Credentials Only

Kelly Wolf considers a big part of her career to have been an investment of time and emotion as she has represented athletes at Octagon where she is now a vice president. 

Many of the clients she has worked with have been tennis players, and Kelly explains how for that sport, representatives really serve as the front office for those athletes, working to plan schedules, hire coaches and support staff and book travel while also negotiating sponsorships and other deals. 

Kelly shares details on that in this episode, as well as insight into her work on marketing and speaking representation with athletes and coaches from other sports. 

Jeff Chandler remembers when he started with Fanatics in 2008 it was best known for having stores in a couple Jacksonville malls. Today, he works as Director of Business Development as the company’s officially licensed merchandise business has grown to nearly $2.5 billion of revenue per year. 

In this episode, Jeff describes how Fanatics uses a v-commerce approach along with data and analytics to maintain agility in order to respond to a wide variety of events across an array of sports. This model has resulted in tremendous efficiency, reduced waste and incredible growth. 

Jeff also looks back on his own football career as a kicker at the University of Florida and in the NFL. He also shares how he works with Fanatics to help NFL players transition out of the league through the NFLPA’s externship program. 

Aaron Drogoszewski knows plenty about the importance of recuperation as a former athlete himself which is why he set out to create a recovery studio in New York City. Quickly he discovered it was not just athletes who were looking to better their performance through the use of the tools at ReCOVER.

In this episode, Aaron explains what many of the different methods there are available to elite athletes and weekend warriors alike. He also shares how these same tools can also be beneficial to non-athletes for instances such as jet lag and stress relief.

Self-professed to “geek out on the science,” there is a ton of tech talk in this episode as Aaron explains not only the technology but also the benefits of a variety of recovery techniques.

Erin Stone says she has the highest level respect for operations people who work in golf considering how they build a functioning venue for spectators and vendors around a golf course, often while accounting for the rolling terrain that runs alongside the pristine tees, fairways and greens.

Making those areas spectator friendly is very important for Erin in her role as tournament director of the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, a World Golf Championship event held in Memphis.

Working with a global partner such as FedEx as well as having a charitable partner like St. Jude’s are also part of Erin’s role at the tournament. In this episode, Erin shares insights from her time not only working with this PGA Tour event but also with an ATP Tour tournament as well as an NHL team and the common aspects of her work regardless of the sport.

Tony Trabert was a fantastic tennis player and, by all accounts, an even better person. He passed away on February 3 at the age of 90.

In 2014, I had the opportunity to interview Tony for what was to be published as a Q&A in the Western & Southern Open tournament program. However, Tony was so good at telling his story, I simply did my best to to stay out of the way. 

This special episode is the entirety of the interview we recorded in his home office as Tony shared his story, from growing up playing on the public courts in Cincinnati to his ascendency to the No. 1 amateur ranking to his broadcast career which included three decades working for CBS. 

As he was with so many people who he came across, Tony was very gracious and generous with his time. He was loved by so many people and he will be dearly missed. 

Matt Humphrey does not need a lot of motivation to get to work because the sensory overload he experiences from being on the infield of a track stands his hair on end and keeps him excited to come back as Director, Racing Communications at NASCAR. 

In this episode, Matt discusses why he thinks NASCAR is at the dawning of a golden age, sharing how a revamped schedule and celebrity ownership, among other things, have a lot to do with that. He also provides an insider’s look at what was like to be one of the very first sports to return to competition following the initial COVID-19 suspension. 

Matt also shares how he keeps up with drivers across a number of different racing circuits, how he and his colleagues prepare to handle a serious incident on a track and how it benefits NASCAR that so many people in all aspects of the sport tend to stay involved for many, many years. 

Michael Fiur’s work will begin when the Super Bowl ends this Sunday. For the 16th year in a row, Michael and his team will produce the Lombari Trophy Presentation in which the winning team will accept their trophy after the contest.

In addition to the Super Bowl postgame, Michael was involved with producing several halftime shows during his time with Radio City Music Hall and we relive some of those shows in this episode.

Michael also discusses his other production work, including the entire program around the College Football Playoff Championship and the US Open. He shares what goes into bringing life to the areas around the competition and how important he feels the entertainment component is to making games into events. 

Todd Martin knows plenty about tennis having played professionally for more than a decade before coaching both juniors and pros. While the sport is familiar, there has been a lot to learn for Todd in his current role as CEO of the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

In addition to the standard fare for a Hall of Fame of induction ceremonies and a museum, Todd is also charged with overseeing many other facets of their operations including a tennis club, an ATP tournament, event rentals and all business related to the Hall such as sponsorships and fundraising. 

In this episode, Todd, a former President of the ATP Players Council, also provides his view of the current governance of the Tour and also shares what he considers to be an issue he battled as a player. 

Kristen Fulmer brings a wealth of non-sports experience with her as the Founder of Recipric.

Careful to distinguish it as an agency not a consultancy, Recipric is seeking to redefine homefield advantage by working with organizations to bring sustainability to many facets of an operation. 

A big part of this effort is related to the environment and finding energy and waste reductions, but Kristen also works with teams to find efficiencies and opportunities to improve performance of both front office staff and players. 

Kristen views the events of 2020 as a great opportunity to do things differently as arenas and stadiums slowly begin filling again. She also sees the past year as pivotal for athletes and teams pursuing social justice, which she feels is in line with sustainability goals. 

Matt Gardner is finding more and more ways to leverage touch points with fans in his role of Vice President, Digital Media & Emerging Technology at the St. Louis Blues.

In nearly two decades in the space, Matt has seen firsthand how much closer fans are able to get as new technologies have come online and knows that many of those areas of growth have been made increasingly important because of COVID-19.

Matt also shares how he found value in taking on work outside of sports during his career and gives great anecdotes on what it is like to work for a team during a championship season, from how his digital team covered the Blues triumph to his own experience with the coveted Stanley Cup.