What Are You Sporting About?

Stuart Hart enters his fourth season as the head women’s basketball strength and conditioning coach at the University of Nebraska in 2020-21.

In his first year at Nebraska in 2017-18, Hart helped the Huskers make huge strides in all aspects of performance and conditioning. The Big Red produced the nation’s top turnaround on the court, notching 14 more victories than 2016-17, while advancing to the 2018 NCAA Tournament. The Huskers tied for third in the Big Ten regular-season race with eight more conference wins than the previous season. NU also advanced to the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.

Hart joined the Huskers after spending the 2016-17 season as the head strength and conditioning coach for the University of South Florida men’s basketball program.

Prior to the past season with the USF men’s program, Hart led the strength and conditioning efforts of the USF women’s basketball program in 2014-15 and 2015-16, helping the Bulls to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

“We are thrilled to add someone with Coach Hart’s background and experience to help develop our student-athletes at the University of Nebraska,” Head Coach Amy Williams said. “Coach Hart not only has a track record of success as a strength coach, he also brings his experiences as both a basketball player and assistant coach.”

Hart was a men’s basketball player at Saint Leo University before graduating in 1998. Upon his graduation, Hart served as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Saint Leo Lions from 2008 through 2014. He was responsible for designing and coordinating in- and off-season workout programs for all of 19 sports. Hart hired, supervised and trained a staff of five at Saint Leo, and assisted the Certified Athletic Training staff with rehabilitation of student-athletes.

In addition to his role as a strength and conditioning coach, Hart also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach for three seasons from 2008 to 2011, breaking down film for the team, coordinating travel plans and developing a recruiting base.

A Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (SCCS) by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), Hart supervised and managed a 4,500 square-foot Fitness Center at Saint Leo, assisting University members and community patrons, while overseeing 35 student staff during that same six-year period.

At Nebraska, Hart travels with the women’s basketball team as the Huskers’ primary strength and conditioning coach. His philosophy is to create a mentally and physically challenging environment to replicate and ready the student-athletes for the psychological and physiological demands of competition.

Connect with Coach Hart on LinkedIn.

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generation lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros is passionate about helping athletes in business protect their brands through collaborative partnerships, education and support necessary to carry them to the next level. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.

Tiffany Kelly is a sports entrepreneur, data scientist, public speaker, and philanthropist. She is currently the Founder & CEO of Curastory, the easiest way to get started creating videos while first focusing on a unique market, professional athletes and student athletes.

Before making her leap into the world of startups, she joined ESPN Stats & Information Group as a Sports Analytics Associate, where she created ESPN’s College Football Fan Happiness Index. She was the first African-American analyst to join the team. Throughout her tenure with the leading sports multimedia company, she became an advocate for harmonizing creativity, human traits, and data science. When people ask Tiffany Kelly to describe herself, she doesn’t hesitate to say that first and foremost she is a passionate idealist and visionary to her core — a trait birthed from her parents, the Reverend Dr. Herman O. Kelly, Jr. and Linda M. Kelly.

Dr. Kelly, a University educator, philosopher, and theologian, helped raise Tiffany and her older brother Herman O. Kelly, III giving both lessons on the meaning of life and joy while Mrs. Kelly worked as a corporate analyst with a background in computer science and technology. A product of the Louisiana private educational system, Tiffany Kelly attended an all-girls Catholic, college preparatory school St. Joseph’s Academy in Baton Rouge before moving to Fort Lauderdale, Florida to study Sport & Recreation Management, Statistics, and Computer Science from Nova Southeastern University (NSU).

She grew more into her natural ability to lead by creating the first sports organization open to undergraduate students at NSU. Early in her college years, Ms. Kelly decided her true calling was eliminating the inequality and lack of gender and racial diversity within the sports industry, especially decision-makers at the top. She served as an analytics contributor for The Undefeated writing on her own experiences and the experiences of other minorities within sports analytics.

Tiffany Kelly has continued her diversity efforts by inspiring youth and women in STEM to use their gifts to change sports and sports tech for a better future. As board member of the Sports Analytics Club Program (SACP) and high-profile ambassador of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) – Lyda Hill Philanthropies IF/THEN Initiative, she seeks to further this calling through sports analytics educational programs provided in inner city secondary schooling throughout the country, and mentoring middle school girls in STEM so they can then be the change.

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generation lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros is passionate about helping athletes in business protect their brands through collaborative partnerships, education and support necessary to carry them to the next level. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.

Malcolm Lemmons is a former professional athlete turned author and entrepreneur. He is the host of the Players Point Podcast, where he interviews current and former athletes about their stories and backgrounds.

