Rosa Santos, Tropical Wave and FedEx Junior Business Challenge Finalist



Junior Achievement students from across North America pitched original business concepts for the chance to generate a $75,000 donation from FedEx at the 2018 TOUR Championship.

One of the competitors, from Jacksonville, FL, was high school student, Rosa Santos. Santos and her team’s goal is to provide fresh fruit cups to the students at her high school as a replacement for unhealthy snacks. Santos and her Tropical Wave team won her regional and presented in Atlanta.

Tropical Wave provides an affordable healthier snack alternative during and after school. Wolfpack’s Tropical Wave’s goal is to encourage students to choose a better snack to nourish a healthy mind and body. 

Although they didn’t win first prize, their presentation was impressive and it was good to hear that athletes at her school are some of their best customers.

On Wednesday, September 19, the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club hosted the second-annual FedEx Junior Business Challenge finals.

At the event, Junior Achievement (JA) students from across North America presented original business ideas to a panel of judges for the chance to generate a $75,000 donation from FedEx to their local JA chapter. The panel judge will be headlined by 3x Pro Bowler and Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor member Warrick Dunn and 3x PGA TOUR tournament winner Marc Leishman.

In conjunction with the PGA TOUR, the FedEx Junior Business Challenge is a collaboration between FedEx and JA Worldwide to help empower the next generation of entrepreneurs. This season, qualifying events have been hosted at: the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, THE PLAYERS Championship, the RBC Canadian Open and the Dell Technologies Championship. One student group from each of the four qualifying events have advanced to present at the finals.Judging Panel:
⦁ Warrick Dunn – 3x Pro Bowler and Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor member
⦁ Marc Leishman – 3x PGA TOUR tournament winner
⦁ David Cunningham – President and chief executive officer of FedEx Express
⦁ Ryan Lane – Owner of Dream Beard and FedEx Small Business Grant Recipient
Participating JA Chapters:
⦁ JA of Central Texas (WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play winner)
⦁ JA of North Florida (THE PLAYERS Championship winner)
⦁ JA of Central Ontario (RBC Canadian Open winner)
⦁ JA of Northern New England (Dell Technologies Championship winner)

Since 1996, FedEx has donated more than $14 million to JA Worldwide in support of the small businesses and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.
Launched in 2017, the FedEx Junior Business Challenge is currently in its second season. It is part of the FedEx Cares global giving initiative, in which FedEx is investing $200 million in over 200 global communities around the world by 2020.

FedEx
Rosa Santos and her booth


Don Rosenfeld, Executive Producer, Cradle of Champions



Great to speak with Don Rosenfeld this week on ‘Tech of Sports.’

Don is the Executive Producer of this amazing documentary about Golden Gloves Boxing in New York City, CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS.

CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS follows three extraordinary, inspiring individuals—James Wilkins, Nisa Rodriguez, and Titus Williams—on an urban odyssey through a ten-week tournament, founded in 1927, that has produced more professional world champions than the Olympic Games.

Telling a compelling story of dreams, heartbreak, and redemption, the result is a unique work of art. CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS is edge-of-the-seat drama with the polish of a Hollywood feature film and the intimacy of a gritty cinéma vérité classic.

New York City’s Golden Gloves is the largest amateur boxing tournament on the planet, and the launching pad for some of the sport’s biggest names, from Muhammad Ali to Sugar Ray Robinson. This documentary takes a raw and intimate look at four participants, thereby showing New York’s many faces while relaying unique yet universal personal struggles on the path toward the championship.

Don is the perfect guest and the person that can take us behind the scenes of this documentary that boxing fans and the general public will find intriguing.

Boxing is not what most people associate with Rosenfeld, who’s best known for his lyrical, literary dramas; between 1987 and 1998, as president of Merchant Ivory Productions, he brought films like Howards End and Remains of the Day to the screen. (Though as he notes, he’s been making docs that are “far afield,” for years, including Jodorowsky’s Dune and the four-hour Andy Warhol). It was during his time at Merchant Ivory that he befriended Emma Thompson, who promised she would write him a screenplay one day. That was the exquisite Effie Gray, a biopic of Victorian proto-feminist Euphemia Gray, who wed the painter John Ruskin as a teen, then escaped what turned out to be a horrible, stultifying union. When Effie Gray premiered in 2015 (it showed at SLIFF that year) it was 10 steps ahead of the collective; in 2017, in the wake of Wonder Woman and #metoo, it’s easy to forget how historically tough it is to make movies with strong female protagonists.

“No one wanted to make it,” Rosenfeld says. Despite the challenge of movie-industry sexism—and the multiple frivolous lawsuits the production weathered—the film was released to critical acclaim.”

CRADLE OF CHAMPIONS has aired on Showtime, and now id available on Showtime “On Demand.


Josh Ziering, Founder of Kittyhawk.io



Let’s talk drones this week as Rick caught up with Josh Ziering, of Kittyhawk.io at the 2018 InterDrone show in Las Vegas.

Drones in the world of sports is just one of the topics they cover.

Josh is the Founder of Kittyhawk, a drone operations and management solution backed by Boeing. He is also a founding member of the FAA Unmanned Aviation Safety Team and an FAA Part 107 certificate holder.

As an accomplished UAV pilot, Josh has flown all manner of uncrewed aircraft for over 15 years and flown professionally for the NHL, ABC Television, and various manned-aviation airshows.

A recognized visionary leader, he regularly writes about drone-related topics where he eagerly shares his love of aviation and (often-polarizing) opinions on the future of the industry. Josh is oft quoted in news publications and frequently presents at conferences and participates in panel discussions. A self-taught software programmer and serial entrepreneur, Joshua holds a bachelor’s degree in poetry from Arizona State University.

