ESPN Events’ Post

Penn State University student-athletes earned a record 93% NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR) and 12 programs earned perfect 100% ratings in the 2023 report. This is the seventh consecutive year the Nittany Lions have posted a record or record-tying performance in the classroom. Penn State is one of six schools that have won at least 10 NCAA Championships since 2013 and earned at least a 90% GSR in the 2023 NCAA report (California, Florida, Stanford, USC, Virginia). Penn State had a total of 103 student-athletes who earned Winter Academic All-Big Ten recognition, which was announced by the conference office on Wednesday. The total is Penn State’s third-highest Winter Academic All-Big Ten number. Will Fleck from men’s gymnastics, Cassidy Rushlow from women’s gymnastics, and Aaron Nagao from wrestling all posted unblemished 4.0 GPAs. https://lnkd.in/ei8cMr-4

I want to share my proud parent moment.  My son Liam DeWeese officially signed with the University of California-Berkeley to compete for their men’s gymnastics team. As a former D1 gymnast, I’m thrilled he’s continuing his gymnastics career as well.  You might be asking why would I post this to my LI network, isn’t this a personal post more fitting for facebook?  In an effort to support the revitalization of men’s gymnastics, I saw this as a key moment to extend my reach in bringing in more allies beyond my existing gymnastics circle. Gymnastics is the top summer Olympic sport to watch with our US women dominating in Paris and our men’s team earning bronze.  Though men’s gymnastics has been an Olympic sport since 1896, there has been a substantial decline in participation in the US where NCAA collegiate programs have dropped from their height in the 1970s with 150+ programs to 15 schools sponsoring NCAA programs today. Boys participation in gymnastics has trended downward over the years with about 12K boys registered in USA Gymnastics compared to ~138K girls.  Getting more gymnastics on TV brings more attention and money to the sport, so we’ll now see greater ESPN coverage of NCAA men’s gymnastics going forward.  Olympian Frederick Richard (UofM) has 1M+ followers on social media where he’s making gymnastics cool again.  Only because of Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik, I now follow Dancing With the Stars and cast my vote for him weekly. My ask: * Proudly share your joy if you’re a parent of a student-athlete who was part of National Signing Day- it’s a way to find common interest with others which can strengthen and grow your professional network.   * Support men’s gymnastics by watching it on ESPN this upcoming competition season &/or attend a meet- they are so energizing and inspiring to watch.  Viewership matters! * NCAA Research shows men’s gymnastics have the highest 4-yr Avg Academic Progress Rate (APR) and highest Avg Retention Rates by sport.  They make great interns and employees to hire!  They are the top 1% of athletic talent with core attributes that easily transfer over to corporate careers, positioning them to be top talent at work too (focus, discipline, precision, resilience, strategy, teamwork…) Leave me a message if you like this human interest type post, I have a lot more I could share about athletics, gymnastics, mentoring student-athletes, why athletes make great employees, and building teams. https://lnkd.in/gx_dMf6N Will DeWeese

Will Your School “Win the Gold” for Your Students This Year? This Blog (Part III) uses the Gold Medal-winning Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team— at this year’s Paris Olympic Games—as a model and analogy of what schools need to do to “Win the Gold” for every one of their students during the coming academic year. Through three quotes presented at this year’s Orlando, FL Model Schools Conference, we analyze examples of the courage, characteristics, and conditioning of the Women’s U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team, and encourage educators to begin related discussions with their colleagues as the new school year begins. If the dream is to help all preschool through high school students to maximize their academic and social, emotional, and behavioral learning, progress, and proficiency. . . does your school or educational setting have the team perspective and the will needed—applying these quotes in the discussion—to be successful? The Blog emphasizes that educators are the Olympic coaches and Sports psychologists for all of their students, and that every school day is another instructional “day in the gym.” We need the best coaches to teach our students. . . and our best coaches need to continually “be on their game.” What do you think? https://conta.cc/3Apd2ly

USA Gymanstics is wrapping up its 2024 winter/spring webinar series with a crucial discussion focusing on parent/coach relationships. Webinar Title: Club Best Practices Toolkit: Effective Communication with Parents   Date and Time: Wednesday, May 8 at 1:30 p.m. EST   Webinar Agenda: -Understanding Coach and Parent Expectations: Explore the differing expectations parents have from coaches and vice versa, highlighting how these expectations shape communication dynamics within the youth sports context. -Setting Boundaries: Discuss the importance of establishing clear boundaries in parent-coach relationships, distinguishing between professional and personal boundaries, and offering strategies for effectively communicating these boundaries with respect and clarity. -Managing Expectations: Offer techniques for managing and aligning expectations between parents and coaches, emphasizing the importance of setting realistic goals for youth athletes and providing communication strategies for addressing unrealistic expectations and potential disappointment. -Finding Common Ground: Explore avenues for identifying areas of agreement and shared goals between parents and coaches, with an emphasis on building trust and collaboration through effective communication. To register, please click the link below. #youthsports #sportsparents #gymnastics

