Articles tagged with: Brock

  • May Member Showcase: Dr. Pat Reid

    Monday, May 31, 2021 | By

    Our May Member Showcase is…Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Pat Reid!

    We learned more about Dr. Reid’s areas of academic interest, Sport Management courses that he has taught, a research project on the 1972 summer Olympic Games in Munich, and some of his personal interests/hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work? Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you’ve gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    Over 40 years of management positions in various sport industry capacities. This included 17 years as a sport consultant with Sport Canada; vice-president of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association before it morphed into Hockey Canada; director general of the Sport Medicine & Science Council of Canada; director of marketing with Natation Swimming Canada; director of sponsorship for Corel Corporation; director general of back-to-back Ontario Summer Games (Ottawa); executive director of the combative sports commission in Edmonton, during which time I picked up a Ph.D. in sport management at the University of Alberta. I then applied for, and was hired, by Brock University to teach sport management courses.

    Can you speak about a class (or classes) that you are teaching this semester/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon? What about this class/these classes excites you? Is this a new class that you are/will be teaching? Or a class that you’ve taught in the past?

    One of the strengths I bring to the department and the CSC is about 40-years of “hands on” management experience in sport. It makes for richer dialogue and student understanding. Industry experience provides you with applied knowledge such that you can successfully teach a myriad of subjects. Teaching out of a textbook without industry experience limits the value of the information, in part because the available texts are grossly slanted toward the USA market. Lecturing from the perspective of lived experience allows students to better appreciate what management in sport in Canada is really all about – both the good and the bad. With the electronic world we live in today, students already have access to written material about theory while actual industry experience is a sought after added value. I have taught courses in organizational behavior, sport policy, critical issues in managing sports events, ethics in sport, the business of hockey, the internship program, etc. It is not the course material I enjoy, it is communicating with the curious student, the high work ethic student that is really attractive for me.

    The Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) is an interesting initiative by Dr. Julie Stevens (also a U. of Alberta grad). I like the concept and was asked by Julie (and Cole McLean) to join the CSC. The CSC is a work in progress with some blue-chip members willing to work in cooperation and collaboration with each other. I hope I can make a contribution as well.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you’re excited about? What inspired you to want to get involved in your topic of research? Was this research work partnered with a community partner in the sports industry or any other industry?

    I have always had an interest in research stemming from curiosity at a young age. I have published more than 25 articles in sport technical journals before writing 6 academic articles and was involved with two book chapters. I am pleased to be the first SPMA professor to

    present papers at the Academy of Management (AOM) and the European Group of Organizational Studies (EGOS). Currently, my latest research is a historical piece on the 1972 summer Olympic Games in Munich where the PLO killed the 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. It was my first attended Olympic Games and I collected the available German newspapers each day and kept them in a scrapbook. It sat on a shelf for years. Just recently I had the articles translated into English. These newspaper articles are no longer available at source, so my collection is a rich secondary data set. I am in the process of interviewing a number of Canadian athletes, media, and officials who were in Munich, to obtain primary data. I want to publish a paper next year, the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, from a Canadian participatory perspective.

    I have a number of other research initiatives that bode well for collaboration with other CSC members. It just takes time to prioritize and follow through.

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    As a senior age wise, I now value my time more than ever, so I am only volunteering to CSC because I fully endorse and support what Julie Stevens is attempting to do with CSC.

    What’s your favourite TV show right now?

    The Good Doctor & Blue Bloods.

    Best Netflix series?

    The Queen’s Gambit; Jack Ryan; Longmire; Shetland, Ozark, Justified.

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    (maybe something you picked up since we’ve all been staying home!) Learning to play guitar, studying Aboriginal sport history.

    What’s your favourite book?

    I have a home library of over 75 sports books that expands regularly! Every book read or re-read can spark your curiosity and new ideas.

    What’s your favourite sport or sports team?

    From my coaching background and time spent with marketing guru Mark McCormack, I developed a preference to focus my time observing “individual talent” even in team sports like hockey: Connor McDavid, Marc-Andre Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Connor Hellebuyck, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, etc., rather than rallying behind one specific team. It allows for a wider appreciation of every game, of every sport.

    Now’s your time to talk yourself up! You can talk about awards you’ve won, certifications you have, professional affiliations, personal achievements…anything your heart desires!

    Achievements/Awards/Rewards

    I’ve received numerous “awards and accolades”. To date the two most significant would be receiving the University of Waterloo Alumni Achievement Award, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and being inducted into the Ottawa Sports Hall of Fame. In terms of “rewards”, I love and cherish my daughter Taylar and son Brett, and I am blessed with my life with Joanne, my wife. At a distant second (and materialistic) level, I am happy to have my three rings representing three IIHF world hockey championships, and my Olympic ring for being a head coach.

