Articles tagged with: CSC

  • 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.

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • Interview with Margot Page & Willy Manigat / Kascius Small-Martin & Daniel Caldwell – Planning and Building Through Challenging Circumstances

    Thursday, March 11, 2021 | By

    We sat down (virtually) with Margot Page, Head Coach of Brock Women’s Hockey, and Willy Manigat, Head Coach of Brock Men’s Basketball, to chat about their webinar, “Planning and Building Through Challenging Circumstances,” that will be held on March 23 at 7 PM (EST) on Lifesize.

    In our interview, we had a chance to speak with Page and Manigat about the challenges that coaches are facing during COVID-19 and what attendees will gain from attending their virtual event.

    We also had the pleasure of hearing from two members of Brock University Men’s Basketball team, Kascius Small-Martin and Daniel Caldwell, who spoke about their experiences being athletes throughout the pandemic.

    Margot Page and Willy Manigat

    For those unaware but interested in attending the webinar, could you provide a brief description of the challenges that coaches have faced as they coach through COVID-19?

    During the COVID-19 pandemic coaches have been faced with many challenges. Some examples include inability to access gyms and fields to conduct in person training, the number cap creating separation within the team and continuity, less contact points with the athletes, less contact point for the athletes with their teammates, and difficulty holding team members accountable to the team’s usual norms and expectations.

    Why should people attend this webinar?

    Coaches should attend this webinar in order to get a perspective of the difficulties other coaches share with them regardless of the level they are currently coaching. We hope to provide some of our solutions to some of the difficulties based on the age group or level they [attendees] are working with (i.e. club coaches, volunteer coaches, university coaches, etc.).

    We also hope to provide some insight on how coaches can move forward through this pandemic as we work closer towards normalcy and a return to competition in what we hope is the near future.

    What does coaching through these challenging circumstances look like in practice?

    Due to health and safety protocols, during the pandemic our teams and programs have had to train while keeping social distancing rules. Our practices and training sessions consist mostly on the game fundamentals, our spacing concepts and a lot of skill development.

    What is the webinar going to look like for the average participant?

    The webinar will be laid out as follows: We will begin with a discussion on Coaching Struggles, then move on to Commonalities, Solutions for Practice and Culture Building, and then end with testimonials from coaches and players.

    Can I contact the speakers after the event if time restrictions don’t allow all questions from participants to be answered?

    Willy Manigat will be available to answer questions via email after the webinar if time restraints do not allow all questions to be answered.

    Kascius Small-Martin and Daniel Caldwell

    What are the most valuable transferable skills that you have learned through COVID-19?

    Daniel Caldwell: Teamwork. 

    Kascius Small-Martin: Leadership, teamwork, communication, and discipline.

    Have you felt any changes in your team culture as you train/practice/play throughout COVID-19?

    Daniel Caldwell: The team is less of a unit as we would be in this time of year having an entire season behind us by now. Instead, the lockdowns have separated us and although we take opportunities to bond together individually through forms of virtual communication, it is not the same as spending every day for the last 8 months physically together in practices, games, travel, meetings, and workouts throughout the university. Being a team going through a culture change and trying to find its culture, it is difficult to build that [culture] during the lockdowns and separation. Although the culture has not been impacted negatively, it has not had the opportunity to grow as much as it would during a regular season.

    Kascius Small-Martin: Somewhat of a change due to distance and only being able to see each other online for the most part.

    Think about your training/practice style as it was before COVID-19, now think of what it’s like now. Do you miss any aspects of how things used to be? If so, can you explain?

    Daniel Caldwell: Currently our practices are individual skill-development based due to social distancing and restrictions. Given basketball is a team sport, the most missed aspects of the old practices is being able to play 5-on-5 in the half-court or run up and down 5-on-5 full-court, whether that is situations and running through plays or just playing to get cardio in, the inability to simulate games is the missing aspect.

    Kascius Small-Martin: I miss every aspect of the training and practice styles before COVID-19 because training and practice isn’t the same without being in the actual facilities (i.e. Bob Davis, BSPC, the zone) or being able to scrimmage and play contact.

