Are you mad about March? π
Good morning. March is officially mad.
Yesterday launched the start of the 2022 NCAA March Madness basketball tournament. From now until April 4th basketball will consume the lives of millions of Americans. An estimated 40 million people completed an estimated 70 million brackets in 2021 and 2022 is sure to be similar.
The beauty of the March Madness bracket is that there are sure to be upsets (aka bracket busters) and the unpredictability of the games make it difficult to create a perfect bracket. The closest anyone has come to a perfect bracket in recent history was the 2019 NCAA Men's tournament when an Ohio man picked the first 49 games accurately. Best of luck to all you bracket creators!
Today, the Women's D1 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships splash into action. This year's Championships are being held in Atlanta at Georgia Tech's campus. CG Sports' Olivia Carter is slated to swim in the 100 fly, 200 fly, and 200 IM. Carter is the reigning champion of the 200 fly and was recently featured in a Swimming World article about her butterfly prowess.
Tune in next week when we recap the Women's D1 Swimming & Diving Championships, preview the Men's D1 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships, and review how the March Madness games have unfolded.
Other big news this week:
NCAA March Madness begins this week!
Kelly Parker Palace penned an open letter to D1 NCAA Women Swimmers.
Jonathan Bornstein and Chicago Fire earn first win of the season.
P.S. Nervous about missing upcoming news from CG Sports? Follow us on Instagram (@cgsportsco), Facebook (CG Sports Management), and, of course, our weekly newsletter.
WHAT'S HOT
A roundup of the CG Sports Teams' favorite weekly content from the most π₯ athletes in the biz.
RoΘie Brennan has concluded the World Cup season in style. The 2x Olympian joined fellow Team USA members Zak Ketterson, Scott Patterson, and Jesse Diggins to claim gold in the 4x5km freestyle mixed relay, finishing the race with a combined time of 42:01.8.
Paige Madden hosted her first swim clinic with Darien YMCA in Connecticut this past weekend. Regarding the experience, the club explained, "Paige did a fantastic job this past weekend for the Piranhas. She is a delightful person and truly connected with the Piranha swimmers of all ages. Her friendliness and sense of fun really appealed to them, and her advice to work hard was painless in the way she delivered it, using her own experiences to illustrate and explain. It was a hugely successful event and we are very grateful to Paige for making it so. Thank you for helping us make this event happen. We are already talking about when we can have her return."
If you or your club team is interested in having Paige (or any CG Sports athlete) host a clinic, please send an inquiry email to rachel@cgsportsmanagement.com.
Speedo Sectionals meets were hosted in a variety of cities across the nation this past weekend. Jacob Pebley returned to racing at the Carlsbad event, winning the men's 100 back (47.60) and finishing fourth in the men's 100 free (44.66). Additionally, Pebley swam on three North Coast Aquatics relays.
Coleman Stewart, meanwhile, competed at the Cary Sectionals, delivering a 44.69 100 fly, 41.87 100 free, and a 43.70 in the 100 back.
DEMAND YOUR BRAND
How to demand your brand as an amateur athlete
When you aren't on an international level or competing for a professional team, it is still possible to demand your brand. You can set the foundation for your future success in sport or in the workplace by:
Connecting with recruiters - career or sport based, collegiate coaches, administrators in your dream spot
Understanding that soft skills (relational, personal) are just as important as hard skills (technical, job-related knowledge)
Answering what you can offer schools, companies or brands as a community-builder, storyteller, connector (not just number of followers or likes)
Finding a mentor in your field or with similar world views
Trying new things! Invest time into new activities or groups you have always wanted to be a part of. The more you do now, the more certain your future passions will be. (You'll remove the looming "what if?")
Building awareness of self through personal exploration and external relationships will only make it easier to connect with brands in the future as you look for opportunities.
One thing every person at CG Sports does
Each Friday the CG Sports team meets for our world famous team meeting known as, The Weekly Recap. It takes place on Google Hangout (sorry Zoom) and it's usually 30 mins of high octane fun. In addition to discussing our weekly biz, we also invite athlete guests to join, give us feedback and share their own highlights as well.
On our most recent Friday recap I made an observation about one unique thing that every member of our team does really well. Any guesses?
We regularly ask for feedback (usually from multiple teammates) on our work.
Before anything gets published on the website, posted on social media or sent to a sponsor - it goes through several rounds of feedback, revisions and more feedback. A big shout out to Slack for allowing us to do this quickly and efficiently.
The commitment to putting out our best work creates momentum. We have used much of the "downtime" during quarantine to make major improvements in our marketing, website, media kits, sponsor proposals, social media and internal processes.
I can't remember working at a place where every member of the team was so proactive about seeking feedback. It's awesome:)
Read more Cejih Explains articles online.
SPONSOR
Syracuse University's Newhouse Sports Media Center
The Newhouse Sports Media Center (NSMC) builds upon the renowned success of Syracuse University and the Newhouse School for producing talented and successful sports professionals in media. The NSMC connects alumni, faculty, and current students through their shared skills and passions for sports journalism. Additionally, the NSMC collaborates with on-campus sports media and strengthens academic-industry partnerships through special events and guest lectures. Veteran television news producer, Olivia Stomski ('01), serves as the NSMC's director.
Click here to learn more about the Newhouse Sports Media Center.
PHOTO OF THE WEEK
Colleen Young hosted a clinic with West Coast Aquatics recently and shared some sage wisdom!
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT WANT TO READ
A collection of the CG Sports Teams' favorite random news of the week. π
Tennis: Naomi Osaka addressed the crowd after being heckled at Indian Wells.
NFL: Tom Brady's final touchdown ball auctions for $518K.
NBA: Gregg Popovich is now the winningest coach in NBA history.
Swimming: UVA professor Ken Ono uses math to help guide training for individual swimmers.
PODCASTS
Champion's Mojo, Episode 141: Why and How to Say "No"
Were you raised to believe that saying βnoβ was impolite? Do you say βyesβ to please the person asking before carefully considering your own needs and boundaries?
Saying βnoβ can feel rude and difficult -- but there are advantages to saying it, and Kelly and Maria share the why, what and how of saying βnoβ without guilt.
Catch up on EVERY episode at ChampionsMojo.com.