    Future Desires

    I’ve been involved with the SPMA 4F01/4F02 internship course each year and I have read the students self-reflection papers at the end of each term. Fourth-year students dislike working 450 hours for free. It is time for the program to take the next step and require employers to pay “something”, even $500/month, for students placed with their organization. I wish I had the time to contribute to taking this program to the next level.

    In addition, I would like to write a non-fiction book or two. Academically, we need more Canadian focused and Canadian relevant texts in sport marketing, sponsorship, management, etc. This brings me back to the necessity of the added value of professors having industry experience and imparting realistic knowledge of the management of sport in Canada to students preparing to work and succeed in the industry. It would be nice to partner with a few key colleagues and industry partners to create such texts. That is a significant benefit of the Centre of Sport Capacity.

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    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • Emma Fedorchuk: Starting a Role With the CSC

    Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | By

    Emma Fedorchuk is a fourth-year Media and Communication Studies student at Brock University. She is interning with the Centre for Sport Capacity this Fall and Winter as our Marketing and Communications Assistant.

    Hello, my name is Emma Fedorchuk! I was recently brought on board with the Centre for Sport Capacity as a Marketing and Communications Intern and will be working with the Centre until April. I am currently in my last year at Brock as I work to complete my degree in Media and Communication Studies and am really trying to get the most I possibly can out of my final year. I am currently enrolled in a course titled “Internship in Communication, Popular Culture, or Film” (COMM 4F00), which allowed me to get involved in a part-time placement related to my field of study. The class gave us a list of placement opportunities and the CSC as well as the Brock-Canada Games positions immediately caught my eye. My interest and love for sport, paired with the tasks that both placements planned to assign to interns (social media upkeep, website management, marketing, event support, etc.) made me extremely excited for both roles. I worked on my resume and cover letters with Anneka Bosse, the coordinator for the course, and after multiple weeks of implementing various changes, I finally sent them off. After conducting the interviews, I realized that the Centre for Sport Capacity internship would probably be a better fit for my skill set, and happily, I was offered the position and eagerly accepted.

    Although I am now a retired athlete, sport still holds an irreplaceable space in my heart and I am forever indebted to the lessons that these games have taught me. Whether it was hockey, soccer, rowing, or badminton, I was always excited to pack up my bags and head off to a practice, a game, a race, or a match, not only because that meant I got to play the sport I loved, but because I got to be a part of the various communities that surround these games. In the past, I have worked and volunteered in various sport-related positions, whether that be reffing 5-year-olds on the soccer field or coaching young girls in development hockey camps, so I was very excited to get involved with the CSC to further my sports involvement, and to put the skills that I have accumulated through my schooling to the test in a workplace setting.

    I am lucky enough to have also secured a position with the Niagara River Lions as a Journalism Intern, which will provide me with even more insight about working in the world of sport. In this position, I am responsible for interviewing coaches, players, partners, etc., and developing, writing, and editing articles for the team website. Already this position has exposed me to the inner workings of a sport organization and continues to demonstrate how sport isn’t just about what happens out on the court/field/ice/water etc., rather, it is overwhelmingly about bringing communities together and giving them something to cheer about.

    There are many reasons why working with the CSC peaked my interest: their impressive list of research projects, the fantastic forums and webinars that they host, and their focus on knowledge mobilization, just to name a few. But I was especially excited about the fact that the CSC is still a relatively new organization who have only just begun to establish their brand. Joining the team at such an early stage, and being able to bring the ideas I have to the open ears and minds of the CSC team, has already energized me and motivated me to want to work diligently within the organization. In turn, I am very eager to help come up with new ideas that will showcase all of the amazing things that the Centre has to offer.

    I believe that the contemporary perspective I have surrounding social media and marketing will be helpful to the Centre, and will aid in making the content that the CSC produces more accessible for a larger audience to consume, participate in, and enjoy. As a member of Generation Z, it is no surprise that social media is a part of my day-to-day life, as my daily usage report on my phone will attest to. In my days of scrolling through the multitude of platforms that the individuals in Silicon Valley have so carefully crafted to keep my attention, I have been exposed to not only the various emerging trends that seem to pop up on a daily basis, but also to the dos and don’ts of implementing and maintaining a brand image that will be effective in engaging a specific audience. I think that I’ll be able to provide the CSC with a fresh set of eyes when it comes to getting our message out to our community.

    During my time with the Centre, I hope to learn more about the inner workings of the CSC organizational culture and build professional relationships with various members of the Centre. I am excited to marry the theoretical that I have learned in an educational setting, to the practical that is hands-on work experience itself. I am confident that this work experience will be extremely helpful to the improvement of my hard and soft skills, and will help me expand my knowledge of the unlimited potential that working in sport has to offer. I am extremely excited to have been brought on board and can’t wait to get the ball rolling with some fantastic content!