Lemmons is also the 2-time author of the books, Lessons from the Game, which highlights his story through basketball and some of the key lessons he learned from playing sports; and Impact Beyond the Game, which teaches athletes how to build and monetize their personal brands to create a legacy.

Furthermore, Lemmons has been featured by publications such as MLB Network and Front Office Sports and has written for Huffington Post and Kulture Hub.

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros –Protector of Athletes – is a first-generational lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.

Omari J. Garrett is an educator, coach, and high school Athletic Director who has spent the last 15 years in education in various roles. Omari views education as more than just learning facts, but as an overall youth building experience.

Marcus joined Wasserman in 2019 and advises brands + properties through strategy development, partnership measurement, sponsorship valuations, and partnership management. Prior to joining Wasserman, Marcus served as a business intelligence analyst for the Tampa Bay Lightning, USF Athletics, and SME Solutions Group, Inc.

Recently completing her 11th season in the WNBA, Renee Montgomery is a two-time WNBA Champion and current member of the Atlanta Dream. During the offseason, she has been an in-studio analyst/host for NBA TV, ESPN, and a Fox Sports South as well as serving as a host for Food Truck Diaries on WSB-TV. An experienced speaker, Montgomery has spoken on many esteemed panels such as USA Basketball, NBA’s Her Time To Play, and more. Montgomery is also a graduate from the Harvard School of Business Crossover Program.

When she is not in season or hosting, Montgomery engages with the community through her self-named non-profit, the Renee Montgomery Foundation. One of the staples of her foundation is the initiative “Let’s Go Pro,” where she introduces the community to sporting events in hopes to encourage kids to want to be active and presents the opportunity for adults to have a positive environment for family time.

A 2009 graduate of UConn, Montgomery led her collegiate team a 138-11 record and the 2008-09 NCAA Championship.

More recently, Montgomery is also an athlete for social justice and has been covered on many news platforms like Yahoo sports, The Players Tribune, and New York Times, to name a few.

To learn more about her foundation, visit https://reneemontgomeryfoundation.org/

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generational lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.

On this episode, Miss Porche D. Grant discusses Transitioning for Pro-Athletes with Sivonnia DeBarros, the protector of athletes.

Lerenteé McCray is an American football outside linebacker for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League. He played college football at the University of Florida. McCray was signed by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2013. He has also been a member of the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills. McCray, like many professional athletes, is striving to build generational wealth by creating his own business, McCray Development & Investors, LLC, and also pours into his communities by partnering with brands like Microsoft to educate youth.

Otis is an experienced and knowledgeable financial advisor, ready to work with you and your family’s financial future. Otis started his career with Morgan Stanley Wealth Management as a financial planning specialist, working with over 300 financial advisors helping clients plan for retirement before joining Merrill Lynch.

Most of his childhood was spent in the inner city of Chicago, but moved to Barrington, IL while he was in high school. In 2005, Otis received a full scholarship to the University of Minnesota and later went on to graduate from Eastern Illinois University. While at EIU, he helped the football team win the Ohio Valley Conference.

Otis was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2010, as one of only three players to be drafted into the NFL from Eastern Illinois University since 2000. He spent several years with the Bengals and also played for the Kansas City Chiefs.

After retiring from professional sports in 2015, Otis became a member of the NFL Former Players Association – Chicago Chapter. Otis likes to stay involved with sports by volunteering his time through the NFL Former Players Association.

In his spare time, he likes to spend time with his family, exercises, and volunteers with Rotary International, Cary Chamber of Commerce, and many other organizations.

Otis holds two securities licenses- Series 7 and Series 66.

Learn more about his financial services at connect with him on LinkedIn.

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generational lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.

Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generation lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete.

DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. DeBarros is passionate about helping athletes, women, and first-generation business owners because she understands the peculiar struggle many have faced by not having the necessary support and guidance to be successful.

Additionally, DeBarros is a public speaker, entrepreneur, and a bestselling published author of What Are You Sporting About?

DeBarros previously authored The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: the Roadblocks to Recovery law article, published in Chicago-Kent College Of Law’s Seventh Circuit’s Review Law Journal, and published the new Children’s Book, JoJo Learns About Credibility, which is the first book of her new Children Series, JoJo’s Legal Adventures.

To learn more about Attorney DeBarros, her firm or her publications, please visit www.sldebarros.com or buy her book on Amazon.

About Sivonnia DeBarros

Sivonnia DeBarros – the Protector of Athletes – is a first-generational lawyer and law business owner, woman in business and a former track and field Division-I College athlete. DeBarros’s practice areas are Business, Employment, Sports, and Entertainment. Learn more about her services at www.prosportlawyer.com and www.sldebarros.com.