Behind every well-run event is a mastermind holding it all together with a label maker. Last October’s Easton Open took one and a half hours to set up and an hour and 15 minutes to break down. (The one before that had a breakdown time of 45 minutes!) Compare that to the hours it used to take, and you see immediately why the Easton Open needs Centennial’s Academy Operations Director (AOD), Alisha Bielak, as its Assistant Program Director.
With a group of about 15 people who manage bookings, merch, social media, athletes, parents, Smoothcomp, communication, and growing the organization, the event is an ever-evolving team effort.
As Assistant Program Director, Alisha supports the event from multiple angles to help it run seamlessly, from creating SOPs to managing all the logistics on each day of the event – including coordinating volunteers and ensuring every department has enough supplies. This past fall, it only took 20 people to set up and 12 to break down the event, a feat thanks largely to months of prep by the entire group.
While Alisha started helping out back when we still ran our BJJ-specific In-House tournaments, it wasn’t until we officially launched the two-day, two-sport event in 2023 that Alisha took on more responsibilities and began helping manage all of the moving parts.
“I definitely inserted myself,” laughs Alisha, “and was like, ‘I’d love to help organize the process.’ It’s a lot of identifying our hiccups and seeing where we can make things smoother.”
Breaking down the basics
Alisha’s previous experience in roles as a manager for Red Robin and event coordinator for Lifetime Fitness has allowed her to step back, see the bigger picture and break it down into manageable parts for others to tackle.
During her time at Red Robin, she took on the responsibility of organizing their annual Summer Jam staff party which sparked her interest, and at Lifetime Fitness, Alisha ran various events like Daddy-Daughter Dances and Christmas parties for three years, where she honed her ability to coordinate logistics and manage large groups.
What started as a chance opportunity quickly became a passion, as she discovered her knack for organizing had a place in executing successful events. Through these roles, Alisha refined her skills in event management, learning how to create an enjoyable experience for all involved while also managing the intricate details.
She starts by breaking down each component, ensuring there’s enough time and equipment for everyone to complete their tasks. Identifying all of the pieces helps her then visualize and gameplan the larger timeline, giving her an understanding of where everyone is supposed to be and when. Alisha loves having things written down and planned to a tee – including creating a to-scale layout map for the Easton Open event.
One of the biggest challenges in running events like this is the dependency on other people to come through. You can have everything planned to the minute, but when three of your four volunteers for a certain location don’t show up, you have to improvise.
“For example, everyone who works in the check-in position gets to have a break,” says Alisha, “which is why we have four people on it. But when others don’t show, I don’t want the ones who did to have a negative experience and not volunteer again.”
Luckily, one of Alisha’s gifts includes seeing all of the possibilities in things that can go wrong in a situation and trying her best to plan for those.
[Centennial’s New GM, Kate Eischen: Stepping Into Your Power]
Building the blueprint
Pulling off an event that holds over 500 people at any given time requires strategic foresight, diligent planning and attention to detail. Planning for the Easton Open starts almost immediately after the previous event concludes, typically about six months in advance. Following each event, the team gathers for a debrief, discussing what went well and what didn’t.
They update the volunteer list, determine how many people are needed, and when to bring them on board. They also assess supplies and storage. As the volunteer list grows, there’s a learning curve for new volunteers, and sometimes things get disorganized as they’re moved back into storage.
For this reason, one of the most important parts of running events like this comes down to inventory management; going through equipment before and after events is critical. When preparing for the Easton Open in the past, there were moments of panic as items were discovered to be missing the night before the event.
To prevent these last-minute stresses, Alisha has organized all the necessary equipment into labeled boxes, each containing everything needed for a specific mat setup. Each box contains the essential items for one mat, including a monitor, a computer, a cord connecting the computer to the monitor and lots of extension cords.
Alisha also ensures all volunteers have the right tools – the correct login for the scoring system, the WiFi, and of course, pens, paper, wristbands, and cleaning supplies to wipe blood off the mats as well as the beanbag to stop the matches.
“The purpose I eventually came to with volunteer coordinator,” says Alisha, “is making sure when people show up, I’m available to them and I can very easily say, ‘Here’s your bucket of stuff, here’s where you’re going to be, let me know if you have any questions.’”
The most helpful thing Alisha has found to transform and enhance the experience of the Open continues to be simply writing things down. With so much going on, it’s crucial for everyone to be on the same page, have the systems down and easily access and explain them to others.
Organizational systems that allow for things to be easily found and returned to their proper place have been key in streamlining the entire process. Currently everything is being stored in Centennial’s storage unit, and Alisha can tell you exactly where anything is at any given moment.
[Easton Open Spring 2024 Photo Blog: Kids!]
Behind the scenes producer
Like much of Easton’s approach to classes and events, the Open operates like a giant production. People need to be in specific places at exactly the right time to ensure it runs smoothly.
It takes a director to bring everything together. You can have all the pieces and an incredible roster of ingredients, but if nobody can see the full picture to organize them, it’s a total mess.
Alisha’s approach to running events is equally similar to a production — something she experienced while doing theater in high school. In fact, for a while, Alisha wanted to be an actor and has thought about being a producer.
This also translates into Alisha’s role as Centennial’s AOD where she works with GM Kate Eischen. Alisha first stepped into her role two years ago, in 2022, making it her first salaried position since becoming a mother. While initially she worried working full time might prove too much as a mom, she loves it – especially the operations and organizational aspect!
“I love seeing any way I can make someone else’s job easier,” Alisha says. “That’s my favorite thing. In the AOD position, it’s just that over and over.”
Her event planning skills and strategy have even found their way into the academy, as she reworked Ninja Night with a six page document that included everything from maps and a timeline to who should be in what place at what time, how you can inform them beforehand.
[Race Director and Easton Black Belt Reid Delman: Pushing Your Limits + Creating Your Vision]
Starting on the kids’ mat
When Alisha’s oldest daughter was four, they saw a sign for kids’ martial arts classes and decided to check it out. Though she had never heard of Jiu Jitsu before, both she and her daughter immediately loved the program.
A couple of months in, Alisha’s daughter tackled a classmate at preschool, and they considered quitting. Instead, the coach took her daughter aside and explained the importance of behaving respectfully both in and out of class; when she was outside of the academy, she was representing him, and he wouldn’t tolerate that behavior.
He threatened to take her belt away if it happened again. Alisha’s daughter responded not with tears, but by saying, “Isn’t he cool?”
“That was when I realized, I guess it takes three people to raise my child,” Alisha laughs, “me, my husband and Easton.” They’ve been with the school ever since.
[Part 1: A Family That Trains Together Slays Together]
Six years later, Professor Nick Reid, one of Centennial’s head kids’ coaches at the time, asked her to help coach Little Tigers. While she had very minimal martial arts experience aside from what she’d gathered watching her daughter’s classes, she had plenty of experience managing children and getting them to cooperate.
While many coaches start with a background in the sport, Alisha learned the technique along the way, building on her ability to make classes fun and engaging for the kids. Once she was able to embrace her own unique teaching style (mom-first), she started seeing results in her classes.
Her children are now 15 and 11, and both have been doing martial arts since they were four years old. Though Alisha no longer regularly coaches the kids’ classes, she now holds a blue belt and an orange shirt.
While she isn’t able to train as much as she’d like due to a chronic back injury, she hopes to return to the mats again someday. For now she can help hold the community together through her role as AOD and her work with the Easton Open!
Easton Open Spring 2024: Competition That Elevates Community
