GivBk Sports Podcast

Welcome to the FIRST episode of the GivBk Sports Podcast. I’m your host, Brett Friedman. As we will today and in all future GivBk episodes, we’ll learn about how our guests have parlayed athletic accolades or influence within the world of sports into an opportunity to uplift the community around them.

Notes & Highlights
5:40 – El Viejo. On the handball courts, they were gentlemen. I thought, today, these kids are going to have the respect of themselves, and others, and they’re going to have a feeling of accomplishment. If they respect themselves and know I respect them, that’s a big part of it. Once you have respect, you’re willing to give respect.

14:01 – Handball’s street culture of razor-edged competition and a mythological, fictional character that molded it. NYC’s West 4th Street Cage

23:02 – A Mesoamerican ball court athlete that paved the way for basketball and soccer as we know them today

26:31 – Fencing doesn’t get enough respect. University of Pennsylvania’s “Maestro”

35:07 – College sports, 1970s-present

46:06 – A social media late adopter that became a big believer

56:25 – How the civil war birthed baseball

1:15:58 – The value of the pass and perseverance

1:29:20 – Takes & Fakes Trivia Game

1:37:52 – Will Smith’s screenplay advice

Notes & Highlights

03:20 when you come from a small town, you learn how to like people

05:55 Dedan’s professional and personal philosophy is “get better every day and use that improvement to impact the people you surround yourself with” and he learned that from athletes he looked up to

08:45 Sports is a unifier of the people. Sports stands for leadership, teamwork, ethics, inspiration, and cooperation.

14:00 Dedan is a little like a turtle on a fence post - he doesn’t know how he got to where he is. What he does know is that he had help along the way.

16:30 Philanthropic fundraising is a relationship-driven business. People give to people, and an idea.

25:15 it’s a pinch-me moment - I have a key to the rose bowl

31:00 Rose Bowl’s donors are paramount because it doesn’t have an alumni base, it’s not a church, it’s not a hospital, but it is a chapel to so many people

37:30 Dedan realized how The Rose Bowl humanizes us when Keith Jackson took him onto Kenny Chesney’s tour bus before a show. This led to a six-figure donation to honor Keith Jackson.

39:40 Jackie Robinson still holds the record for longest kick return for a touchdown at the Rose Bowl. This place is a museum. History is what makes this stadium so special.

44:00 Breaking News! The Rose Bowl Institute is right around the corner

45:00 Brandi Chastain’s goal during the world cup final was the first time that women were viewed on a level playing field as man. The Rose Bowl Institute is the next GivBk initiative at The Rose Bowl. Dedan wants to inspire the next generation.

47:30 Takes n’ Fakes Trivia

55:25 Happiness in employment requires alignment of core values with an organization’s mission. Personal brand development is the first step toward recognizing those core values.

59:45 The Rose Bowl is turning 100 years young. Partyofthecentury.org is where you can find out more about the stadium’s centennial celebration!

Notes & Highlights
10:00 Both Gilbert guys showed poise in 1990
13:00 If Andre Agassi is a sports car, Brad Gilbert is a Chevy truck. Brad doesn’t have a secret coaching sauce, but he thinks it’s important to go to dinner with your player.
16:30 Nobody recognized the value in a loss and handled them with more grace than Andre Agassi. He’s also the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back.
24:15 Brad & Zach got more competitive playing each other in ping pong than they did on the tennis court
32:30 When you decide who you want to coach, you should want success more for your player than for yourself. You should want to make your player’s dream possible.
42:00 Roger Federer’s ALS Ice Bucket Challenge to Brad only scratched the surface of Brad’s philanthropic endeavors
43:45 Brad and Zach devoted time on the court at San Quentin Prison to provide inmates that had accumulated good behavior credits with a break from their reality. One inmate said that he’d have been able to avoid trouble as a teenager if he was introduced to tennis at that age. The lines and rules teach important values.
50:00 A lot of times in life, in business, you have to be competitive. You don’t have to be perfect. Just be satisfied with hard work.
54:00 Brad was a Warriors fan for 39 years before the recent streak of success #EastBaySportsPride
58:15 Visit BG Tennis nation in Greenbrae, CA! He might even have a stock market tip waiting for you ;)

Notes & Highlights
02:15 But oh my gosh, I loved to dance!
07:00 It proved that you didn't have to be perfect, you just had to be human, honest, raw, and real.

11:00 Miss Val began her illustrious career playing the floor music for her student-athlete gymnasts. Check out Life Is Short, Don't Wait to Dance!

17:30 Success is peace of mind and knowing you've done your best. - John Wooden

21:15 Yearn to Learn

30:30 Let's hear it for right-brained people! Katelyn Ohashi is a phenomenal human being. She has a real big heart.

31:50 Takes n' Fakes Trivia

38:00 Bragging rights and money. It's pathetic if that's the only reason we play sports.

40:00 Get over yourself. No one is looking at you.

48:00 This generation is more influenced by their phone than anyone in their life. The best thing parents can do is set boundaries. Go play with your son or daughter.

55:30 If we could all use social media for things that are good and uplifting and empowering, imagine the world we could create. It's up to us.

Notes & Highlights
01:15 Did you know Hayley is becoming a doctor?!

04: 15 In a small town when you need bodies on the ice, girls have no trouble getting ice time. When you get older and you’re taking ice time away from boys, that’s when things got tough.
06:50 When Hayley was cut from her youth hockey team because “having a girl on the team is too difficult,” Hayley’s mom recognized this human rights roadblock and drove to the league coordinator’s house to right the wrong

10:30 Hayley’s first Olympic team roommate was a 35-year old math teacher and Hayley was a 15-year old math student. Hayley credits peers like this, who worked a full-time job and then trained for four hours, for leading by example and showing her how to be a pro, all while making no money doing it. Carrying on these women’s legacies was really important.

16:30 When Hayley skated onto the ice during the gold medal game in Sochi and saw her son holding a sign saying, “Go Mom”. Those are moments you never forget because you finally realize the impact you’re having.
18:30 7,000 people walk through the doors of WickFest events to compete and sign up to learn about mental health training, nutrition, and educational opportunities from the greatest minds and athletes in the world. Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau showed up! All proceeds are generously donated to JumpStart and KidSport.

21:00 An outdoor game at 13,000 feet in the Himalayas was a defining moment. Thanks to Hayley, Indian women are now being given more ice time, an opportunity to work alongside men, and respect. These women are now being sponsored by Under Armour, and their lives have fundamentally changed.

26:10 Takes n’ Fakes Trivia

32:30 Hayley thinks there’s still a place for fighting in hockey, not because she likes fighting, but because it deters cheap hits and dirty shots and players taking advantage of one another
35:30 Hayley’s female women’s hockey team that had an Olympic dynasty paved the way for the US Women’s Soccer that is now demanding equal pay