From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.
Rick is joined by his friend, Rodrigo Almeida this week on “Tech of Sports.”
Rodrigo is an assistant tennis coach and the Tennis Health Program Coordinator at the University of North Texas.
One of the top young coaches in the nation who is widely respected for player development, Almeida helped lead the Campbell men’s team to the 2018 Big South Conference championship. He spent a season at UTEP with the women’s team and helped develop freshman Kristen Prelle into an all-conference No. 1 player in the Miners lineup and one of the league’s top players overall.
Almeida talks about tennis fitness, college tennis and answers Rick’s questions about the online fitness industry as quarantine is still a thing in many parts of the country.
Almeida was a standout player for Western New Mexico from 2010-14. On two occasions he was named the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year. He climbed as high as 26th in the ITA’s NCAA DII rankings, and was also the top-rated player in the central region as a senior.
Upon the conclusion of his playing career, Almeida served as a student assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at WNMU. Both teams advanced to the RMAC Championships. Additionally the men’s team secured a ranking of 27th.
Almeida served as an instructor and group chaperone for 15 nationally-ranked American juniors who toured and played in cities like Amsterdam, Prague, Barcelona and Paris. He then went on to serve as a tennis professional for Cliff Drysdale Tennis, instructing individuals with skill levels ranging from beginners to semi-professionals. Following his time Cliff Drysdale Tennis, Almeida accepted the position at Campbell.
Rick talks about the state of golf in the State of Florida this week with “The Golf Father,” Bill Cuebas.
Bill is a resident of the State of Florida and has been out golfing. Golf was deemed essential in Florida by the Governor. How have golfers reacted to new restrictions, what are the golf courses and manufacturers doing in times of a pandemic?
Rick and Bill discuss many topics. Bill is Director of Communication at Golfballed.com, a product tester and reviewer. He is a co-host on BiGGs Golf Talk Radio
Bill’s quotes:
“I Love the game of golf and all it has given me mentally and physically.”
“Love The Folds of Honor and all that they do to support our Military families.”
“I STAND WITH THE FOLDS OF HONOR!”
In the time of COVID-19 golf, these companies have products that come in handy.
Rick and Steve talk about how these companies offer great products in these days of social distancing on the golf course – push carts and lightweight golf bags by Sun Mountain and the personal golf machine that is Finn Cycle.
Snyders has represented many golf communities and companies including Sun Mountain Sports and its affiliates for 20+ years.
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Steve Snyders Sublime Public Relations
Rugby has never been a topic of discussion on “Tech of Sports” before, but that is about to change.
This week, Rick is joined by an All-American Rugby player from Dartmouth and a member of the Canadian U20 National team, Idia Ihensekhien.
Ihensekhien, currently a member of Dartmouth’s Women’s Varsity rugby team and the Canadian national U20 team. Ihensekhien is a dynamic forward with speed akin to that of a back. Furthermore, Ihensekhien is instrumental to Dartmouth Women’s Rugby success and is a fierce competitor on the national stage. She has received numerous awards throughout her career, such as MVP titles and is a three time All-American and national champion. Ihensekhien has also been selected to tour with Canada three times.
Moving forward she aims to compete for a spot on the Canadian National Senior team and play in a World Cup.
In 2019, she was named to the All-NIRA Team. Ihensekhien had her best season to date in 2019, ending her junior year third on the team in points (45) and second in tries (9). She scored a career-high three tries in the Ivy Rugby Championship win over Harvard and had two tries in three other games.
This is an episode to learn a little about the global sport of Rugby from the perspective of an interesting young student athlete.
Rugby, football game played with an oval ball by two teams of 15 players (in rugby union play) or 13 players (in rugby league play). Both rugby union and rugby league have their origins in the style of football played at Rugby School in England. According to the sport’s lore, in 1823 William Webb Ellis, a pupil at Rugby School, defied the conventions of the day (that the ball may only be kicked forward) to pick up the ball and run with it in a game, thus creating the distinct handling game of rugby football. This “historical” basis of the game was well established by the early 1900s, about the same time that foundation myths were invented for baseball and Australian rules football.
There are so many questions to be answered about the world of sports right now. So Rick talks with Gil Fried, this week. He chairs the Sport Management Department in the College of Business at the University of New Haven and is a Sports Management Professor.
Professor Fried is a specialist in sport law, finance, and facility management. He received his masters in sport management and his law degree from The Ohio State University. He has written over 12 books on sport risk management, sport facility management, esports, and sport finance. One of the books he wrote is the Academy for Venue Safety and Security (AVSS) textbook used by the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM). His other textbooks are used in over 140 universities in the United States and have been translated into Chinese, Russian, and Korean.
Rick and Professor Fried talk about the sports landscape, what sports venues are doing and how long this may go on.
Professor Fried has published over 300 articles focused on facility and law related concerns. Besides writing for others, he is also the Editor of Sports Facilities & the Law newsletter. He is regularly quoted in industry publications and periodicals. In 2011 he was awarded the prestigious Betty van der Smissen Leadership Award from the Sport Recreation and Law Association (SRLA) for outstanding contribution to the field of sport law education. In 2012 he was awarded the Sport Management Outstanding Achievement Award by the National Association of Sports and Physical Education (NASPE). This award recognizes professionals who have made outstanding contributions and provided leadership in the field of sport management.
Professor Fried coordinates the Patron Management Institute (http://www.patronmanagement.org/) and developed their Certificate in Patron Management Program (CPM). The CPM program is the only multi-disciplinary training program developed through and with industry leaders and designed to ensure participants learn and internalize risk management best practices. He has handled a large number of sport/music industry liability cases and has worked as an expert witness in various cases from stadium stampedes to foul ball cases. Some of his cases have involved significant national attention such as the Camp Randall stampede (University of Wisconsin), the Aramark Meadowland drunk driving case, the Wal-Mart Black Friday crowd case, Stow assault case, and the basketball crowd rush case (Kaye) in Phoenix. He also serves on several board of directors of sport related businesses and organizations. He has an active consulting practice called Gil Fried & Associates, LLC and has several major clients from corporations to insurance companies. Lastly, He serves as an Advisory Board member for Incord Inc., the nation’s largest specialty safety netting company.
