Student-Athlete Combo

Brian Kaplan, the Senior Director of Athlete Development at Dunkmama Media was interviewed. Brad also worked for the Oakland Raiders Football team for 12 years. In the episode, we talked about how Brad got into the sports industry. His goal was to be an NFL scout which is what he achieved, he scouted college players with the Raider for many years!

Brad explains his process from being an intern to being a director and also what the job brought to him. 

Brad changed industries and now is a director to help the advancement of athletes. Dunkmama created an app called Athletes Launch which is tailored to help former athletes get jobs after their sport. It is an awesome platform for former athletes to put their brand out there to receive working opportunities. On the app, you can highlight things like your resume, but also athletic successes. For former athletes looking for working opportunities, I recommend you download the app! Brad Kaplan is also available on Twitter and LinkedIn to discuss the app and opportunities!

Tune in to this sports podcast to hear about NFL scouting and a vehicle that can help the transition from sports to another chapter of life!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbbIOVs0gPc

http://studentathletecombo.com/

https://athleteslaunch.com/

Today on SAC, Casey Dill from Sports Force was interviewed.  Sports Force is a recruiting advisory website and Casey Dill is involved in the baseball world with many different hats! He is currently the recruiting coordinator for the College of the Desert which is a Junior College in California. Casey has also spent time as a baseball scout for the Atlanta Braves, recruiting coordinator for other schools, involvement in independent baseball, and college summer leagues! Casey is a BASEBALL GUY! 

Today on SAC, Casey and I discussed the perspective of recruiting and scouting from his eyes. Often in this podcast, we talk to athletes about their experiences. However, we have not talked to a coach who is on the other side of the table picking players to play for their program.  In a baseball-specific episode, Casey describes his experiences scouting and recruiting players as well as what he looks for in players. Junior college is a different beast than 4-year schools and is arguably a harder job. Casey talks about the players and scenarios that he has been faced with throughout the years.

Even though it was a baseball-specific episode, a lot of his points stuck with all college sports when we talk about recruiting from a coach’s point of view. 

Because he has had experiences scouting players to play professionally, he explained the difference in how he views these athletes compared to looking at athletes to play in college. 

For baseball fans, this is a must-listen-to episode! We talk about JUCO baseball, Pro baseball, Independent baseball, scouting, recruiting, and much more. 

Instagram & Twitter @_sacombo_

http://studentathletecombo.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7iuhfhZ8Jw

SAC has interviewed another great Mayor! Mayor Hillary Schieve of Reno, Nevada has been in office since 2014 and has done awesome things! Mayor Schieve used to be a professional figure skater that had planned to compete in the Olympics before she suffered from medical complications. However, she was a killer athlete and competed at a very high level. 

In the episode, Mayor Schieve and I have a conversation about her transition into politics and the parallels between the two lives she has lived. She expressed that many lesions she has learned from being an athlete have led her to her position today and that athletes are wired a certain way to be successful. 

Also, the University of Nevada-Reno is a major University in the city where sports are huge! They compete in the Mountain West conference and have a huge fan base from the community. Mayor Schieve talked about the connection with UNR and the community, and the youth programs implemented in Reno so kids can live out their dreams! 

Tune in to the awesome story of Mayor Hillary Schieve from her athletic career to public service

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http://studentathletecombo.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjwISj_YX8M

Today on SAC Christian Buck, the author of the coming book “ The Sport of School” was interviewed. Buck is a sports psychologist that has worked with plenty of athletes from High School to College throughout the years. He is involved with mental training, human performance, and a lot of other things that athletes at high levels take value in. 

It was wonderful to interview Christian as he explained the basis of his book and how the thought and need of his content came to fruition. Have you ever seen athletes that excelled in their sport but not in class? Christian’s books explain these types of athletes and know exactly how to help them! Likewise, he determines different types of athletes and their mindsets, and how they function. 

Christian and I talk about the main keys for athletes, and all people to be successful! We talk about mindset and vision concepts that separate individuals. Christian explains his path to developing the book and how his work and studies back up concepts that we talk about by examples. He gives several examples and experience stories about athletes that are compelling and intriguing. 

Make sure to check out this interview, and also to check out Christian Buck’s new book: “The Sport of School!”

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www.christianbuck.com

Today on SAC, the mayor of Rochester Hills, MI, Bryan Barnett was interviewed! Mayor Barnett is a Rochester Hills native and grew up a Detroit sports fan. He attended Oakland University which is in the same city he is serving! With an athletic background, and great work in office we discussed:

• What sports mean to Mayor Barnett and what it means to his community
• How COVID-19 affected Americans through not being able to interact with sports
• Oakland University and the community 
• How youth programs are implemented in Rochester Hills respective to Oakland University
• How his background led him to public service
• The community connected to Detroit professional sports 

Tune in to this awesome podcast with the Mayor of Rochester Hills, MI, Bryan Barnett, and SUBSCRIBE to the channel!

Twitter & Instagram @_sacombo_
http://studentathletecombo.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iLpaGtVDKE

Student-Athlete Combo interviewed Sarah Cowart today who is an athletic academic advisor! Sarah knows ALL of the ins and outs to help high school athletes complete a smooth transition into college academically. There are several things that an athlete needs to complete to be able to be NCAA eligible, and Sarah has the list to get you eligible! She has a resource for athletes and their families to follow when they’re going through the process to become D1 qualified. In the podcast Sarah discusses:

• How to become D1 qualified and what it takes
• What the eligibility process is like
• What the NCAA eligibility center is
• When to start planning for this process
• ACT/SAT
• The sliding scale
• Advice to our athletes on how to stay on top of your priorities!