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    Categories: Blog, Students

  • Matthew Kapogines: Starting a New Role With the CSC

    Monday, August 31, 2020 | By

     

    Matthew Kapogines is a fourth year Sport Management student at Brock University. He previously worked with the Centre last Fall as Assistant Coordinator. He has returned this year to be our Webinar Coordinator.

    I initially learned about the Centre through SPMA 3P02, an experiential learning Sport Management course that provides students with practical work experience via placements in the Sport sector. I was given a list of available placement opportunities and the position of Assistant Coordinator with the CSC immediately caught my attention. 

     

    As a direct result of this placement, I built up the confidence this summer to reach out to Centre Director Dr. Julie Stevens and inquire about any experiential positions that might be available this fall with the CSC. After several conversations, Dr. Stevens found she needed a Webinar Coordinator to assist with the Centre’s marketing and communication initiatives and agreed to supervise me in this placement.   

    As Webinar Coordinator, I will be responsible for developing and launching the CSC’s new webinar series by organizing multiple webinars this fall. This new series will support the Centre in achieving its mission of providing practical support to sport organizations in the Niagara Region, across Canada, and abroad.

    This opportunity with the CSC will be incredibly helpful as I hope to pursue a career in event planning and management after I graduate, so the chance to help organize some professional webinars for the first time is invaluable to me. I am also looking forward to building and strengthening my professional relationships with the members of the CSC through the webinars, as members will be able to use the webinars as a time to showcase some of their research and share their knowledge with community members and sport organizations.

    I hope to put my organizational, research and communication skills that I gained in my previous work placement to good use in this position with the CSC. I also plan to use my past experiences and unique perspective to generate new and original ideas that could make the Centre’s webinars more interactive, enticing and engaging. I hope to support our members in crafting webinars in a way that will allow participants to more easily acquire new knowledge by making them more interactive and inclusive.

    All in all, I am incredibly excited to start working with the CSC and to expand my event planning skills, and my knowledge of the Sport sector.

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    Categories: Blog, Students

  • Catherine Beech: My CSC Summer Experience

    Monday, August 31, 2020 | By

    Catherine Beech is a fourth year Sport Management student at Brock University with a Minor in Tourism. Having worked with the Centre previously, this summer, she worked with us as a Research Assistant – Data Analyst. Funding support for her position was provided by the Match of Minds Program.

    This summer I had the opportunity to work with the Centre for Sport Capacity (CSC) here at Brock University. Having the chance to work within my industry, expanding my knowledge on pertinent topics within sport was unlike anything I could have imagined. 

    Through my work with the CSC I was able to work with local industry partners on projects that simultaneously allowed me to learn new skills and network with industry professionals in event, research, and sponsorship fields. 

    In my role as a Research Assistant I worked on event impact research to address what types of impact from sport events are of the highest importance to industry stakeholders and what metrics stakeholders currently use to track event impact. 

    This opportunity allowed me to see everything that goes into conducting research and experience the process first-hand. I am happy to report that my contribution to this project will help Sport Travel enhance their client experience and exist as a credible resource for their company’s use.

    While working I was introduced to Brent Barootes, the CEO and founder of Partnership Group. Working with Partnership Group, I was able to gain valuable experience in the sponsorship sector – you never know where saying “yes” can take you! 

    My projects with Partnership Group included a competitive analysis scan and an inventory asset valuation for the company. This project challenged me to conduct a lot of self-directed research in an area that I was not familiar with. Although the task appeared intimidating in the beginning, I am happy to have completed the project and learned a lot along the way.

    I also worked as a data analyst for the Niagara Sport Database alongside an amazing group of co-workers during the initial phases of the company’s launch. My role was primarily to communicate with club volunteers to acquire data and then input it correctly before analyzing the results and sending it off to my co-worker for the development of a report. This experience was educating/insightful from beginning to end as I was able to connect with co-workers from all different areas of expertise and learn from them every day. I am proud to say that the process of transforming raw data into meaningful visualizations required the knowledge of programs including: PowerBi, ArcGIS, Python, and Excel which I self-learned with the help of my co-workers. Not only was I able to build on my existing quantitative analysis skills, but I also developed a basic understanding of these programs as a new skill which I can add to my resume and transfer to any job opportunity that I have in the future.