Should your team behave more like a Gymnastics Team or a Field Hockey Team? According to research, it all depends on your task. And they can do both…depending on the level of inter-reliance and coordination you need to design into your team’s approach. (Schwarz, HBR 2017) Here's how to help your team fit the task at hand.   There are 3 levels of inter-reliance between team members. 1️⃣ Pooled – Your team combines its separate efforts like a gymnastics team combines its scores for a team total. 2️⃣ Sequential – Your team relies on the flow of information, work and decisions from each other in predictable ways. 3️⃣ Reciprocal – Your team is interdependent, sequentially, AND works iteratively or back and forth at times. And you can determine the right level of inter-reliance by the amount of predictability in your team’s tasks. 1️⃣ Pooled – Works best for tasks (sometimes predictable) where everyone does a part that can be assembled into a whole or when members do the same tasks in parallel. 2️⃣ Sequential – Works best for mixed tasks (some predictable, some customized) where each person must complete their task before the next person can do theirs. 3️⃣ Reciprocal – Works best where the situation is more dynamic (work or skill needs unpredictable) and each person must adjust to the other’s as the situation changes. Once you can figure out the level of inter-reliance, you can select the best type of coordination for it. 👉 Pooled ▶ Standardized coordination.  Agree on a set of rules and processes everyone will follow in advance. 👉 Sequential ▶ Planning coordination. Coordinate schedules, deadlines, and other information in advance. Be sure to include cases where the process might require change. 👉 Reciprocal ▶ Mutual Adjustment coordination. Agility matters! Plan for anyone to introduce new requirements / information that affects future coordination at anytime. And Inter-reliance / Coordination fit affects everything.   🚀 The more thoughtful you are about designing in the right inter-reliance / coordination fit and getting your team on board with your approach, the more effectively your team will perform, like Gymnasts today and Field Hockey tomorrow! Like this post if you agree great teamwork takes great coordination. Share this post with your teams to get their help designing the right coordination into their work. --------- ✍️ Thoughts on Teamwork? Share yours below. ➕ Follow TalentSage for more insights like this. ✅️ Ready to act? Message me TEAM UP to grow your High Performance teamship/leadership skills, success and impact. ---------

Volleyball for Beginners: Nail the Basics from the Start! 🌟 Learning the right technique from the beginning is super important for becoming a great volleyball player. When you move your body correctly, you use the principle of the kinetic chain. This means energy flows smoothly from one part of your body to another—like when each new effort adds to previous ones. Each body part plays its role, and when they all work together, you can hit the ball with more power and accuracy, using less effort! • Why is Proper Technique Essential? Getting the technique down early helps you control your body and direct the ball better. This means you can play smarter, not harder. With less wasted energy, you’ll have more power for those key moments in the game. • What Happens Without Proper Technique? Skipping out on learning the right moves can lead to trouble later. Your body might learn bad habits that are super hard to fix—like trying to swim with a backpack on. It’s much easier to get it right the first time than to relearn it later! This is because your muscles develop muscle memory, making it tough to unlearn incorrect patterns. • Injury Prevention Good technique doesn’t just help you play better; it keeps you safe, too. If you’re not using the right muscles, you’re more likely to hurt yourself. Without proper form, weaker muscles take on more work, leading to issues like rotator cuff injuries, knee strain, or lower back pain. Avoid these by practicing movements correctly from the start! • Tactics and Strategy in Volleyball Tactics are about knowing where to stand on the court and where to run in different situations—like positioning yourself where most balls usually land to make it easier to return them. Strategy is what you aim to do throughout the entire game, like consistently serving to the weaker player on the other team to make it harder for them to win. • Foundation for Growth Remember, every volleyball star started as a beginner just like you. So, take your time, practice hard, and focus on getting your technique just right. This is your first step toward a successful and super fun volleyball journey! Got questions or want to learn more? DM us and start mastering those moves! 🏐✨ #VolleyballBeginners #MasterTheBasics #RightTechnique #VolleyballTraining #KineticChain #TacticsAndStrategy #TeamSports #VolleyballLife #FitnessJourney

