USA Juniors

 

Following the announcement, Lawal wasted no time laying the foundation for the S72 USA Junior National Team. On Tuesday, he was "elated" to land his "hand-picked" General Manager of the team in Toronto Legion Assistant GM Kaden Carter. Carter, a fellow multi-sport "culture-driver", was an assistant under Lawal with the Omaha Kernals of the TCBL a decade earlier, was named AGM in Toronto this past off-season and is one of the fastest rising General Manager candidates in the VHL. While many were quick to point out their shared lack of experience in the sport, it's been hard to argue the tenacity in which they've handled their first week on the job. Within hours of being named General Manager, it was reported that Carter had reached out to every living former USA Junior National Team GM in an attempt to reconnect networks and seek advice, as well as spending considerable time on Thursday picking the brain of Prague GM Jason Glasser and Team USA coach Scott Greene.

 

"Say what you want about their experience," shared one pundit on VSPN's TALK on Friday morning, "This is how Lawal has manifested success everywhere he has landed. The storm is coming."

 

With the S72 games fast approaching, for Lawal and Carter, it's trial by fire. Fail and it may spell a quick end to an otherwise intriguing story. Win, and well, things get even more interesting.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Shaka

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