    What do you think coaches have done well as they coach through COVID-19?

    Daniel Caldwell: I think our coaches have done extremely well given the circumstances. They know how difficult it is for the players and we know how badly they want us to get back to normal. But the focus is on individual development and a complete year off is the perfect time to focus on the individual needs of every player on their team. [Coaches have also been] ensuring their players that the issues going on in the world are bigger than the game of basketball as people are losing their lives and [have been] reminding us that the rules and restriction on practices are there for a reason. Our coaches have set an example by not bending the rules for us which leads for us not bending the rules outside of team/practice time and doing our part in preventing the spread of the virus.

    Kascius Small-Martin: They have kept the training programs going virtually from the very start of COVID-19 and have kept everyone optimistic that we’ll be getting back to it, [we] just have to be patient, stay safe, and do our part.

    What are some ways that coaches can improve their coaching style during COVID-19?

    Daniel Caldwell: I feel like a lot of coaches at high-level basketball do not care to get to know their players on a deeper personal level from what is going on in the gym. Most coaches just care about the type of basketball player a person is and have no interest in the type of person the player is, which could result in understanding that player more and being able to get the most out of each player on their team.

    Kascius Small-Martin: They can make the game enjoyable and fun again and let us play contact and compete.

    Tags: , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Webinars/Forums

  • March Member Showcase: Dr. Brad Millington

    Wednesday, March 03, 2021 | By

    Our March Member Showcase is…Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Brad Millington!

    We learned more about Dr. Millington’s areas of academic interest, a new class he is teaching called “Sport and the Environment,” a research project that he worked on about the use of bicycles in “development” initiatives, 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?

    My two areas of interest are sport media and technology, and sport and environmental sustainability. Ages ago I was at a video store (maybe Blockbuster … which I miss!) and a Nintendo Wii promotion caught my attention – I think the Wii was described as intuitive. I already had experience studying sport media. This seemed a new way of talking about technology that was worth thinking about in depth. It led to an interest in technologies like wearable tracking devices, exercise-themed video games, and fitness apps. My work on sport and the environment started from a project with my supervisor, Brian Wilson, when I was a grad student at UBC. We’ve worked together ever since. And, of course, it’s driven by the fact that the climate crisis presents enormous concerns.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching this semester/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    I’m excited that I’ll soon be teaching a new grad class called Sport and the Environment. You might have seen the alarming images of orange skies over San Francisco’s baseball stadium during the wildfires on the American west coast in the summer of 2020. It was another stark reminder of how sport is often at the whim of the environment – and will continue to be in the years ahead. So, it’s worth discussing how sport impacts and is impacted by the environment, and whether and how sport can contribute to better environmental futures.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you are excited about?

    I was fortunate to be part of a project with colleagues, led by Lyndsay Hayhurst from York University, on the use of bicycles in ‘development’ initiatives. The project was timely in that bicycles seem to have taken on heightened importance recently – for example, in the pursuit of sustainable transportation, in providing economic opportunities, and in promoting health and wellbeing. The pandemic has only propelled this thinking. Yet the project also identified lingering barriers for bicycle users (or would-be users), such as environmental conditions and infrastructure that isn’t conducive to cycling.

    speed round ice breakers

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    I’m a big fan of watching cooking shows like Top Chef and The Great British Bake Off and then making my own (very) mediocre versions.

    What is your favourite movie?

    Too hard to choose. Field of Dreams is the first movie I rented (Blockbuster!). Do the Right Thing made me realize how meaningful movies can be. And A Few Good Men is the movie I’ve seen countless times.

    WHat is your favourite book?

    Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death. The central idea – that the form of communication necessarily impacts the content – seems more relevant than ever in the time of social media.

    what are your current hobbies/interests?

    I’m quite enjoying tobogganing this winter, until we reach the inevitable point where I start carrying both my kids back up the hill.

    NOW IS THE TIME TO TALK YOURSELF UP! WHAT IS SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE PROUD OF (AWARDS, PERSONAL ACHIEVEMENTS, ETC.) THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?

