"Here-I'm Open!": A Day in the Life (Part 1 of 2)

As a college student on Co-Op (a 6-month, full-time internship), taking an evening class, and running this organization with our outstanding group of officers, time is at a premium. 

With my many responsibilities, "busy" is a bit of a misnomer. Throughout the day today, I will be documenting my activities. Later this evening, I will post my day today, hour-by-hour. It will serve the second part of this week's edition of, "Here-I'm Open!" Hopefully it inspires you to take on a bit more responsibility on campus.

Be sure to check back either later this evening for Part 2! Until then, make it a good one.

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Kevin Giordano is a sophomore sport management major, with experience working in women’s and men’s professional soccer and collegiate athletics. For questions, comments, and story suggestions, he can be reached at kgiordano25@yahoo.com. You can also follow him on Twitter (@KevinGiordano).

CAA Tournament Preview

  It’s that time of year again; March, which means only one thing to me: March Madness! Last year was particularly mad, as Northern Iowa, St. Mary’s, Cornell, and the CAA’s own Old Dominion made names for themselves on the largest stage in college basketball.

This year, the Colonial Athletic Conference has been as strong as it’s ever been. Early in nonconference, VCU took down Wake Forest and UCLA, while Old Dominion handled Clemson and Xavier at the Paradise Jam tournament, then defeated two more A-10 team in Richmond and Dayton. When our Drexel Dragons went down to Loserv—ahem, Louisville—and handed the Cardinals their first loss in the new KFC Yum Center, 52-46, the hype was on. Just recently, the CAA went 7-5, including a spectacular 4-1 record on national television, in ESPN Bracketbusters.

For the first time since 2007 (and only the fourth time ever), the CAA looks like they can get multiple bids to the Big Dance. ODU and George Mason ought to be locks to make the field of 68, and if another team can pull the upset in this weekend’s CAA Tournament in Richmond, the CAA could have three bids for the first time ever.

The tournament starts Friday at noon at the Richmond Coliseum. Here is my $0.02 on the first round games for Friday:

(8) UNCW—13-17 ( 7-11) v. (9) Georgia State—11-18 (6-12)                        12:00pm

This should be an interesting game. UNCW’s been lead by the Chad Tomko-Keith Rendleman duo this year; they’re 1-2 in minutes per game, points per game, rebounds per game, and steals per game for the young Seahawks. Since Feb 12, Tomko was held under 20 points only once: the season finale at Northeastern (where he ONLY scored 19). If Buzz Peterson’s squad has a chance, it’ll be on Tomko’s 5’11” shoulders.

On the other bench, head coach Rod Barnes was fired this weekend after losing on senior day to George Mason, the fourth straight loss for the Panthers. Assistant Paul Graham will be coaching this game. Nine players are averaging more than 15 minutes per game, with not a single one averaging more than Erik Buckner’s 9.2 points a game. The Panthers win when they find a way to outrebound their opponents. The propensity to throw fresh legs on the court helps in that regard. That being said, this team struggles without a go-to scorer. If Buckner can take over the game, GSU has a shot. UNCW is not a great rebounding team.

Prediction: Buzz Peterson gets his young team ready to prove their worth. It goes down to the wire, but Tomko makes a big play late and the Seahawks pull off the win, 61-59, and take on George Mason.

(5) Drexel—20-9 (11-7) v. Towson—4-25 (0-18)                                           2:30pm

In the third meeting (and the second in less than a week), the Dragons and Tigers face off. The 0-18 Tigers will come into the game, looking to end the season of futility with a win. This has all the makings of a trap game for the Dragons, who have lost on Friday in Richmond three straight years. Isaiah Philmore gives the Tigers a consistent threat both inside and out. The Tigers have shot well from beyond the arc against Drexel this season, going 13-25 (52%) in two games. On Senior Night, guard Josh Brown finished with 21 points.

