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Through our Students' Eyes - VIIi

6/1/2019

Prospective sport management professionals from The University of Alabama had an opportunity to interact with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters. Thanks to these students – Aminda Jakob, Collett Cogliano and Valyncia Johnson — for documenting their learning adventures.

Learn from Valyncia Johnson about the faculty member behind this great experiential learning opportunity for CHES students.

Through our Students' Eyes - VI

5/29/2019

Prospective sport management professionals from The University of Alabama will have an opportunity to interact with the nation’s sport managers during a graduate-level, interim travel course at the United States Olympic Committee headquarters. Thanks to these students – Aminda Jakob and Valyncia Johnson -- for documenting their learning adventures.

Day Six - Aminda Jakob

This week is over--it feels like it flew by and like I've been here for a month, all at once. It certainly was one of the most incredible weeks I've had, and I can't wait to tell anyone who will listen about it. Like I said, it has been a lifelong dream to be a part of Team USA, and this week really solidified that. Hopefully I'll be back soon!

Through our Students' Eyes - V

5/28/2019

Blog Post Picture of Entrance to Olympic Training Center

Day Five - Aminda Jakob

Thursday means we're in the home stretch! On one hand, I am exhausted. On the other hand, I never want to leave.

The morning began with our group presentations. They went very well! Both groups were well-prepared with great ideas, and handled questions like champs. I'm proud of all of us.

After our presentations, we heard from Sport Performance. Sport Performance is focused on how Team USA can get better--which, in this world, always means winning more medals. Julie Miller showed us a very specific example of changes they made to one sport's team, and how that impacted them in a big way (more medals). It was really cool to hear about how little changes made such big differences.

Following Sport Performance, we heard from Cindy Stinger, who runs the US Olympians and Paralympians Association ("Once an Olympian, always an Olympian; never former, never past"). This was everyone's favorite presentation, because she just told us really interesting stories about her time as an Olympian, and about her endeavors to keep Olympians involved in the Movement even after they're done with their sport.

We had our last sport experience--Judo. Two of the Team USA coaches showed us all kinds of Judo moves--they are all unbelievable! We then had the chance to try it out for ourselves. Everyone had so much fun! We got to throw the instructors, and we had them throw us--and we threw each other. I think we could have kept that up for hours.

Our last educational session was Athlete Safety. They discussed SafeSport and all of the things the USOC is doing to combat abuse in sport--topics that are incredibly important and incredibly timely. While it was daunting to hear the scope of the problem, it was encouraging to hear all that's being done to work on it.

We finished off our week with a trip to the Broadmoor, a very famous hotel, and then to the Golden Bee, a classic English pub and piano bar. It was wonderful to just get to hang out with everyone and celebrate an incredible week. We leave in the morning, as much as I don’t want to.

Through Our Students' Eyes - IV

5/27/2019

Day Four - Aminda Jakob

Day Four was absolutely the most incredible day.

We started off by heading to USOC headquarters--which, before this trip, I did not realize was different from the USOTC. We met with Sarah Daum, who runs the Team USA fund, and discussed our project (which I think is going well!). Then, we had four educational sessions in a row--but they were all really exciting.

First, we heard from Games Operations. I worked in operations with a hockey team for a few seasons, and that was a lot of work--I can't imagine being in charge of an entire Olympics! She went through the numbers for the upcoming Games (including the Pan American and Para Pan American Games), and there are so many sports and Olympians and staff members for each one. When you're watching the Olympics, you really don't think about the fact that someone had to figure out how to get several hundred US athletes living in a foreign country for two weeks.

Next, we heard from LA 2028. It's already exciting that the US gets to host a Games, but Rachel Isaacs went above and beyond in her presentation, showing us all of the details of the games, including all of the venues. The Games are nine years away, which in some ways is far and in some ways is very close. She had me very excited about the 2028 Games, and we haven't even made it to the 2020 Games yet!

We also heard from US Paralympics. I am admittedly not as well-informed about the Paralympics, so I learned so much about how they are structured and how the US Paralympic Committee (we are one of the few countries whose National Olympic Committee is also its National Paralympic Committee) governs it all.

Lastly, we heard from the Athlete Ombudsman, who are responsible for handling athlete issues and disputes and giving advice. I had no idea that such a program existed--and, apparently, a lot of athletes don't either.

After lunch, we returned to headquarters, and we were split into two groups. My group went to USA Basketball first. Their offices were new, and they were super cool. We heard about how they function, as one of the smaller but highest-profile NGBs, and had the opportunity to ask questions. Like with USA Triathlon, I liked having the chance to hear from a specific NGB--especially one that I already knew and loved well.

Following USA Basketball, we went up to the US Olympic Archives. As we walked through, we saw a lot of really great memorabilia, and heard about how it is collected (it is all donated, either from athletes or from private collectors). I thought that the stuff we were seeing was cool--shoes from track stars like Allyson Felix, a ticket to a 1980 hockey game, a signed Jennie Finch softball, photos from early Games--but then she took us to a room back in the corner, and I walked in and just breathed, "oh my god."

The walls were lined with Olympic torches, and the room was filled with drawers opened to reveal medals from every Games, from 1896 to 2018. I was in absolute awe. There are no words to describe the experience, other than to say that this is the coolest place I have ever been, full stop, no topping that ever.

Through our Students' Eyes - III

5/26/2019

Day Three - Aminda Jakob

On Tuesday, we started off the day with hearing from a new department, Collegiate Partnerships. They are working on ways for universities to promote their Olympians, as well as ways to promote Olympic sports at the collegiate level. Since I currently work in collegiate sports and deal primarily with supporting collegiate student-athletes, I was very into this presentation. It's such an important department, and they are starting to do some really awesome things!

Afterwards, we headed to the US Air Force Academy. I come from a Navy town, so I know quite a bit about the military, but it was interesting to hear how they combine the military and college and interscholastic sports. I also always love seeing athletic facilities at other universities.

The coolest part of USAFA is definitely the chapel. Built in the 1950s, it's an incredibly unique building. The stained glass inside is breathtaking. Also, down below the main chapel are Catholic, Buddhist, and Jewish chapels. They were all so different from each other and all beautiful.

When we returned to the USOTC, we heard from Athlete Career and Education. This presentation was also very interesting for me because the department that I work in at Alabama is extremely similar--both are focused on athletes outside of athletics and on the transition from athlete to working professional. I loved comparing what we do that's the same and what they do that's different.

Our last educational session of the day was with USA Triathlon. It was great to hear from one of the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) because we’ve heard so much about them – especially from one that is growing so rapidly. They really do handle every element of their sport, from starting a youth pipeline to taking a team to the Games.

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Through our Students' Eyes - VIIi

Through our Students' Eyes - VI

Through our Students' Eyes - V

Through Our Students' Eyes - IV

Through our Students' Eyes - III

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