#WomenInSports: Leveraging the Sideline
The pageantry of gameday is MAGICAL! From a young age, I was hooked. Growing up in a small town with only one Division 1 program to cheer for and no professional teams, it was a staple of our family outings. I was that girl on the staircase, pom poms in hand, joining in all fan engagement elements; especially those involving cheerleaders and dancers. To those that knew me then, it only made sense that 20 years later I was the individual responsible for directing the cheerleaders and dancers in those same arenas.
I fell in love with cheerleading in middle school, and although I tried to follow in my two older brothers’ footsteps by playing basketball and golf, I never found fulfillment in those sports as I did in cheerleading. I was definitely the girl doing backflips on the tee box and leading the pregame chants for my fellow basketball teammates. I was destined to be a cheerleader.
When I arrived on campus my freshman year at Oregon State University, I truly knew very little about campus life or the Corvallis community, let alone the opportunities the university could offer me while choosing a career path. What I did know … G A M E D A Y! There was no other place I wanted to be but the sideline! That passion fueled me, fulfilled me, and ultimately influenced me to pursue a career in education. Initially, a decision I made because I knew it was the only avenue to still have access to the sideline.
During my ten years as an educator, coach, and small business owner (a passion project in which I provided cheerleading consulting services to rural areas), I discovered what fueled me all these years as an athlete, and as a coach: 1. The power of the sideline. 2. The power of connection. Cheerleading allowed me access to the sideline! And, cheerleading provided me the opportunity to connect with my teammates, athletes, and community in a way I wouldn’t otherwise have had the opportunity.
Unfortunately, over the past year and half, that sideline and that connection looked very different. When you spend so much of your life prepping, planning, and preparing...a pandemic sure knows how to slap you right in the face. Our perspectives shifted, our priorities changed, and individuals world-wide faced the most challenging moments in their lives. For the young people I serve, that challenge was a loss - the loss of their sport! Everything they have ever known, the one constant in their life, and suddenly with no warning, no plan, no answers - WHAP! Gone! I found myself grieving the loss as well. What do you mean I can’t be on the sideline? I’ve been on the sideline for the last 30 years of my life! How is this possible? Are you serious? I have to do all my meetings virtually? How will I ever get my players to engage? That connection is only possible when it is face-to-face!
There was so much uncertainty!
So, I did what I do best - Create. Create ideas! Create plans! Create opportunities!
It really wasn’t until the pandemic that I recognized my super power - Creating. Whether it is taking something that has never been done before, or taking an existing program/concept and breathing new life into it...as long as I can remember I have been creating. I mean, I was a cheerleader who lost many nights of sleep doing routine choreography in my head, counting music, and creating innovative routine elements. To this day, when I hear, “Lets get it started” by the Black Eyed Peas or any equivalent gameday tune, my hands begin to clap to the beat, my energy shifts, and my mind goes straight to creating.
So, I set the mood - “Alexa, play “Thunderstruck” by ACDC!” And, I got to work!
I reflected back on those elements that have made my experience in sports exceptional -
The power of the SIDELINE and the power of CONNECTION.
Due to my intimate involvement in sports over the years, the sideline is so much more than a physical location, and the connection is well beyond the thrilling moments experienced when an athlete I work with scores the game winning point or a team raises a championship trophy. The pageantry of gameday goes so much further than those special hair-raising moments while watching the pre-game hype video!
Everyday I get the opportunity to empower my student-athletes to access the opportunities they have in front of them. Most of us know there is great power in being a collegiate student-athlete. The resources, the status, the platform; that equates to access. Pair that with where we live (cue recruiting pitch) - San Jose, CA … The capital of the Silicon Valley, where innovation is born and opportunities are endless!
I take no shame in publicly sharing that my many methods to empower include gumballs, food, swag, and a points system to entice the natural competitors who roam my office building. All the while leaning heavily on my cheerleading roots with a loud voice, passionate body language, ridiculous chants (“hot dogs, hamburgers, hustle your buns”), and borderline crazy energy to deliver my message which never fails to end with a “hashtag BUILD YOUR BRAND!!!”. I’m sure you can imagine why I panicked when 100% of my programming became virtual.
Those of us in this profession know that we can educate about resources available, assist with handwritten notes to build relationships, help connect athletes with a network of people... but in the end it is up to the athlete to buy-in and do the work. But, aren’t they already doing the work - EVERYDAY?! In the classroom, on the field, and personally … as young people beginning their journey into adulthood. Let’s not forget, these are 18-22 year old K I D S!!!
I was so focused on connecting the athlete with the opportunity. What I was missing was the reverse - connecting the opportunity to the athlete. I started to focus on the stories of our players. Who are they, where are they from, what was their journey like to get to this level? It is those stories that need to be told. Stories that are heartfelt yet tragic, inspiring yet disheartening, and no doubt exciting yet always filled with uncertainty. Our athletes have compelling stories, remarkable journeys, and a skill set that is rare to find. Those stories need to be heard.
It was time to leverage the sideline! To campus, to our community, to professional leaders … ultimately, to key decision-makers that will undoubtedly be the connectors because (cue recruiting pitch, part 2) “It’s not always about what you know, it’s who you know.”
It was time to engage those individuals in a more intimate manner, exposing them to my version of the sideline, and therefore building more meaningful and intentional relationships with our athletes and their stories. Developing that level of intimacy with individuals who don’t spend their days working with these athletes will amplify the connection and leave them desiring more. It is one thing to watch a player from the stands, cheer them on, and be amped when their performance on the field is elite - but it is a whole other thing when you have personally connected with that athlete in an off-the-field fashion, discovering they are so much more than an athlete.
The same movie line kept popping into my head - “If you build it they will come”. So, in this instance - “If you bring them they (the opportunities) will come.”
By putting key decision-makers into positions to access the inner workings of our program, and the dynamic personalities of our athletes, their emotional investment into engaging, supporting, and mentoring will be elevated. No matter what, the athlete will always have to “do the work” to fuel and maintain that meaningful relationship. I will continue to help athletes acknowledge their off-the-field skill set, encourage them to imagine a life that is equally as rewarding as their sport, to believe that they are capable of achieving that life, and show them that it is possible. Yet, in parallel, I will CREATE memorable moments to leave a lasting impression on those individuals who may ultimately hold the key to the athletes’ future.
The pageantry of gameday is MAGICAL. It’s why fans sit in the stands. It is what gives them chills. But those of us in this profession know that the real power of the sideline is when you have access to the athlete, and from there ... the power of connection ... by “Leveraging the Sideline”.
Asst AD Student Athlete Development
Beyond Sparta // Beyond Football
San Jose State University
Twitter - @TobrukBlaine_TB