Here’s a post for the parents out there! Today after work I took my boy to his 1st gymnastics class. Here’s a few 🔑 things to consider when it comes to their development and how gymnastics creates a solid foundation for them. Enjoy! 👶 Early Development: Gymnastics helps toddlers develop essential motor skills, coordination, and balance from a young age. 💪 Physical Fitness: It’s a fun way for little ones to stay active, promoting strength, flexibility, and overall health. 🧠 Cognitive Benefits: Learning new moves and routines enhances cognitive functions and improves concentration and focus. 😊 Social Skills: Group classes foster teamwork, cooperation, and social interaction, helping toddlers build friendships and communication skills. 🎯 Self-Discipline: Gymnastics teaches discipline and perseverance, encouraging toddlers to set and achieve goals. 🏅 Confidence Boost: Mastering new skills boosts self-esteem and confidence, laying a strong foundation for future challenges. ⚽ Foundation for Other Sports: The coordination and agility developed in gymnastics provide a strong foundation for transitioning to other competitive sports in the future. #Gymnastics #ChildDevelopment #HealthyKids #ActiveLifestyle #EarlyLearning #ParentingTips #SportsFoundation

Most top Women’s #Sports (such as those competed in both NCAA and #Olympics, like basketball, tennis, volleyball, soccer) offer a variety of post-amateur opportunities to earn money competing for prize money or in a pro league – both in the US and overseas. Except gymnastics. And now with #NIL, college athletes can profit off their name, image, and likeness before they graduate, while building personal star power to take with them in the pros. Except in gymnastics. Unlike Caitlin Clark, LSU’s Livvy Dunne has no similarly compelling reason to skip one more year competing college, since moving to the pros hasn’t been an option for Livvy - or a multitude of other gymnasts at top of their game and reaching end of #NCAA eligibility. It’s time to change that. Amid the rising tide for women's sports - and with worldwide #gymnastics popularity, NIL opening the door to new expansion, and Olympians competing NCAA attracting record crowds & TV viewership - now is the time. #GIGAprogym

Will Your School “Win the Gold” for Your Students This Year? This Blog (Part III) uses the Gold Medal-winning Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team— at this year’s Paris Olympic Games—as a model and analogy of what schools need to do to “Win the Gold” for every one of their students during the coming academic year. Through three quotes presented at this year’s Orlando, FL Model Schools Conference, we analyze examples of the courage, characteristics, and conditioning of the Women’s U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team, and encourage educators to begin related discussions with their colleagues as the new school year begins. If the dream is to help all preschool through high school students to maximize their academic and social, emotional, and behavioral learning, progress, and proficiency. . . does your school or educational setting have the team perspective and the will needed—applying these quotes in the discussion—to be successful? The Blog emphasizes that educators are the Olympic coaches and Sports psychologists for all of their students, and that every school day is another instructional “day in the gym.” We need the best coaches to teach our students. . . and our best coaches need to continually “be on their game.” What do you think? https://conta.cc/3yyERaD

Outdated Gymnastics Equipment is a Public Safety Crisis—Why Are We Ignoring It? Imagine if the floors our young athletes train on came with warning labels: “WARNING: Risk of Severe Injury.” The reality is, they should. Gymnasts—especially children—are being put at risk every day by outdated, poorly tuned equipment, leading to severe injuries like Achilles ruptures, stress fractures, and chronic leg pain. And yet, despite the clear risks, these dangers are being overlooked by governing bodies and suppliers like USA Gymnastics, Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), American Athletic, Inc, and ABÉO SPIETH America, who continue to endorse outdated equipment for use in gyms. This is more than just an equipment issue—it’s a public health crisis affecting the safety and well-being of young athletes. We’ve heard from parents who have noticed immediate improvements in their children’s physical health after training on our modern Weller Spring Floor. One mother told us how her 10-year-old daughter’s legs stopped hurting once the outdated floor was replaced at her gym. This isn’t just about elite athletes—it’s about every child who steps foot on a gymnastics floor. Gymnasts deserve better. It’s time to start prioritizing innovation and safety over contracts and tradition. Let’s work together to make gyms safer for all athletes, from young beginners to NCAA competitors. The risks are real. So why are we still ignoring them? 🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/3Xs8mTX #GymnasticsSafety #AthleteSafety #ProtectOurGymnasts #InjuryPrevention #GymnasticsInnovation #PublicHealth #GymnasticsEquipment #SaferSports #WellerSpringFloor #YouthAthletes Sarah Hirshland United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee Morinari Watanabe Nellie Kim Li Li Leung