For the second December edition of the #GWG50 Staff Spotlights, enjoy this first-person letter from Liz DiLullo Brown, Little League® Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing and Business Relationship Officer, as she walks you through her own #GWG50 Journey:
Where it All Began
I reflect a lot on my childhood when I think of the experiences that brought me to Little League and my role in the youth sports industry. As the daughter of educators, I grew up in a sports-driven, “active” household. Not only did I participate in and “sample” many sports and activities, but I also played in the backyard a lot with my sister and friends.
As a high school teacher, coach, and administrator (as well as retired USNR Captain), my dad was a heavy influence on my participation in sports, instilling the principles of discipline, commitment to the team, and having a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) towards effort and failure. This helped me develop a unique self-awareness as I was focused on playing sports, often knowing that I was not the best athlete on the team, but I could still be an important contributor to the game and the team’s culture.
While my dad was teaching me and my sister about our PMA towards sports and life, our mom was teaching us how to be fiercely independent and responsible for pursuing our goals with ambition and heart. Similar to having a teammate, having a sister who has shared life experiences and also deeply believes in the power of sports and physical activity served as a role model for me and I consider her my teammate for life.
I was also exposed in different ways to sports at the highest level as the granddaughter of a professional baseball scout (Ralph DiLullo). Nicknamed the “Jet” because he was always jetting to baseball games – sometimes four to six baseball games a day in the peak season; he is most importantly remembered for being helpful and kind to people, bringing up talent in the game for roles both on and off the field. I’m fortunate to have a lot of his photographs, scouting logs, and letters from his 60+ years in baseball. In many of the articles about his professional work over the years, there is typically an adjacent article about Little League, which is a bittersweet connection. He’s been gone for more than 25 years, but just last week I had a message from a retired scout from the Cincinnati Reds sharing the impact of his work and mentorship. What I learned from his career is that baseball is deeply personal and it’s a relationship business. It makes life feel very full circle when I reflect on those moments.
My Journey to the Sports Industry
So many of the principles of playing sports translate to the business of working in sports and it was the people surrounding my sports experience that influenced me to continue down this path. The best teams I played on were made up of individuals who were different than me, albeit in life circumstances, beliefs, or sports experiences. We grew together on and off the field. We spent time training together, traveling together, committing to goals together, and having fun together. We found joy in the game, and we shared successes and losses, with grit and grace. In the best game of my collegiate career, our team lost 0-1. My teammates gave me the game ball after that game because they knew I played my heart out for them. I can remember that day like it was yesterday, and the generosity offered to me by my teammates. You can learn a lot about yourself and your team from losing; how you try again is sometimes what is most important. In my opinion, learning to lose gracefully is a particularly important aspect of life.
Having a good coach, whether in sports or in life, can make all the difference. When I think of a good coach, it starts with their kindness, their ability to be tough in a way that makes you want to be better, and the care and concern to know you as a person, not just a strong performer. I respected my coaches throughout my playing days. They saw something in me that I could not always see in myself, and they pushed me to be better, all with respect and dignity. These amazing women were also fighting their own private battles to create equity for female athletes while motivating us to be better athletes at the same time. That struggle was real. I consider myself extremely fortunate that I have two of these strong role models still in my life today and when I see them, it brings me right back to the field where they taught me so many lessons.
After college, knowing my career path was going to involve sports, I was focused on being a collegiate field hockey coach. I had focused my college studies on business, marketing, and sports administration, but was also playing field hockey, so it felt like a natural way to stay connected to the sport that I loved and had loved for so long. With that said, the best thing that happened to me at the time was losing out on an opportunity to coach during my graduate studies. It forced me to relook at the options for my career and led me to focus on the business of sports.
During this journey in the marketing world, I again found myself with amazing coaches and mentors. Their work ethic, presence, and commitment to my growth gave me the confidence and courage to stretch my career aspirations.
Now, coaching, teamwork, and mentorship are equal parts of my professional experiences. Helping young professionals to rise in this field of study or wanting to improve their network in the sports business is an important use of my time. Recently, a colleague and I gave a speech to the softball team at a local university and afterward was approached by two female athletes who are also pursuing careers in sports. To me, helping these individuals is paying it forward in small, meaningful ways.
Working at Little League
After 15 years of studying and working in the sports and events business, I found myself looking for additional purpose in the work and something that would have a greater impact on the world. Then, the Little League opportunity happened. I stumbled across the opportunity with the organization and felt I could help drive new opportunities to support the business aspects of the organization while also helping to drive participation in sports, too. This connected me back to my childhood and the experiences I was afforded to play.
Now, in my role at Little League, I get to be a part of driving the mission and purpose of the organization. The best days are the ones where we get feedback from a parent, a player, an alumni, or a local community on how important the Little League experience is to their life. Being a volunteer at a local Little League in my community has also allowed me to see the work firsthand and see how great it can be when people volunteer for a cause.
It is different to put your education and talents to work for something that has a deep impact and meaning. As I learned early on, this business is deeply personal and the connections you make can change your life. When I tell people where I work, it is exceedingly rare that they do not have their own Little League story to share.
While summers are the most intense part of the job, they are some of the most memorable. I have been fortunate to spend time at our Region and Teenage Division tournaments, including the Little League Softball® World Series in Greenville, North Carolina, which are run by amazing volunteers and in cities that celebrate Little League in unique ways. The joy of Little League is in the day-to-day experiences that happen on Little League fields, and that fun shines in communities all around the world each summer.
When I travel, I always find myself looking out the window of an airplane trying to spot the baseball and softball fields below, wondering what Little League experiences are happening at that moment for millions of kids. You’d be surprised how many Little League fields you can see out of an airplane window! In those small moments, I feel the joy and fulfillment in the work. Right now, I am also raising two kids who are participating in their own sports journeys, which has given me a new appreciation for today’s journey in youth sports.
Advice for the Next Generation
My advice today would be no different than joining a Little League team:
- Bring your positive mental attitude (PMA).
- Share and contribute to the spirit of teamwork.
- Feel a deep sense of commitment and responsibility to shared team goals
- Respect others and their unique journey (and manners go a long way, too).
- Be prepared to work hard and contribute but stay humble and grateful (and do not take yourself too seriously).
- If you expect others to do the work, have a deep understanding and appreciation for what is involved. And set an example (back to my event marketing days – carry the boxes, too!)
- Accept that you will fail but you must try again. You must keep going.
- Ask for help. You cannot do it alone; no one can.
- And above all, HAVE FUN!
This is the 11th in a series of Little League International Staff Spotlights that will focus on the Women In Little League (WILL) as part of the overall Girls with Game 50 Celebration (LittleLeague.org/GWG50). The #GWG50 celebration is proudly supported by DICK’S Sporting Goods, a long-time Little League partner that is committed to creating opportunities for girls and women in sports and will be activating around key events and milestones this year.