    Most of all, I love the range of different tasks that comes with life at the University. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in exciting collaborative research projects, to teach excellent undergrad and grad students, and to work with great colleagues on important administrative initiatives.

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • February Member Showcase: Dr. Kyle Rich

    Friday, February 12, 2021 | By

    Our February Member Showcase is Assistant Professor with the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University, Dr. Kyle Rich!

    We sat down (virtually) with Dr. Rich and learned about his educational background, a new class that he is teaching, a series of research projects that he is wrapping up about rural events, and a few of his personal interests and hobbies.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work?

    My background is in kinesiology. I studied my master’s at the University of Ottawa and I did my Ph. D. at Western. My focus was on sport and recreation policy as it relates to diverse communities, specifically rural communities. I had really good critical mentors who kind of pushed me in that direction and I got really interested in sport development. I’m from a small town so I think I always considered what that looked like in the bigger picture. And then that led me to this intersection of sport policy and rural development.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    This term, I am teaching Foundations of Leisure Studies. It is the course that everyone in the master’s program studying Recreation and Leisure takes. It’s a new course for me but it’s exciting because it’s my first grad-level course. In the class we cover classic and contemporary approaches to looking at leisure. I’m excited because it’s a small course, we get to cover some real research-focused content, and it gets in-depth about theory and research paradigms and things like that, not to mention that half of the class are students that I am supervising. So we’re a pretty tight group and it’s definitely going to be fun to work through that course with them.

    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?

    I’m actually wrapping up a series of projects where I’m looking at rural sports events. One is called “The Battle of the Little Big Puck,” an event held in Maple Creek Saskatchewan. I just had a paper come out about it where we looked at settler-Indigenous relationships and how that is reflected in this event. It’s a super interesting event where The Ranchers play against the First Nations, so it embodies a contentious metaphor. In the last period the Ranchers wear chaps and hats and the First Nations come out in regalia and they engage in this really interesting performance of community.

    Another event is called the Heritage Cup that’s based in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. They have a really interesting settlement history along the Opeongo Colonization Road where different groups of settlers migrated. So they have different cultural groups in the area. In the tournament, the Irish, the Polish (Kashubian), the Algonquins, and the Germans make up the teams and they have a competition based on these ethnic groupings. The whole community comes out to the event dressed up and they have the four sections in the stands with all the colours from each team. It also embodies a lot of interesting symbolism and cultural practices that I don’t think people expect in small towns. So, there’s a lot of interesting elements of rural-ness and rural identity that are expressed. I’m just wrapping up those projects right now.

    Speed Round Ice Breakers:

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    I play beer league hockey with a group of friends and I try to run a race every six months or so. I’m a bit of a weekend warrior with races. I’m there to do the race and have a good time and meet people.

    On the more professional side, I’m on the board for the Rural Development and Knowledge Mobilization Organization called the Canadian Rural Revitalization Foundation where we do lots of work with researchers and community members to try to build relationships and facilitate evidence-based decision making, knowledge translation, and all of those kinds of things.

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    I don’t watch a ton of TV. I’m more of a binger where I’ll watch a show and then I won’t watch anything for a while. But if I were to pick my favourite show, I would have to say Vikings and a Spanish show called La casa de papel (Money Heist in English). It’s super interesting and I 100% recommend it!

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    I jumped on the sourdough bandwagon and got a sourdough starter. I had a few successful and a few failed attempts but that was a new skill that I picked up during the pandemic. I also jumped into audio books recently. I never really read for fun because I read so much for work, so I usually don’t have much of a desire to pick up a book for a leisure read, but having the audio book option has made me much more inclined to just chill out and listen and not have to think about reading.

    What is your favourite book?

    This year I read a book called Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It was written in 2014 but it was set in Toronto after there had been a global pandemic, which is super interesting and fitting to our current situation. It’s a completely fictitious story, it wasn’t meant to be a premonition, but it was a really interesting book.

    What is your favourite sport or sports team?

    My favourite sport is hockey but I’m not really one for pro sports. I don’t follow anyone too closely but I do indulge in the Olympics when they come around.

