Mac Lackey

THE MVP PLAYBOOK: CROSSOVERS, CURVEBALLS, & PIVOTS Here's the thing. If you aspire to a career with longevity and work in sports long enough, you will experience professional plot twists in the form of crossovers, curve balls, and pivots. This is a not a maybe, it's a certainty. Just like coaches and players have to switch up organizations/teams from time to time (sometimes by change, sometimes by choice). The team behind the scenes has to have the agility, capacity, and flexibility to do the same. Free agency is real! Maybe you aspired to one thing and decided to do another. Maybe you took on a role and missed your goal. Maybe you did everything right, but the leadership/ownership changed and they want to build their own athletic department and/or front office. Maybe life (aka personal plot twists) forced your hand. Maybe this, may that. If you get ready and stay ready, you'll always be ready to make your next move, your best move. Just because the career ladder morphs into a career lattice, you can still move upward and onward. I've been there, done that, and aspire to do it again. Change is inevitable, but growth is intentional! So, I'm excited to give back by paying it forward as a presenter/speaker at the Black Sports Business Symposium in the A! Game on! Hope to see you there!

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Our vision is becoming a reality! When My Pickleball Coach was founded, our mission extended beyond enhancing players' DUPR skills. We aimed to empower pickleball coaches worldwide with the tools to scale their businesses, transforming their coaching careers into professional ventures capable of generating substantial income. #madebytopcoaches #improvingDUPRskills #scaleyourcoachingbusiness DUPR MyJourney Technologies

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At Division I schools, football surpasses the revenue of 35 sports combined, with an average of $31.9 million per program (source: Zacks Finance). The stakes are high, emphasizing the need for a science-based approach to hiring and evaluating coaches. Your results and revenue hinge on it. Our In-Season report offers a thorough assessment of players and their position coaches. This evaluation is crucial for shaping team strategy and managing the player-coach relationship weekly. If you're ready to embrace innovation, Eneje is here to support you. Eneje Consulting Firm LLC #collegefootball #football #innovation #sportstech #sports #coaching #leadership

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#28 Tampa Bay Rays: The Top 3 Pitchers Drafted Since 2013 Heading into the 2024 Major League Baseball (MLB) season, the Tampa Bay Rays rank 4th in total wins since 2013. Despite operating with a small payroll, the Rays have consistently built winning teams, making the playoffs in five of the last six seasons. Their approach to constructing pitching staffs has influenced the entire league, from utilizing openers to deploying a rotating cast of high-velocity arms. Since 2021, the Rays have relied on an average of 34.5 pitchers per season to meet their innings demand. However, the Rays’ strategy diverges from the traditional model of developing starting pitchers. As revealed in this case study, they have produced just one traditional starter among their top three draft picks since 2013. Injury Rate: 38% Since 2013, the Rays rank 4th in total days missed by their MLB pitchers, with 12% of their annual payroll allocated to injured pitchers. Among the 34 pitchers analyzed in this study, 17 arm injuries occurred among 13 pitchers, leading to 10 surgeries, with an average of 294.5 innings pitched before surgery. Shane McClanahan, the Rays most successful pitcher in the case study, went down with TJ Surgery in 2023. Notable cases include Brendan McKay, the 4th overall pick in the 2017 MLB draft, has had shoulder surgery, thoracic outlet syndrome, and Tommy John surgery. McKay has missed most of the 2024 season due to recurring arm issues. High school draftees Michael Mercado (2017) and Nick Bitsko (2020) also faced early setbacks—Mercado had shoulder surgery after just 71 innings, while Bitsko required surgery only months after being drafted. MLB Pitchers: 7 The combination of Ryne Stanek (2013), Brent Honeywell Jr (2014), Easton Mcgee (2016), Brendan Mckay (2017), and Shane Mclanahan (2018) has pitched at the MLB level, with Brown throwing 66% of those MLB innings. Total MLB Innings Pitched (MLB IP): 607 Shane McClanahan has logged 404 MLB innings for the Rays, proving a reliable top-three starter when healthy. However, beyond McClanahan, the Rays lack another starting pitcher with significant MLB innings, and no pitcher drafted since 2019 has progressed to the major league roster. Cost Efficiency – $/MLB IP: $60,142 The Rays' initial investment in signing bonuses equates to nearly $60,142 per MLB inning pitched, ranking them 25th in return on investment in terms of innings. Between 2013 and 2020, the Rays paid over $31 million in signing bonuses, averaging $1.4 million per player. Since 2021, they have spent $4.1 million, with an average bonus of $348,674. The Tampa Bay Rays have achieved consistent success despite a small payroll, but their unconventional approach to pitching has drawbacks in terms of injury rate and lack of starting pitchers.

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