Make sure to tune into this sports podcast where Sarah Cowart gives us incredible information for high school athletes who are in the process of becoming eligible to be a college athlete!

Instagram & Twitter @_sacombo_
http://studentathletecombo.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oYeykgmx2A

https://sidelineconfessions.mykajabi.com/slc1

SAC interviewed the former Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey, Douglas Palmer! Mayor Palmer was the first African American Mayor of Trenton and was in office for 30 years. He is a Trenton native and has brought a lot to his community during and after his run in public service. Likewise, Mayor Palmer was a killer athlete! He was a dual-sport athlete in college at Hampton Institute and excelled at both! He was a great hitter in baseball and had opportunities to play professionally but had other plans for himself which put him in the spot he’s in today!

 Mayor Palmer presented an awesome interview giving his story of athletics and how/why he got into public service! In the episode, Mayor Palmer talks about his early athletic career and what sports meant to him, particularly baseball. We talk about his college days and the unique moment that led his drive to be the mayor of Trenton!

There were things during his life that pushed him towards the path to help people who helped him and give back to his community which he expressed. Apart from helping in the community, he has been part of an initiative for years to give baseball opportunities all over the United States(Mayors PLAY BALL)! 

Lastly, Mayor Palmer discusses the parallels between being an athlete and public service, giving back to his hometown community means to him, and his biggest accomplishments. This interview with the former Mayor of Trenton, New Jersey is a great motivation podcast for not only athletes, but all people to never give up and sprint towards your goals! Check out this episode with Douglas Palmer and subscribe to SAC!

Twitter & Instagram @_sacombo_
http://studentathletecombo.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oHqNvO_9V0

Javier Duren joined the podcast today. Javier works in baseball operations as a Coordinator of Technology & Innovation with the St. Louis Cardinals. We brought Javier on the podcast because he was also a student-athlete, and a good one! He was a basketball player at Yale University where he is on leaderboards and had the chance to play professionally after graduating,

Javier spent is professional year playing overseas in Europe with a couple of teams and performed wonderfully earning an opportunity to play in the NBA G League. After his time playing pro basketball, Javier ended up receiving the opportunity to be a baseball operations fellow with the Cardinals exploring the ins and outs of baseball. 

You might ask,” Javier was a basketball star, why did he decide to work in professional baseball?” Well, he explains his path from college to today in the episode! Javier also talks about the process of deciding to be done with basketball and the challenges that he had faced.

Lastly, 2020 is a year of many firsts and an unorthodox year. Javier explains how the new baseball season in 2020 changed the front office of the Cardinals. Tune in to this podcast and listen to Javier Duren’s trek from professional basketball to front office baseball operations!

Twitter & Instagram @_sacombo_
http://studentathletecombo.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EWAxx5wGbE

SAC has interviewed another great Mayor in Jeff Williams of Arlington, Texas. Arlington is the Sports Capital of the World with several venues for professional and amateur levels of sports to compete! Mayor Williams discusses how Arlington has progressed into a Utopia for sports fans. If you love sports, you gotta visit Arlington! 

Arlington is home to the Dallas Cowboy and the Texas Rangers in two state of the art stadiums. Both venues are holding great events this year and Mayor Williams talks about the near future schedule of these venues.

The MLB is hosting playoffs in Arlington, Texas this year and Globe Life Field( Rangers stadium) is going to be its site! Mayor Williams explains how the city plans to handle the fans for the playoffs and how players and fans will be able to enjoy the surroundings. Texas Live and Live by Loews make up a plaza in Arlington that will give fans and players the ultimate experience for sports! 

Mayor Williams continued to clarify how AT&T Stadium( Cowboys Stadium) has handled fans and how they are going to be moving forward.

On top of that, Arlington is home to many other sporting venues that are new and noteworthy. This is a sports podcast that will be interesting for everybody!

All in all, this episode with Mayor Williams describes Arlington and its wonderful features that make it a sports fan destination. Listen in to get the scoop about the MLB playoffs, and the 2020 Cotton Bowl!

Twitter & Instagram @_sacombo_

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2qsWDSB66g
http://studentathletecombo.com/

Today on SAC we had an awesome guest, Taj Dashaun where we discuss his life after sports. Taj is the host and author of “Thriving After Sports”. Life after sports is a daunting time for athletes since their identity is sports. Being an athlete doesn’t last forever and once they are done they have to start a new chapter in their lives which isn’t always easy. Taj is a career transition coach where he helps athletes in this time of their lives. In the episode we discuss:

• How hard it can be for athletes to transition into the “real world” after sports
• How Taj dealt with this time in his life and the struggles that he faced
• Figuring out a career pack with IMPACT
• The importance of goals and determination
• Why he wanted to be a career transition coach 
• The process of creating a brand and a business 
• How his podcast and book came to fruition

This episode with Taj is a must listen! You won’t want to miss this as it acts as a motivation podcast for athletes and people of all ages! Make sure to tune in and subscribe!

Twitter & Instagram @_sacombo_
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUpMI3kJlrM

http://studentathletecombo.com/
https://www.tajdashaun.com/