Drexel, one of the early picks for a NCAA Tournament dark horse, started strong, then lost some steam at the season’s midpoint. With big wins at Louisville, at home against VCU, ODU, and Kent State during Bracketbusters, Drexel looks strong based on strong team defense. They are 9^th in the nation for rebounds per game, with 40.4. Lead by senior Gerald Colds (9.9 ppg), redshirt sophomore Chris Fouch (14.7 ppg), and junior forward Samme Givens (11.8 ppg, 10.0 rpg), this young Drexel team was able to pull together a very strong season under Bruiser Flint, going 6-2 in the month of February. If they play strong defense and dig deep, this team could make a run.

Prediction: Senior captain Gerald Colds has never played in the postseason—potentially the only player to play for Flint for four years and hold that distinction. Friday, he and his teammates will take another step towards changing that, dropping the Tigers for a third time this season, 56-50.

(7) Delaware—13-16 (8-10) v. (10) Northeastern—11-19 (6-12)                    6:00pm

Delaware won both games against Northeasternthis season, lead by the fearsome Jawan Carter (15.7 ppg, good for 5^th in the CAA this season). Nine players average 15 minutes or more for the Hens this season. Freshman Devon Saddler is second on the team with 13.4 points per game, while sophomore Jamelle Hagins lead the CAA with 3.0 blocks a game. Delaware limped down the stretch after a five game losing streak to the top half of the CAA.

Senior everything-man Chase Allen lead the young Huskies in minutes per game (37.1), points (16.8 per game, the 4^th highest in the CAA), rebounds (6.0 per game), assists (3.8), and steals (2.1). Sophomores Joel Smith (12.3 ppg) and Jonathan Lee (11.6 ppg) round out the major offensive threats for  Bill Coen’s squad. After a nine game losing streak, ending with a 72-58 defeat at the DAC, the Huskies went 7-4 down the stretch. During a 4-game winning streak in the CAA, Northeastern defeated VCU 91-80 at home.

Prediction: This will be a tight game, but try as they might, the experience of Delaware’s five seniors will be too much for Chase Allen and the Huskies, 59-56. Old Dominion looms.

(6) James Madison 21-10 (10-8) v. (11) William & Mary—9-21 (4-14)             8:30pm

In the nightcap, a very scary William & Mary team takes on the James Madison Dukes, lead by potential first team All-CAA selection, Denzel Bowles. Bowles (arguably the most dominant player I saw live this season, along with Charles Jenkins), ranks second in the CAA in scoring (18.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (9.0 per game).

Another likely All-CAA player leads the young Tribe. Junior wing Quinn McDowell leads his team in scoring at 15.2 a game (good for 7^th in the CAA), a close second in rebounding (5.4 per game), tied for third in assists (2.1, one of four players averaging more than 2 per game), and first with 1.2 steals a game. Better yet, he’s been at his best in big games: in their 73-68 victory at JMU, McDowell scored 23 points and pulled down 8 rebounds for W&M. Joined by senior forward Marcus Kitts, McDowell is the face of a very young team who will return six of their seven major contributors next season.

Prediction: I’ve been going back and forth on this one, but have a gut feeling the Tribe will pull it out. This is the third straight year the Tribe has faced the Dukes in their first game of the CAA. The game will come down to rebounding—if JMU can’t dominate the boards, W&M has a shot. McDowell’s going to come up huge, especially from three. W&M 66, JMU 61.

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By: Ryan Pratt

Developing and Managing Coaches

 
Most sports research and literature focuses solely on developing the technical, tactical, physical or psychological components of the athlete, little attention is paid to the coach. That is problematic at both ends of the sports spectrum. At the highest level, the professional coach or manager is an asset, they represent a cost center for teams (at times, a large one), and when they are terminated, it can result in reputational and even financial damage. Millions of dollars / pounds / euros are spent on players, would teams or clubs be more successful if they invested to the same degree in the education and wellness of their managers?

