Proof of the Pudding’s Post

As an Athletic Director, summer is a time of opportunity, not rest. This time of year is about unlocking the gym, updating facilities, and investing in our athletes and coaches. It's a time to enhance our program and set the stage for future success. The goal is to make the summer better than the last for our athletic community! #AthleticDirector #SummerOpportunities #FacilityManagement #AthleteDevelopment #CoachingGrowth #ProgramEnhancement #SportsLeadership

🏈 Exciting News for Aspiring Athletes! 🌟 Boost your athletic journey with Red 31 Athletics. 🚀 Our college recruiting services are designed to help you stand out to recruiters and elevate your game. 🎓 Plus, we go beyond recruitment, offering athlete representation and brand marketing services! 🌐 Explore the possibilities at red31athletics.com and take the first step towards your athletic dreams. #Red31Athletics #AthleteJourney #CollegeRecruitment #BeyondTheGame

We love exposing our students to careers they normally would not consider. Our student-intern, Dazanique, is learning what it takes to be successful in the field of sports management directly from the General Manager of Insports Centers , one of Connecticut's largest indoor multi-sport recreation complexes. #knowledgeispower #breakingstereotypes #sportsmanagement #womeninsports #leadershipdevelopment #businessmentorship #opendoors

It’s that time of year again-when the madness of March almost always brings unexpected excitement. I would have to say it is by far my favorite sporting event of the year. It’s a chance for every team in the field to compete on the court. What you do on the court matters at this event. Whether you are the first team in the field or the last you get the opportunity to compete. Can we translate that to the world in which we operate? Absolutely! Everyday you have the opportunity to compete. It does not matter your social media status, your past ratings, your visibility or ranking within an industry. What matters is what you do with the opportunity! If you are upright and breathing, you have an opportunity to compete. Whether that’s being better as a spouse or parent, or better in your business development pursuits, or better as a leader, or whatever your personal or professional endeavor, you have the choice as to what to do with the opportunity before you. It’s not always the opportunity you want. For instance, many teams don’t get the seed they want in the tournament and yet they still have an opportunity. March brings madness on the basketball court. It also brings momentum for those who seize the opportunity. How are you seizing your opportunity? *PS-are you excited about the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament-The Madness? #basketball #MarchMadness #life #opportunity #PursueWithPurpose

Masters Week! What a special event it is. I tell people often that of all the sporting events I've ever been to: World Series, National Championships, Brady/Manning AFC Championship, Bowl games, NHL Playoffs, etc., the Masters is my absolute favorite. (Well, Oklahoma State beating Oklahoma in Bedlam a few years ago was pretty close). One of the biggest reasons…no phone.    When you enter the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, the first thing you do is surrender the outside world by performing a phonectomy, then stagger through the gates wondering how long you will survive without the constant connection to the unnecessary, but conditioned dependence of your digital crack.   As St. Peter ushers you through, you experience an untethered walk through the most beautifully manicured grounds, with uncharacteristically green meadows, overwhelmed with countless flowers majestically in bloom, and trees so perfectly shaped you know the artist Himself took a little extra time on this particular scene. After a few minutes of regaining control over your senses, you then realize a peculiar thing...there's no advertising. No, this is unlike any other sporting event where there is a party going on with music and sponsors flashing their goods and promotions like paparazzi bulbs and offering concession options that require a HELOC to afford. It's all about golf and a serene fan experience (and $3 egg salad sandwiches and peach ice cream).    After a few minutes, you accomplish a sensation you knew existed, but it has been so long since you have experienced it...you relax...and simply enjoy the company of who you are with. Work is hectic. Life is life. Family is family. People are people. The hamster wheel has no end.   Find time to let the Master show you how to rest in green meadows this weekend. Take a little time, perform a phonectomy, and find a peaceful stream to enjoy. Relax and renew your strength...you are gonna need it.   I love Masters Week. It reminds me how His goodness and mercy pursue my attention and just how important it is to be present to receive it.  #Churchillleadership #TheMasters #MastersWeek #Peace #relax #renewedstrength #beauty