    Tags: , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • January Member Showcase: Dr. Shannon Kerwin

    Wednesday, January 27, 2021 | By

    We announce to you: Member Showcases!

    Every month we will showcase one of our amazing CSC members.

    You will have the opportunity to learn more about our members, and they will be able to showcase some of the interesting things that they are involved in that make the Centre for Sport Capacity such a unique place.

    Our January Member Showcase is Associate Professor with the Department of Sport Management at Brock University, Dr. Shannon Kerwin!

    We sat down (virtually) with Dr. Kerwin and learned a little more about her educational background, her passion for Human Resource Management, current research projects she is involved in, and some of her personal interests.

    Can you tell us a little bit about your background and what led you to specialize in your specific line of work?

    My passion for research started in my master’s program where I began to explore the dynamics that occur within volunteer boards of directors during decision making regarding sport programming. Over the years, I have come to realize the importance of understanding the people behind the governance of our sport system. This drive to uncover the mechanisms that foster productive, effective, and inclusive governance has continued to propel my research agenda moving forward.

    Can you tell us why you wanted to join the Centre for Sport Capacity and what you have gotten out of being part of the Centre so far?

    Membership with the CSC has provided me the opportunity to bridge my research with sport industry practice and enhance knowledge mobilization to the sport community.

    Can you speak about a class that you are teaching/a class you taught previously/one that you will be teaching soon?

    I teach Managing Human Resources in Sport Management. This is a third year class that introduces students to the broad array of HRM practices and policies they will encounter in the sport industry. The challenge of engaging students with the course content in this class really excites me. I understand the theory behind the work is not overly compelling, but I am also very passionate about the role that effective and compassionate HRM practices can have on the culture of a sport organization. I see the delivery of this content as my challenge to spark at least some thought in students to push them to be better. To push them to enter a sport organization and make their policies more inclusive; to challenge the status quo and increase internal communication to ensure more effective training and orientation; to understand the organizational-level benefits of creating thoughtful HRM strategies. If I can get at least 1-2 students to think differently about their role in sport because of the course, that “ignites my fire”.

    Can you speak about any recent, current, or future research projects that you are excited about?

    I am currently involved in two projects that are always a source of motivation for me. First, I am on a SSHRC grant with Dr. Dawn Trussell where we are embedded in sport Districts and learning about how each District governs their sport. We have a research team engaged in observations over a one year time period, which has allowed us to create invaluable connections with board members. The data, discussions, and connections we have collected and made are incredibly humbling. I am very privileged to work with this team and the participants.

    Second, my work with Canadian Women & Sport has opened my research to a formal connection as a Research Affiliate with e-Alliance: Gender Equity+ in Sport Research Hub. This work directly connects our academic research to movement towards enhancing gender equity in sport leadership and participation. This work is fulfilling for me personally and professionally.

    Speed-Round Ice Breakers:

    Are you involved in any clubs/associations?

    I coach both my children with Niagara United soccer.

    What is your favourite TV show right now?

    Lucifer on Netflix.

    What are your current hobbies/interests?

    I read a lot now. My favourite thing to do is sit with my 8 year old daughter at night and read side by side. I am currently reading Barak Obama’s book. It is great.

    What is your favourite book?

    I like the book just mentioned (although I am not finished it). I love the books by Chevy Stevens (a Canadian author).

    What is your favourite sport or sports team?

    My favourite sport to play is soccer. I grew up playing competitive soccer. My favourite sport to watch is basketball. Favourite team would be the Raptors.

    Now is the time to talk yourself up! what is something that you are proud of (awards, personal achievements, etc.) that you would like to share?

    I am not sure this is the right place for this, but I am honoured to have the job I have and work with the people I work with; both here at Brock and across the globe. The projects I have had the opportunity to work on have been fulfilling in their own right, but mostly because they have introduced me to wonderful individuals who have a passion for what I love – sport. These relationships that have been fostered are ones I will carry with me for a lifetime. I am most proud of these ‘achievements’.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Member Showcases

  • 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.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    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!

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    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.

    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Categories: Blog, Students