JASON COLERO
Toronto Argonauts Manager, Community Relations
Jason Colero started as a water boy and now, 25 years later, he’s the heart and soul of Argos’ community outreach programs. The friendly and energetic Manager of Community Relations now educates youth through a myriad of programs he leads throughout the GTA.
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People in the CFL community relations world see this time of year as an end to a busy off-season of promotion throughout the community. In addition to touching lives throughout Toronto and the GTA, we also hope to have gained new fans and made existing ones happy. A perfect and successful off-season to most community relations departments is one that can achieve both goals. I want to emphasize, however, that the priority for many of our programs, like Huddle-Up, is to positively affect or influence as many lives as possible. That’s certainly the goal that our players cherish most.
ArgosTV heads out into the community and talks with Jason Colero and DB Willie Middlebrooks as they visit GTA schools in the off-season. CLICK HERE to watch video.
The end of the off-season introduces the rigors of training camp and a time when players are no longer a phone call away from making an appearance. Now, all the players are at the mercy of the CFL season and a very busy practice schedule. As community-minded as our guys are, football careers are already very short and can be cut short at anytime so the bulk of a player’s focus returns to their craft.
I am excited to say that head coach Jim Barker has demonstrated his concern for the community. In the few meetings that I’ve already had with him regarding our community outreach, it’s clear that he’s as big an advocate of building grassroots football and making a difference within the younger generation of the GTA as he is a coach. The minute he returned to Toronto he began to inquire about both the team needs as well as the community needs. When a coach approaches the game in such a way, the players – especially the new ones – will pick up on it very quickly. They realize the vision and actively begin to show interest in getting involved too.
Already, coach Barker has looked for ways to continue to grow Level the Playing Field. Then, just before the veterans reported for training camp, he enlisted the team’s rookies to host a fun practice with local youth from a nearby charity. I guess you could say that coach Barker wants the new guys to see just how important it is to connect to this community. In fact, if one were to look down the resumes of the players’ currently on the roster, then one could see that they are both good citizens and good football players.
I’m looking forward to, once again, combining outstanding on-field excitement with a steady and driven off-field conscience. In a perfect world, we go all the way to the Grey Cup and then carry the excitement, and the trophy, into the community next off-season.
Make your passion your life,
Jason
Have questions or comments for Jason? You can e-mail him at jcolero@argonauts.ca.