Rams stadium impact

The ongoing discussion of football stadium economic debate continues. On one hand the stadium owners claim that they generate additional revenue to the region and that ticket taxes, or payments per ticket sold, effectively contribute to the local coffers.

On the other hand, there are economists and local officials who say that the numbers do not accurately portray the true state of affairs. They say that the revenue that stadiums are claiming is actually coming from local money that would have stayed in the area anyway. They also argue that while the stadiums bring people in, it can cause traffic issues and local residents to leave.

No matter what side of the fence you are on, it is clear that the large stadiums and accompanying amenities are here to stay. As stadiums continue to expand there will surely be more studies that seek to better understand the financial relationship between stadiums and communities.

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/stadium-arena/some-economists-downplay-impact-of-new-rams-stadium.html?eid=277204494&bid=1278202

Career progression

When I started my career, I wanted to be an athletic trainer in order to help other injured athletes return to their desired level of activity safely. Since I did not have any sports medicine care when I was younger, I struggled with injuries that could have been prevented, detected and properly treated.

Over time, I realized I wanted to be more involved with the business side of health, sports and fitness, and this is what prompted me to get my graduate degree in sport management. Since I never took any business courses in my undergraduate program I thought this would give me the theoretical background I would need in order to be a better business person. I have always liked numbers and investing, but I didn't realize how much I enjoy the concept of business, management and leadership. I have discovered a passion for diving into the financial information of organizations to better understand how they function and to drive decision making.

Since I wanted to progress into administration, I also started talking with those that held positions I was interested in obtaining. During these conversations there emerged some trends.
Quite a few of the executives I met with got their start by having a manager who took an interest in their career and helping them develop the skills they needed to progress. When opportunities arose, these managers then had the chance to step into larger organizational roles.
Another trend I noticed was similar to the first and it was that their manager took a chance on them based on something that they saw inside. While they may have lacked education or experience in the position they were chosen for, their manager hired them anyways and then trained them in how to perform the job and even set up with continuing education opportunities. In this way, they hired the person based on intangible characteristics and developed the experience that they thought they needed to succeed.

From what I gathered, few people make their own way. They tend to perform well in a job with a manger who takes the time to work with them to progress their career. Then, when an opportunity arises they are able to move into a larger role.

I want to share this with you to help you progress your own career. When you are looking for jobs, look for those managers who take an active interest in developing their people, this will fast track your career learning and progression. If you are already in a management role, remember how you got there and don't forget to pay it forward. There are a lot of talented individuals out there just waiting for someone to notice them and take an interest in them so they can achieve great things. Don't miss out on identifying these future stars.

Strength development

I enjoy programming workouts with the objective of getting stronger.  I find that the development of strength is one of the easier goals to program for and achieve. The main concept behind the development of strength is to be just a little stronger tomorrow than you are today.

The two programming techniques that I employ the most are a periodized program with the reps decreasing and the weight decreasing over time and a heavy/light routine with one workout of the week being heavy and the other being lighter. Both of these methods are extremely successful if your main goal is the pursuit of strength.

The added bonus of strength development is that the workouts are shorter, since fewer exercises are being performed. You can do 3-5 exercises per workout and still get stronger on a consistent basis. As always, it is important to eat enough quality calories to fuel recovery and replenish energy stores, as well as getting adequate sleep.

When your goal is to get bigger or smaller, the program has to change and nutrition becomes a huge component of your training plan. But, strength development is the simple application of doing a little bit more every time you workout.

Currently, I get to lift 2-4 times a week and follow a weekly linear periodization program descending from 15-6 reps and then repeating.

Push:
Incline DB Press
Standing shoulder press
lateral raises
skull crushers
Pressdowns

Pull:
Trap bar deadlifts
Bent over rows
EZ bar curls
Incline curls

Push 2
I exchange DB presses with pushups since my shoulder has a tendency to flare up with too much pressing. This is also why I don't do flat pressing, personal preference to decrease my discomfort

Pull 2:
I exchange deadlifts for Bulgarian split squats and Bent over rows for one arm dumbbell rows


As you can see, there is nothing fancy with this program, but if you add more weight every week, you will definitely get stronger.

Fitness social media use

When you own a business, or even if you work in a client services role within a business, it is important to stay up to date of technology. The impact of technology is dramatically changing a lot of industries and those that are able to understand and capitalize on those changes stand a better chance of being successful.