Been recently asked by college summer leagues to help them find pitchers. Nearly 99% of D1 coaches have said the risk-reward factor is not favorable...Can you blame them? This has been a great holiday weekend for me. Grateful for the family time and the time I was afforded to think and struggle with some harsh realities. One of them is that I cannot wrap my head around how difficult it is to get a projected 1st - 3rd round pitcher to play college summer league baseball. What is even more mind-boggling is that pitchers who are not at the same caliber are not playing collegiate summer league baseball either. I have spoken to some really elite level college summer leagues, and one mentioned that pitchers come in and out like they are taking connecting flights at an airport with little to no time to gel a team together and aren't interested in the concept of "team". That is sad, as many great relationships are built playing collegiate summer league baseball. Worrisome questions swim around - What is going on with our game? Is college summer league dying? Will you ever see a sure-fire big leaguer before they are a big leaguer playing in the summer? If they do, will they throw more than one inning outings or one game? Prospect League Baseball is taking what I think is FEAR (False Evidence Appearing as Real) head on. I believe they offer the only league-wide approach to managing throwing arm injury risk with objective data, as they are committed to being universally adaptive to the day-to-day competitive demands for their pitchers. With this kind of heavy monitoring and individual adjustments in workload, should we still be afraid? If you are reading this and the article below, I am curious what you think.

Have you ever wondered about the preparation it takes to assemble the Fiesta Bowl, one of the biggest annual spotlights of college football? Well, here's your answer! 🏈 Andscape recently profiled Erik Moses, Fiesta Bowl's CEO, about keeping the 53-year-old organization visible with its signature game and economic impact for Arizona throughout the entire year. One of the organization's other initiatives includes the Guaranteed Rate Bowl, which hosted 26,478 fans at Chase Field in #DTPHX on December 26. Do you want to know the career path that led the CEO to his position more than a year ago? 🔗 below for Moses' professional backstory!

March Madness... A theme of March Madness and the NCAA tournament is "survive and advance". I love the lessons and parallels that competitive sports has with business, and life in general. In the tournament, every game matters and the season is on the line. Do or die. Anyone can win at any given time. Underdogs can make a deep run, top teams can get knocked off early. It's about surviving and advancing. Sometimes there's seasons in business where you just need to survive to advance to keep playing. There are close calls, moments that test you, challenges, etc. You just have to do the best you can to make it through and continue. So, I see a trying time in business, sales, life, etc. as a moment or period of time that sometimes you just need to survive that round so you can go forward. There's no quitting. Last thing...Let's go Duke!

Hello, Hello, Hello! LET'S GO! Here's the thing. If you aspire to a career with longevity and work in sports long enough, you will experience professional plot twists in the form of crossovers, curve balls, and pivots. This is a not a maybe, it's a certainty. Just like coaches and players have to switch up organizations/teams from time to time (sometimes by change, sometimes by choice). The team behind the scenes has to have the agility, capacity, and flexibility to do the same. Free agency is real! Maybe you aspired to one thing and decided to do another. Maybe you took on a role and missed your goal. Maybe you did everything right, but the leadership/ownership changed and they want to build their own athletic department and/or front office. Maybe life (aka personal plot twists) forced your hand. Maybe this, may that. If you get ready and stay ready, you'll always be ready to make your next move, your best move. Just because the career ladder morphs into a career lattice, you can still move upward and onward. I've been there, done that, and aspire to do it again. Change is inevitable, but growth is intentional! So, I'm excited to give back by paying it forward as a presenter/speaker at the Black Sports Business Symposium in the A! Game on! Hope to see you there! #blacksportsbusinesssymposium #blacksinsports #sportsbusiness #sportsbiz #sportsindustry #sportsmanagement #sportsleadership

How to Succeed in the NFL: The Reality of Becoming a Pro Athlete Join us as we discuss the path to becoming an NFL player and the realities of a career in professional sports. We emphasize the importance of education and explore the limited opportunities for aspiring athletes. Discover the truth behind the glamour and the need for a backup plan. #NFLCareer #ProAthleteLife #AthleteReality #EducationMatters #SportsOpportunities #CareerChoices #BackupPlan #ProfessionalSports #DreamBig #RealityCheck