Holding the Ladder in Sport and Leadership

The host of the Holding the Ladder in Sport and leadership podcast, Dr. Tim Rice is the Lead Faculty for the Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) program, as well as a Lead Faculty Member in the Sport and Performance Psychology specialization in PsyD program at University of Arizona Global Campus. He came to the University of Arizona Global Campus after serving in a similar role at University of the Rockies. Dr. Rice grew up on the Alabama Gulf Coast in a small town about 25 miles from the Gulf of Mexico (Robertsdale). He has been in higher education for over 20 years at colleges and universities across the country. In addition, he has served as a head coach in basketball, cross country, soccer, golf, and track and field during his 25+ year coaching career at the high school, collegiate and international levels. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education from Mobile College (1993), a Master of Sport Science degree in Sport Management from the United States Sports Academy (1999), and a Doctor of Sports Management degree in Sport Management/Human Resource Management from the United States Sports Academy (2005). Dr. Rice has extensive online teaching experience after serving at numerous online schools for over 12 years. Dr. Rice and his late wife, Candy (pictured with Tim), lived all over the United States. They have also lived abroad in the Republic of Ireland serving in consulting positions. He has served as a consultant with Basketball Ireland, the FIBA governing body for basketball in the country, since 2015. Additionally, he consults with Admirals Basketball Academy in the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in Eastern Europe. You can reach Tim at [email protected].

Dr. Marty Durden has nearly five decades of athletic leadership experience. He is currently the athletic director at Calvary Christian School in Columbus, Georgia. Durden earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management from the U.S. Sports Academy in 2016 and has written extensively about the “servant-leader” model of coaching, including in a 2019 Sport Digest piece titled "The Call for a Higher Standard Than Winning" and authoring "More Than Winning: The Servant-Leader Coach in Contemporary Society," released in December 2022: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/more-than-winning-marty-durden/1142813591.

Durden is a veteran coach whose teams have won state championships in basketball, baseball, football, and golf over the span of nearly five decades. He previously worked as the athletic director at Presbyterian School in Houston, and has also worked as an adjunct faculty member at Belhaven University, Concordia Texas University and at Houston Baptist University.

Eabha Rutledge is a successful county and club Gaelic footballer with Kilmacud Crokes and her county team Dublin. She has been part of Dublin's All-Ireland four-in-a-row panels and a recent Division 1 league final win against Cork. She is a Fund Accounting Supervisor at JPMorgan Chase & Co. and is also a sport entrepreneur as she set up a dry weather GAA gloves company, Great Grip Gloves. This idea goes back to her participation in an exchange visitor program in the United States on a J1 visa in Chicago in summer 2017 when she lined out with Aisling Gaels. Having always worn standard foam football gloves all year around, the heat turned her off doing so Stateside. Her gloves are dry weather GAA Gloves which enhance performance with a new advanced glove which provides a strong reliable grip. You can take a look at these innovative gloves at https://greatgripgloves.shop/.

Dr. David Tenney is the High Performance Director for Austin FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He has a wealth of major league sport experience, including several successful seasons in MLS, and a long history in soccer in the U.S. and internationally. 

He joined Austin FC after three years as the first High Performance Director for the National Basketball Association (NBA)'s Orlando Magic (2017-2020) following 11 seasons in MLS. During Tenney’s stewardship of the Magic’s high performance department, the Magic made back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 2012. Tenney joined the Orlando Magic after nine seasons (2009-2017) with the Seattle Sounders, serving as High Performance Director for the 2017 season, after previous stints as Sports Science & Performance Manager (2015-2016) and Head Fitness Coach (2009-2014). While with the Sounders, the team won the MLS Cup (2016), the U.S. Open Cup four times (2009-2012), and made the MLS Playoffs in nine consecutive years (2009-2017). During his time in Seattle, Tenney created the Sounders Sports Science Summit, which has become a leading sports science conference. Prior to joining the Sounders, Tenney served as both Fitness and Goalkeeper coach with Sporting Kansas City (then known as the Kansas City Wizards) for two seasons (2007-2008).

Before joining Sporting Kansas City, Tenney held the same dual role of Goalkeeper Coach and Head Fitness Coach with the George Mason University men’s and women’s teams for two (2) seasons (2004-2006). In 2006, the George Mason men’s team advanced to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament for the first time in 12 years. During that period, Tenney served as the Director of Girls Olympic Development Program (ODP) for the state of Maryland, while also serving as the head of fitness and youth technical director for the Washington Freedom SC.

Tenney played collegiate soccer at Virginia Tech (the Hokies) from 1989-1991, serving as team captain during his final two seasons. As goalkeeper, he was voted Metro Conference Tournament Defensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1989. Additionally, Tenney played for several lower division teams in Germany and with various U.S. indoor soccer teams, ending his career with the Baltimore Blast (1998- 2000) of the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL).

