Meet Craig Drilling | Kids at Play Atlanta Owner- Coach/Trainer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Craig Drilling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Craig, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I feel like the level of energy and attention that our staff and myself give to our clients sets us apart. We keep kids active the entire time they are involved in our programming with a variety of different activities. I used to cringe when I saw lines of 6 or 7 kids being inactive while there was one active participant. Our mission and goal is to have all participants active and focused the whole time they are in our class.

We also understand that participants come to us with varying levels of interest and success in different sports and activities. Our goal is to celebrate all successes and provide realistic challenges for each participant. We create a variety of standards of success based on the skill level and are deliberate about celebrating that success.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I have been passionate about finding different ways for kids to succeed throughout my career. As the Director of Athletics at Brandon Hall, I have a responsibility to provide opportunities and experiences for student athletes that they will find worthwhile and utilize the lessons learned for years to come.

I have learned that there are a number of ways to get to the end goal and pivoting from your initial plan is crucial to that success. We all need to have to admit and understand why and how something isn’t working and figure out a solution to make it beneficial to all parties.

I have seen the value of kids accomplishing something they never thought was possible and this is the end goal for Kids at Play Atlanta. We want to build confidence with all of our participants and put them in a position to be successful.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh Man…So many options in Atlanta! Here are my go to’s!

Food:
Fox Brothers BBQ
Rathburns Steak House
Verde Taquieria
Atlanta Fish Market
Nakato Japanese Restaurant

Hangout:
Kaleidescope Bar and Grill
Dunwoody Tavern
Vortex Bar and Grill
Vintage Pizza

Visit
College Football Hall of Fame
Jimmy Carter Museum
Stone Mountain
Downtown Decatur

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to my experience working at Brandon Hall School. This has allowed me to continue to grow and improve at my craft.

My wife, Karen, also believed in the vision for my company and made many sacrifices in her help with being my editor, photographer, and taking extra sacrifices in making sure our kids were supervised while I tackled this new venture.

Thanks to my neighbors who initially “spread the word” of the value of Kids at Play Atlanta to their contacts and allowed the branches of contacts to continuously grow.

Website: www.kidsatplayatl.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kids_at_play_atl/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-drilling-a587924a/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kids-at-Play-ATL-100628985264966