At the youth level, the role of coach is far more critical. Coaches serve as role models, substitute parents, and guides into the sport for armies of children. Youth sports organizations rightly focus on creating the best environment for player development and enjoyment, but how much more effective would those programs be if a larger investment was made in the education, career development and wellness of their coaches? Would happier, better educated coaches develop better players?

As a Director of Coaching (DoC), Director of Player Personnel, Athletic Director, or General Manager, a growing challenge is managing and developing coaches in addition to managing and developing players. At the youth level, grass roots recreation through high school sport programs, investing in and developing coaches is critical not only to ensure coaches are developing players capable of competing at increasingly higher levels, but also ensures coaches’ unhappiness or lack of education isn’t turning children away from sports at a young age limiting their opportunities to live an active, fit lifestyle. Youth administrators continually struggle with trying to get coaches to improve their sport-specific coaching education but are consistently told “I don’t have time” or “I played, I know everything I need to know about the game”. To be an effective organization, sport leaders need to overcome those objections, even if it means replacing coaches unwilling to remain students of the game.

The modern DoC, GM, or athletic director is forced to transform coaches who believe they ‘know it all’ based on playing experience from 10, 15 or even 20 or more years ago as well as change the mentality of coaches who “coach how they were coached” meaning many of their methods are based on punishment, embarrassment and exclusion. It doesn’t help that ESPN and other sports media outlets glorify ‘coaches behaving badly’ on a nightly basis. By making an investment in the education, training, support systems and wellness of coaches, sports organizations increase their ability to be successful on and off the field, and directly create better environments for players at the same time.

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Gerry Montague lives in Bridgewater, NJ and is currently the Director of Coaching for Hillsborough Soccer Club and the Assistant Coach for the NJSA04's U18 Development Academy. Gerry has a masters degree in Sports Leadership and Athletic Administration and holds a National B license from the US Soccer Federation. He can be reached via email at gmontague@optonline.net.

The Pink Zone

Over the last few weeks, you must have watched (or at least flipped through the channels and seen) the Women's College Basketball players smothered in pink uniforms, headbands, shoes, warm-ups, towels, etc. With the intention of raising money and awareness of the Kay Yow and JimmyV Foundations for Breast Cancer Research, thousands of schools and organizations across the country have been a part of "Pink Zone 2011". The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) is working to raise awareness not just on the court, but also on campuses nationwide, to put an end to breast cancer and help find a cure to save millions of lives.

From Akiachak High School in Alaska to the Baylor University Bears, from the University of Michigan to NC State University (where Coach Kay Yow and Coach Jimmy Valvano called their home for many years). On February 17th, our very own Drexel Dragons Women's Basketball Team hosted William & Mary for their "Pink ZOne" event. At the basketball game that night, there was a performance by Eagles Cheerleaders alumni to help support "Team Ra-Ras Kicks Breast Cancer". Team Ra-Ras is an initiative to fight breast cancer. By watching their video (below), you can help their quest because for every view, United Healthcare of Pennsylvania has agreed to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

For more information on the WBCA or their Pink Zone events, click here.

Written by Hayley Zedeck

image: www.drexel.edu

Major League Baseball's Super Prospect

With the 2011 Major League Baseball regular season quickly approaching, fans begin to wonder which young rookie phenom will make a splash this year.  Steven Strasburg of the Washington Nationals created the buzz last year.  Steve Strasburg shed new light on the so-called ‘cannot miss, once in a lifetime prospect’ and reached a level of hype that nobody believed could be duplicated.  And then the Nationals did it again.

‘With the first pick in the 2010 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, the Washington Nationals select Bryce Harper!’  The rarest of prospects, Bryce Harper quickly joined Steven Strasburg as the face of the Washington Nationals’ future.  But what do we really know about Bryce Harper to already put him in such an elite category?  He is only 18 years old.  He put up absolutely silly numbers throughout his high school baseball career in a highly competitive Nevada league.  He dropped out of high school to get his GED so he could be drafted into Major League Baseball sooner, by the way putting up astonishing numbers as a JUCO.  And of course we know that the legend himself hit the longest home run in Tropicana Field (home of the Tampa Bay Rays) history at age 16.

