January 2021 - 8

EDITORIAL between the lines
no trouble with
THE CURVE
By Wesley Sykes, Managing Editor
When thrown a curveball, are you going to let your knees
buckle, or are you going to lean into the break, get your hands
out in front, and slap the ball to the opposite field?
Dating back to March 2020, we, as a country, were thrown
a collective curveball with the COVID-19 pandemic. Confined
to homes and separated from typical human interaction, our
means of in-person communication suddenly became limited.
Face-to-face meetings, like the postcard or the feel of a Sunday
newspaper in your hands, suddenly has become a novelty. How
many times have simple interactions been complicated by the
use of facemasks in public spaces? How often have we had to
unmute ourselves in a Zoom call mid-conversation?
We are socially-connected beings living, for now, in a sociallydistant
world.
But what type of hitter would we be if we just took that
curveball looking for strike three and headed back to the dugout
with a cloud of defeat hanging over our heads? Not a very good
one, in my estimation. We have to adapt. We have to change to
the rule, but not be ruled by the change.
And, at Coach & Athletic Director, that's what we're doing.
Understanding we have to find new, creative ways to connect
with our audience, we've rolled out a new podcast platform -
Sideline Sessions with Wesley Sykes. In this new medium,
available anywhere podcasts can be accessed in addition to our
website, we will be talking with industry professionals from the
world of athletic administration, coaching, strength training,
sports medicine, nutrition, and more.
So far we have interviewed Aaron Strothers, assistant men's
basketball coach for UMass Dartmouth, on recruiting high
school players. Dr. Karissa Niehoff, executive director of the
National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS),
to discuss the state of high school sports ahead of the winter
sports season, the NFHS's role amid the COVID-19 pandemic,
and transgender student-athletes in high school athletics.
Jerry Weinstein, a professional player development coach in
the Colorado Rockies organization, stopped by to discuss the
recent MLB season, his time coaching in the Cape Cod Baseball
League, the rise of advanced analytics in baseball, and turning
young college players into professionals. Amy Goodson, former
sports nutritionist and dietician for the Dallas Cowboys, Texas
Rangers, and TCU athletics, spoke on the importance of keeping
your body properly fueled for activity. And, lastly, our most recent
episode featured director of strength and endurance training for
the Los Angeles Lakers Gunnar Peterson.
And we have so much more lined up in the coming months
with new episodes released biweekly. We'll be sure " trouble with
the curve " never appears on our scouting report. And we hope
the same for you all as well.
Enjoy this month's issue!
6 JANUARY 2021
MANAGING EDITOR
GROUP PUBLISHER
PUBLISHER
MULTIMEDIA DESIGNER
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
ASSISTANT EDITOR
CIRCULATION
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
CUSTOM MARKETING
MANAGER
CFO & DIRECTOR OF HUMAN
RESOURCES
COO & CMO
CEO
Wesley Sykes, 616-520-2149
CADedit@coachad.com
Brian Virgona, 616-520-2140
CADsales@coachad.com
Mark Goldberg, 607-592-0770
mgoldberg@greatamericanpublish.com
Emily Peterson, 616-520-2165
CADproduction@coachad.com
Samantha Orsi, 616-520-2148
sorsi@greatamericanpublish.com
Joe Tacosik, 616-520-2176
jtacosik@greatamericanpublish.com
Becky Stovall, 616-520-2138
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Jess Schmidt, 616-520-2141
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Matt McCallum, 616-520-2133
publisher@coachad.com
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD:
TOM BASS, Former NFL Assistant, Cincinnati Bengals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
& San Diego Chargers * DR. DAVID HOCH, Retired Athletic Director, Baltimore
County, MD * ABE WEHMILLER, Director of Athletics, Charlotte Country Day
School, Charlotte, NC * ALAN STEIN, Head Strength and Conditioning Coach,
Nike Elite DeMatha Catholic High School, MD * PETE KITTEL, Principal, Brillion
High School, WI * DARREN FENSTER, Minor League Manager, Boston Red Sox
& Founder/CEO, Coaching Your Kids, LLC, Neptune, NJ * JOSH HILS, Soccer
Coach, Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, NH * DR. BRANDEN LIPPY, Athletic
Director, Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Lancaster, PA
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January 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of January 2021
