Building the Leaders of Tomorrow - with Shakeel Nelson
Shakeel Nelson
A positive role model can change a child’s life. This is a lesson Shakeel Nelson learned firsthand. With his father incarcerated for much of his youth, Shakeel grew up in a single parent household in a community with limited resources and opportunities. The lure of gangs and other dangers were present, but with guidance and a love of sports, Shakeel resisted and found his path in life.
Today, Shakeel is sharing what he has learned from his mentors and athletics with young people in his community. In early 2019, he and two other people founded the Inner City Ducks. Their mission is to provide a place where young boys (and soon young girls) can learn life lessons through the power of athletics so they are better able to reach their full human potential. Starting with 13 boys on a spring football team in May of 2019, the Ducks have grown to more than 50 children from ages 5 through 14.
Shakeel and the Inner City Ducks provide mentoring, a safe space to play and learn, discipline, and exposure to new experiences for the young people in his community. The players have participated in tournaments in Kansas City, Indianapolis, Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Eating in restaurants, staying in hotels, and seeing new places expands their sense of what is possible in their lives and teaches them life skills they will apply in adulthood.
In this interview, Shakeel shares his personal experience growing up without a father and candidly shares the challenges he faced. Shakeel explains his inspiration for creating the Inner City Ducks and how he sees the organization and its players growing in the years to come. Shakeel also tells us about the creative ways he is introducing his kids to new experiences and teaching them life skills while developing athletes hungry for success.
At the young age of 25, Shakeel volunteers four days a week to support the youth of his community as a coach, role model, and mentor through the Inner City Ducks. Shakeel’s vision for the organization is to serve 150+ boys and girls and to provide a community center where the kids can go after school to play, study, work out, and receive mentoring.
Topics Discussed: Growing up in the inner city, distractions and bad influences for children, building a community around sports, traveling with the team, life coaches vs. sports coaches, becoming a male role model for youth in the community, equipping kids to succeed in school and in life, the power of new experiences and exposure to life skills, finding a life calling, giving back to the community, growing the program, growing up without a father figure, the impact of an incarcerated father, future growth of the Inner City Ducks, being featured on “Returning the Favor” by Mike Rowe, seeing the players succeed and grow.
People, Organizations, and Resources Mentioned: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Minnesota Vikings, Inner City Ducks, Mike Rowe, Returning the Favor, The Way I Heard It, Dirty Jobs, Facebook Watch, Stephen Weatherly, North Memorial Hospital
You can learn more about the Inner City Ducks on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and www.innercityducks.org.
“I really look at these kids as my kids. When school time came around, I made sure that all the kids had at least one outfit to go to school in. Some needed shoes, so we got some of the kids shoes… We try to be more than just coaches.”
-Shakeel Nelson on meeting the needs of the youth in his community and preparing them for success.