Baseball scouts drool over Bryce Harper, but what do they really say about him?  Many describe Bryce Harper as a five tool player, a major league baseball body, and one of those ‘cannot miss, once in a lifetime prospects.’  Uh oh, red flags!  For you who have read Michael Lewis’s Moneyball, you all the can see the red flags as well.  High school baseball prospect.  Major league baseball body.  The dreaded label of being a once in a lifetime prospect.  Do all of those red flags remind you of someone?  Ah yes, Billy Beane.

Billy Beane was the super, Bryce Harper type, prospect of the 1980 MLB Draft.  However, if you ask the average baseball fan what Billy Beane did during his playing career, they would probably look at you funny wondering if he even played in the majors.  Contrary to the belief of some, he played in the minors with multiple unsuccessful trips to the majors.  Though Billy Beane was a freak athlete, he had a flaw that prevented him from ever being successful at the major league level.  His flaw was that he was never faced with a slump or personal defeat before getting drafted.  When he started playing in the minors he couldn’t handle the struggling and the challenges, something he would never mentally bypass and something that would ultimately end his playing career. 

Bryce Harper has yet to face a major slump or a personal struggle in his young baseball career.  With his first season in the minors upcoming, it will be interesting to see how he fares.  The point is not to say Bryce Harper is going to fizzle out of Major League Baseball and become a bust just like Billy Beane.  The point is to highlight that Bryce Harper is the exact same type of prospect that Billy Beane was and the exact same prospect that Moneyball says to be cautious of.  So, before we all give Bryce Harper our Hall of Fame votes, let’s just see what he can do in his first season.

-Written by Kevin Rossi

YouTube Enters World of Online Sports Streaming

With the blossoming advent of internet media, industry giants (and owners of YouTube) Google are looking to start making big moves in the online sports streaming sector. Watching games online is rapidly becoming popular, with sites such as ESPN3.com and ATDHE.net. While ATDHE.net has been shut down due to a law suit against UFC, there is certainly room for movement within the market. 

YouTube broadcasted the Indian Premier League last season, and is reportedly looking to build upon the success. They are reportedly in talks with the NBA and NHL, according to a Bloomberg.com report. Online streaming could certainly be a large part of the future of sports broadcasting industry, especially when it comes to being able to stream on a mobile device.

While progress in the discussions is not imminent, don't be surprised to see big things come from Google and YouTube on this front in the near future.

"Here-I'm Open!" - The Power of Sport (Nate's Story)

“Here—I’m Open!” is a weekly column written every Monday aimed at offering readers inspiration, a unique take on sporting news, and general sports know-how.”   

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After last week's novel, brevity is the key to this week's post. A quick shout again to Mike Milich of Sky Blue FC for his time this past Thursday. Those present learned a great deal about how sales and marketing differ when working in smaller-scale professional sport. That noted, it is time to jump into this week's post.

Sport is powerful. It makes us jump out of our seat in jubilation one moment and look away in nervousness the next. It invokes both positive and negative emotions.

Though, at the end of the day, sport is merely a game. Sure, no one likes to lose. There is an element of competitiveness at play. As a former athlete, I understand this notion. Still, sport is fundamentally about recreating and having fun through physical activity, whether we watch it on the tube or participate ourselves.

With that in mind, I’d like to pass along a powerful ESPN video. It’s Monday, the first day back at school or at work. After a nice weekend, feel free to take a few moments away from your Monday commitments and give this a watch.  Kick back, put your feet up, and enjoy. Warning: you may want to have some tissues handy.

Watch it here.

“Here—I’m Open!” is authored by Sport Management Student Union (SMTSU) President, Kevin Giordano. A sophomore sport management major and native of Hillsborough, New Jersey, Kevin has experience working in women’s and men’s professional soccer and collegiate athletics.  For questions, comments, and story suggestions, he can be reached at kgiordano25@yahoo.com.