Drones in sports:

The Steelers just erected a Tarp to prevent people from flying drones and seeing their plays. This is the same football team that sells a branded drone.

Stadium and team owners have seen drones as a looming threat for a long time now.

Temporary Flight Restrictions only apply to stadiums when there are games scheduled. So, technically, its not out of the question to film some other teams practices by drones. 4K Video of every play they’re running wouldn’t be a trivial advantage.

-Drone incidents at stadiums.

From drone fleet asset management to realtime secure video streaming, Kittyhawk has all the functionality and integrations needed to tame the chaos of managing your drone fleet. It was great to talk with Josh about drones and at the end about a famous relative of his.

Josh Ziering


Julie Wu, RadRoller.com



Rick gets and education this week from Julie Wu, from RadRoller.com.

RAD mobility and massage tools are designed by experts and for everyone, so we’ve made it our business to make our products high quality, affordable and above all, awesomely effective.

You can even bundle the products and purchase in RAD Kits.

Julie is an instructor with RAD and an expert on each and every product. She explains and can demonstrate how it will help every inch of your body. She is also  a fountain of knowledge as she started her career in the health and sciences field, studying the molecular nature of diabetes in various labs across the US. Finding she wanted to work one-on-one with people (cells in cultures don’t communicate much!), she decided to pursue a 4 year masters degree in Five Element Acupuncture. She now resides in Denver, CO while traveling the world teaching RAD Education.

RAD mobility and massage tools are designed by experts and for everyone, so we’ve made it our business to make our products high quality, affordable and above all, awesomely effective.

So…

Welcome to RadRoller.com
HOME OF THE WORLD’S MOST advanced massage and release tools

Relief in motion is what we’re all about, which means tightness, tension and reduced movement don’t stand a chance against what we bring to the party. There really is something for everyone, so come and get it.

So from the RAD Point Release Kit to the RAD Helix and RAD Rod and more… there is a RAD product that will help you immediately.

RAD products start at just $16. Julie says that whatever RAD product you use, there will be a benefit.

See more at www.radroller.com and thanks to Julie for coming on “Tech of Sports.”

RAD Products

Julie Wu

Paul Albanese, Architect of Sage Run Golf Club



Had the fantastic opportunity to play the new Sage Run Golf Club in Harris, Mich. and hear from the architect of the course himself.

Golfers in the northwest corner of Michigan have a new course to play as Sage Run opened in the town of Harris. The course is designed by Paul Albanese, ASGCA (Albanese and Lutzke Golf Course Design).

The course compliments the existing Sweetgrass Golf Club course at the Island Resort and Casino – another Albanese & Lutzke design.
One interesting feature of the Sage Run site is a large drumlin – a long, sloping ridge. Albanese said that this was used within the design to allow golfers to experience the landform throughout the round.

“We wanted golfers to be able to interact with the drumlin in different directions, North, South, East and West; climbing up, cascading down, diagonally, across the top, and along the bottom,” he said. “At the end of the round, golfers should really feel they got the flavor of this drumlin.”

With preparations now being made ahead of the course’s opening in late summer, Albanese says that golfers can expect Sage Run to deliver a “diversity of experience”.

“Every hole has its own unique flavor and character,” he adds. “In addition to the drumlin, the holes route though a pine scrub area, an open area, and a wooded part too. And, as an experience overall, this course will feel and play much differently to Sweetgrass. Golfers should expect to want to stay for a long weekend of golfing fun with all the golf there now.”

Picking up the game of golf at age 5, Paul Albanese was a single digit handicapper by the time he was 13 and was fascinated by the great courses he was exposed to in Northern New Jersey, such as Somerset Hills, Baltusrol and Plainfield CC. Paul was recruited by Cornell University to play on the golf team, and he was captain of the team his senior year. Paul received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s engineering college, where he specified his studies in environmental and agricultural engineering. His golf team experience at Cornell allowed him to see many classic courses on the East Coast, including the famed Bethpage Black course, where the Ivy Leagues Championships are played every year. After Cornell, Paul went on to Harvard University where he received a Masters in Landscape Architecture.

Here’s a little overview from Albanese.

Sage Run Golf Club


Sharkie Zartman, Author and Certified Health Coach



Great to be joined by Sharkie Zartman this week to talk about her new book.

The book is #HeySportsParents: An Essential Guide for any Parent with a Child in Sports.

Sharkie Zartman is a USVBA five-time All-American volleyball athlete and champion competitor at UCLA where her jersey was retired. She was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team and also competed in the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association for five years and is a member of the California Beach Volleyball Hall of Fame. As a coach, Sharkie led El Camino College to nine league and two state titles, and with her husband, Pat, she helped the South Bay Spoilers junior club team win multiple national titles.

Sharkie holds degrees in kinesiology and instructional technology. She teaches health and fitness at the community college and hosts “Sharkie’s Pep Talk” on Healthy Life Radio. Sharkie is a certified health coach with the official sanction of the New York State Education Department and the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She is also a dynamic speaker and is passionate about inspiring people to live their best lives at any age.

She is the author of ten books, including:
#HeySportsParents (co-author)
Have Fun Getting Fit; Simple Ways to Rejuvenate Your Mind and Body
Take on Aging as a Sport; The Athletic Approach to Aging
Shark Sense; Getting in Touch with Your Inner Shark
So You Think You Can Coach Kids?
Youth Volleyball; The Guide for Coaches and Parents
Empowered Aging; Expert Advice on Staying Healthy, Vital, and Active

If you have a child playing sports, this book is written for YOU! Sports parenting is easier said than done. It’s difficult to watch our kids play a sport and not have any control over the outcome. And it’s challenging to stay calm and supportive while helping our kids navigate the terrain of choices available to them.
However, if done properly, this experience can be very rewarding.

Website: www.sharkiezartman.com

Sharkie Zartman