    Above any individual project that I worked on this summer, the biggest takeaway for myself was having self-directed work. Working with the CSC this summer I intended to be in office however, due to unprecedented times I worked from home making communication more challenging than normal. I had to balance many projects at the same time and although I had project check-ins with my supervisor Cole McClean, day-to-day work was completely under my own discretion and what I felt I needed to do. Being in charge of my own work required the ability to assess project timelines and shuffle projects around as necessary. In addition, it forced me to be self-reliant as much as possible and problem solve when issues came my way.

    I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity to work with the CSC this summer and proud of all of the work I contributed to during my time. The insight that I gained through my work with Sport Travel, The Niagara Sport Database, and Partnership Group was a great stepping-stone to bigger things for my future. The connections that I made with professionals in the industry would not have happened without the CSC and I am humbled to have worked alongside them for even a short time. I encourage everyone to look into the CSC at Brock University and explore what opportunities they may have for you. As for myself, I plan to continue my work with NSD this fall, building on the great progress that we have made this summer!

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    Categories: Blog, Students

  • Noah Nickel: My Time with the CSC

    Wednesday, August 26, 2020 | By

    Noah Nickel is a fourth year Political Science student at Brock University with a Minor in Canadian Studies. He worked with the Centre for Sport Capacity this summer as our Communications and Marketing Assistant for his co-op work term.

    What an…interesting summer this has been (to say the least).

    As a full time student during the fall and winter, I’ve grown accustomed to seasonal full time employment in the spring and summer. But nothing could have prepared me for what this year had in store. However, despite the fact that the pandemic made the job search this summer so much harder for all of us students, to have been able to find an opportunity as personally fulfilling and enriching as I did is truly a blessing.

    Working as the Communications and Marketing Assistant for the Centre for Sport Capacity this summer was a unique experience for me in a variety of ways. For starters, anyone that knows me knows that sports aren’t my forte. Additionally, as a Political Science major, working for a Sport Management research centre wasn’t something I ever expected I would do. But in the end, it turned out to be a better fit than I could have imagined.

    The work that I was able to do with the CSC this summer was all work I have had previous experience in, albeit in a slightly different form. 

    Having worked for some larger research centres and other organizations in the past, the work I did was more laid out for me and procedural; Based on best practices that they had established over several years. Given that the CSC is a newer research centre, I was tasked in part with developing some of these practices and doing some of this foundational work for the first time alongside my bosses, Centre Director Dr. Julie Stevens and Centre Coordinator Cole McClean. 

    This degree of freedom and responsibility entrusted in me has been really empowering, as I feel that the work that I did will have an impact on the course and direction of the CSC going into the future, well beyond the length of my four month contract. 

    One such project was the creation of the Centre’s website. Having been a page on the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences website since their launch, things had been in motion by the time I started with the CSC to create their own fully fledged website with the help of Marketing and Communications. 

    My job was to compile all of the content that was to be included on the website and lay out how we would want it to be displayed on the site. I then sent it to Marketing and Communications to build it out in WordPress. Following a series of revisions with Marketing and Communications, as well as taking on some of that work in WordPress myself, we officially launched the website on August 6th. 

    I am incredibly proud of the work I did to create this website. I’m also impressed by the large-scale collaboration that took place between myself, Dr. Stevens, McClean, and the Marketing and Communications team. We were able to work so effectively together that we saw this project virtually from start to finish over the course of just two months.

    I also did some work more closely involved with Dr. Stevens’ research project, the Niagara Sport Database (NSD). I was able to design for her a logo for the project, as well as a variety of other assets to use on projects, reports, letterheads, and elsewhere. 

    I also designed the NSD project template that will be used on an ongoing basis for their economic impact reports that Dr. Stevens will be creating for sport organizations and clubs. These projects demonstrate the positive economic impact that sport clubs have on the regional economy here in Niagara. Having played a role in supporting that endeavour is something I am quite proud of.

    Lastly, I was also put in charge of developing the CSC’s social media presence. During my time with the CSC, we have created a Twitter account, developed a social media strategy to be used for the next 12 months, and began using social media management website HootSuite to effectively schedule posts across their social media platforms and to track analytics to improve their posting and content development strategy on an ongoing basis. While this work is truly in its infancy in terms of its implementation, I do believe that I have laid out an effective roadmap for the future success of the CSC on social media.

    While this only scratches the surface of the work that we did this summer, I think it illustrates perfectly just how valuable and unique this experience was for my personal and professional development. For that, I want to wish Dr. Stevens, McClean, and the entire CSC team well as they continue to grow and begin to take on more exciting projects in the future.

    I would also like to encourage everyone to consider going out of your comfort zone the next time you  find yourself looking for work. Having put myself out there and taken on this opportunity that I originally thought was completely outside of my wheelhouse, I was able to personally and professionally grow in a way that I didn’t expect going into this “interesting” summer, and for that I’m incredibly grateful.

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    Categories: Blog, Students