Tenney earned a Master’s degree in Exercise Science-performance enhancement from California University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Coaching Science from George Mason University. He also holds a Czech Republic "A" coaching license. He is also a certified National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) performance enhancement specialist and a Certified Strength & Conditioning Coach (CSCS). He earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of Arizona Global Campus in 2022.

Hannah Thornton has always been passionate about sport. She played basketball for Ireland at the age of 14 and at the age of 17 obtained a sports scholarship with the University of Northern Colorado, playing in NCAA Division I's Big Sky Conference. She also devoted a little time to study, obtaining her Bachelor Degree in Sports and Exercise Science and a separate degree in Nutrition.​

After graduation, Hannah began work at an elite sports-specific training facility in Colorado Springs, Colorado where the focus was to transform young adults into top athletes. Here, she qualified as a Personal Trainer, working with the best athletes in Colorado, as well as aspiring candidates for the NFL and NBA.​ After two years Ireland beckoned, and Hannah returned home to use the training and principles learned during her six years in the States.

Initially working with a small company that was dedicated to High Performance Team Development, Hannah started with the health and wellbeing sector of the corporate world. She explained the importance of health and performance to clients in different professions around the world, often presenting to hundreds of people at a time. Regardless of culture, country or gender, Hannah's message was consistent - focus on wellbeing, focus on nutrition, focus on resilience.

In 2017, Hannah took the big step - she decided to follow her own dream of impacting and helping young adults and teenagers to achieve their full potential. First step: she added to her training by qualifying for the International Sports Society of Nutrition, followed by a Masters in Applied Sports and Exercise Nutrition.

Hannah's mission for Next Generation Health is to help create a healthier generation in Ireland. She wants to raise the bar in the health and performance. What helps Hannah stand out is that she herself is an elite athlete, currently playing for Ireland's senior women team for basketball. This allows Hannah to engage with elite athletes on a whole different level and helps her excel at what she does best- which is performance nutrition! Her website is www.nextgenerationhealth.ie.

Dr. Maryrose Blank is a Sport and Performance Psychology Consultant with over 15 years of experience incorporating mental skills training with various populations to include the military, athletes, coaches, and other high performing corporate organizations.  

Dr. Blank began her career in college athletics, working at several colleges and universities before transitioning to working with the military. For over a decade, most of her efforts have involved supporting the Department of Defense in Human Performance program design and implementation, with an emphasis on cognitive and mental performance. Specifically, Dr. Blank’s clients have ranged from the 18th Airborne Corps to the Special Operations community.  

She is the founder of Tier-1 Mindset, LLC where she partners with a multi-disciplinary team of experts in the human performance field to develop programs designed to assist individuals in maintaining sustainable, peak performance.  

Dr. Blank is a Certified Mental Performance Coach (CMPC) with the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP). Her passion is training individuals to reach health and performance goals through systematic mental skills training, using data analytics, biofeedback, and cognitive behavioral therapy methodologies.  

Her hobbies include mountain biking, running, and spending time with her dog. She is an Upstate NY native and an avid Buffalo Bills fan. She currently resides in Northern Virginia. Her website is https://www.tier1mindset.com for more information.

Scott Hunter is a former NFL quarterback who played for eight seasons for the Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Atlanta Falcons, and Detroit Lions, retiring in 1980. Before his NFL career, he was the starting quarterback for the Paul "Bear" Bryant-led Alabama Crimson Tide. Hunter is one of five Alabama quarterbacks (Blake Sims, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young) to throw for 400 yards in a game.

Ari Kafka is a former professional athlete and current Mental Performance Coach for athletes. He likes to help athletes flourish under pressure and overcome mental blocks to excel at their game. Additionally, he helps transitioning athletes who are ending their sport playing careers dig deep to find their unique character strengths and how they can utilize them on a daily basis. He guides them on their journey to find their next passion in their lives.

In between High School and College, he was fortunate to work with Dick Radatz ("The Monster"), a dominant closer for multiple Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in the ‘60s, and Jim Lonborg, a Cy Young Award winning pitcher. Both men introduced him to the importance of the mental game in sports, which helped take his game to the next level. Although he struggled with inconsistency, with the help of these mentors he improved his game each year at NCAA Division I Quinnipiac University.

He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and played three seasons of Minor League baseball. During that time, he benefited from working closely with Dr. Jack Curtis, author, motivational speaker, and Mental Skills consultant for athletes. After retiring, he started working with a close mentor who encouraged him to pursue a Masters in Social Work. He is a licensed Social Worker. Over the past 10 years, he has been honing his clinical skills, helping incarcerated inmates, abuse victims, addicts, and gap year students dealing with and working through mental health issues. 

Please see his website for more information is https://www.arikafka.com/. 

Tatiana Gallová is Slovakian FIBA licensed coach and lecturer, who finished FECC and ICAB program; and has a Ph.D. in basketball coaching.

You can contact her at [email protected].