What made you want to start a podcast and blog about sports?

Honestly, I’ve been involved in sports my entire life. I started by playing, then transitioned into coaching and program implementation after college and now it’s my career; rather, passion. All along the way, I’ve been struck by how the focus of our sports coverage and media is so heavily slanted on the competitive side of things; the wins and losses. Mediums like ESPN, Bleacher Report and others all have their place in the sports space (a large space), but they really focus on the one side of sports. They certainly post stories about other parts of why people play, but that isn’t there focus- but anyone who has every played knows that sports are SO much more than wins and losses and their are so many stories from around the world and so many sides of athletic participation that need to be discussed in greater detail. I’ve been lucky enough to be heavily involved in the sport and development world for almost 10 years now and I’ve seen the power that sports have in our community and I wanted to be a part of telling stories that deserve to be told. I also believe strongly in sports being as catalyst for positive change and I think that we need to be having bigger conversations about our youth development systems, parental involvement, coaching and so much more. This will be a space for all of that and I’m excited to engage our community and create positive dialogue and conversations.

Why now?

Well, it’s really been about fear for me. I’ve always had quite a bit to say and my experience grows daily, but I’ve kind of been afraid to put myself out there. I had a sort of epiphany moment where I realized that I’m doing both myself and the community a disservice by not engaging in the type of conversations that deserve to be engaged in. Youth development is so important and we aren’t doing it as best as we could in the sports world. We are missing far too many kids and I realized that I need to have these conversations despite my own fears. I’m ready to put myself out there a bit and get in the game so to speak.

What do you hope to accomplish?

That’s an important question. I believe in setting goals and working towards them, but I also believe in letting things happen organically. My hope is to create conversation and dialogue about sports that help move forward positive change, but youth development and sports is such an important space that change can’t happen overnight. It will take us being very intentional in what we do, working together and being willing to reflect on our current systems and what needs to be changed. We also need to do a better job of giving kids a voice in the type of programs they want to be a part of.

What are some important topics you want to cover?

Through personal experience, observation, research and listening; I’ve come to understand quite a few things about sports. More still, I have a lot to learn and I look forward to that process. I’m particularly passionate about exploring the current youth development system in the United States that has turned youth sports into a business instead of a conduit for positive development and equality. I’m also highly interested in exploring the role that coaches play and what needs to be done to better prepare them to reach and support youth in meaningful ways. There are a lot of great coaches out there, but also a lot of poor ones; how can we help change that? I’m also looking forward to exploring some topics that are unique but important, such as adolescent brain development or learning from failure or the importance of the growth mindset. There really aren’t limits to what we can talk about in this space and I’m really excited to see where things go and the potential for organic movement in the topics we cover and discuss.

What is your favorite thing about sports?

This is a tough question to answer. There are SO many things I love about sports, from how it drives us to improve to the platform they can give us to the life lessons we learn through our participation to the health benefits to….the list goes on. We are really going to explore this question with everyone we talk to because even though it’s a simple question in theory, we will get so many different answers. I am who I am because sports played such a big role, so I look forward to hearing from all of our guests and hear what they think.

What is your least favorite thing about sports?

Two things come to mind right now. 1) The inequality of access around the world and 2) Our current pay to play model in the United States (which contributes heavily to #1). These two things are something I think about on a daily basis and what we want to discuss quite often on this platform. Change in this area will be slow, but I see so much opportunity to make positive movement in these areas and the truth is that we have to do it, we can’t afford not to.

What teams do you root for?

Well, I’m from New England which typically means a few things, but I’m probably an odd New Englander in that I don’t support all of the local teams. I moved around a lot as a youth and even though I was born in NE, I grew up mainly in Colorado. I’m a very big Red Sox fan and I don’t know if it’s sad or not, but the Sox winning in 2004 was such an incredible moment in my life. I remember everything about that time. I love watching Mookie Betts play, so I’m cautiously paying attention to what they are going to do with him. It will be a very sad day if he isn’t with the Red Sox come opening day. My first football game was at Mile High stadium and from then on, I’ve been a Broncos fan. I’ve gotten to see 3 super bowl titles and a lot of fun teams over the years. It’s a great franchise to root for. In the NBA, I just like good basketball so I don’t really have a favorite team, though I was in attendance for the entire Dallas Mavericks playoff run in 2006 and Dirk is a personal favorite, so I do root for them when they play other teams. In general, I just want to see good basketball. Outside of the big 3 sports (though baseball probably isn’t considered that anymore) here in the United States, I just enjoy following along with most everything. I don’t get the chance to watch too many sports in the first place, but I keep up with everything and particularly keep up with the soccer world now that I’m involved in the sport more closely. I also really look for the positive stories and I root for those especially. I work more closely in the sport and development field, so my time is spent in the power of sports in our communities, so that is truly what I root for vs. professional sports. My favorite thing is hearing about the positive impact that sports have in communities around the world….much more than seeing the Red Sox win the World Series.

What is your hope for the future of this platform?

I truly want this platform to be a place for positive dialogue and to spur conversations that need to happen. That’s my goal. Above that, I’m open to where things go and don’t want to limit what the future could look like.

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