 

These two fitness professionals were able to explode their business and generate a lot of revenue by simply utilizing Instagram as a means to share content and connect with like-minded people who then became clients. This simple strategy helped them to build a complete business model around their profiles.

 

The simplicity of this plan means that most people who interact with others have the potential to generate income by becoming more proficient on social media. Take the time to learn about the brand you want to have and the clientele you want to have, then execute it.

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/web-social/building-body-and-brand-instagram-impacts-fitness-industry.html?eid=277204494&bid=1261796

 

Stadium revenue

Great little article out of Pittsburgh that is looking at the revenue generated from the three sports venues to the city. The study shows that the direct financial impact has been 102 million dollars over 5 years. But does that tell the full story?

 

As is usually the case with numbers, economics and projections, the answer is not really. The study was commissioned by the city to assess to revenue generated from the facilities. The study did not address a return of investment of the city’s direct contribution to the projects or the opportunity costs of the facilities.

 

When the picture is enlarged, it tells a different story. The direct impact is 102 million. But the facilities are subsidized by tax dollars. The real estate that they sit on is tax exempt, so there is no property tax being collected, the opportunity costs of previously existing structures or other tax paying entities is also not discussed. So, what is the actual net financial impact to the city for these facilities? We don’t  have that answer. 

 

The point to remember with numbers is that they can be used to reinforce one perspective, which seldom gives the global picture. Ask questions and dig deeper to get the real answers.

 

http://www.athleticbusiness.com/stadium-arena/revenue-from-sports-venues-flood-city-coffers.html

Competent leadership

When evaluating team performance, choosing the right leader can lead to improved performance.


In studies evaluating the effectiveness of three different groups: competent leader, random leader, and self managed democratic groups, the teams that had the leader with competence in the field and understanding of the technical aspects of the business outperformed the other groups. Even self managed groups outperformed the teams that had a randomly assigned leader.


I think that the key point is not trying to find the best leader, but to avoid choosing someone who does not understand the business. There are plenty of ways to improve management and leadership skills; formal education, reading, attending seminars, certifications, but that will not matter if that person does not understand enough about what the work actually is. Teams routinely choose leaders that display confidence and physical attributes, but may not possess the technical skill or understanding. These teams then lag behind because they are not able to make the best decisions. In turn, look to people that have excellent technical understanding and leverage their knowledge.


This is in line with other research that demonstrated that teams preferred leaders who had similar backgrounds to them. They felt these leaders understood them, and their role, better and were then able to be more effective in their leadership.


Take the time to understand the business and the technical aspects of what is needed to be successful. This will improve your ability to create strategy and become successful. When in a hiring position, do not just hire someone who has a degree, make sure they know the business.


"Leadership qualities" vs. competence: which matters more? Harvard Business Review, 11/5/15

Recommendations on Tackling in Youth Football

 

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a study looking at tackling in football. The authors of the study performed a literature review looking at the mechanisms of head, neck and catastrophic injury in football.

 

Not surprisingly, the act of performing a tackle, or being tackled, is a leading mechanism of injury in football for head and neck injuries, catastrophic injuries and other serious injuries. One of the leading causes of concussion in youth and high school sports is head to head contact. The main recommendation in this area is to continually stress proper tackling technique and educating players and coaches on the importance of keeping their heads up and making contact with their shoulder pads, thus reducing the mechanism of head to head contact.

 

The authors summarize their findings of tackling in football by exploring the idea of limiting contact in practice to reduce the overall occurrence of head contact throughout the season, but do point out that it is not fully known how much of an impact this will make. They also discuss increasing the age at which players initiate contact and the possibility of non-contact leagues. This would allow those that are interested in playing, but are concerned for head injuries, an outlet to enjoy the game with a decreased injury risk.

 

As athletic trainers, we play a key role in the recommendations made by the authors. The last two points that they recommend on tackling in youth football are to institute neck strengthening programs and have an athletic trainer on hand for contests. We have the ability to educate coaches, athletes and administrations on the risk of head injury in football (and sports in general) and the implementation of programs to reduce to the risk, including strengthening and skills based technical training. Having an athletic trainer available to athletes allows injuries to be detected and treated earlier.

 

While the risk of injury will not be eliminated in sports, we can hopefully continue to make progress with our educational material to keep all of our athletes healthy and active.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2015/10/20/peds.2015-3282.full.pdf