2024 Player Development Conference Recap

It's been a week since the conference and I finally have the words to say as I have been reflecting.

Beyond The Field

May 24, 2024

We did it!

It happened!

Bigger and better!

Two years in a row!

Making it happen!

THANK YOU

This couldn’t have happened without the support, sacrifice, and effort by so many and for that I am THANKFUL. So, before I write about my reflections, I want to take time to say some thank yous.

GOD

To God Be the Glory. This is a passion and purpose He has placed on my heart. He has provided me with wisdom and insight in so many ways. I going to start listening more intently, because in all the dry seasons that have happened in my life the last few years, this is one area that continues to grow abundantly. Thank you, Jesus!

MY WIFE

Thank you for the continued support. You have believed in me way before I even believed in myself. Thank you, Sweetheart. (Insert emoji eyewink here.)

THE TEAM

Evin Norman.

Lauren King.

Caitlin Burnett.

Thank y’all so much. This couldn’t have happened without y’all. From the consistent meetings in 2023 to the weeks we went without meetings because my life and schedule made it difficult to meet y’all kept working, kept messaging, and kept supporting me and this conference.

This conference was one where I had the ability to listen to speakers, take notes, and interact with so many. I wouldn’t have been able to do that if not for the hard work y’all put in.

Thank y’all so much.

THE SPONSORS

Thank you, Terrolyn Nunn, and Access Granted for being our TWO TIME Platinum Sponsor. Your investment in this conference and Beyond the Field has created so much impact and allowed for our wings to really spread. Thank you for your continued support.

Thank you, Jonathan Jones, for your investment in the conference. You have a passion for helping people and your contributions will allow for so many to be impacted.

THE SPEAKERS

Thank y’all. Y’all have so much to do in the roles y’all are in currently and y’all made time for me and so many others. The value y’all provided was immeasurable. I have been using this word consistently because it is so true.

I can’t thank y’all enough for not only showing up for your session, but for staying for other sessions, and engaging the attendees through the chat and breakout rooms. I say this in complete confidence that no conference anywhere allows the access our attendees have to the speakers. And this doesn’t happen without incredible professionals who care about this space and the future of it.

So, THANK YOU Jeremiah Brown, Mike Miller, Fernando Velasco, Ashley Goodman, Darien Harris, Chidozie Ibeabuchi, Savannah Bailey, Jess Gray, Tim Bryson, Khristian Carr, Dr. Lacee’ Carmon-Johnson, Kurt Richardson, Antoine McClain, Da’Vell Winters, Will Baggett, Alexander Martin, Joshua Marriner, Arkeem Byrd, Tobruk Blaine, and Gus Felder.

NETWORKING NIGHT PROFESSIONALS

This was a new segment of the conference. Last year our networking night started at 9/10PM CT/ET and ended at 12/1AM CT/ET. As you can imagine that created a lot of difficulty for many. So, this year we decided to start way earlier and give an entire night to the mission of networking.

For this I reached out to some people in this space to join us and the answer was a resounding yes. They stayed on for two hours spending time with those who were in attendance. This networking night was a success. Thank you, Kayla Henderson, Kevin Washington, Dr. Lori Robinson, Austin Albrecht, Ira Childress, and Reggie Lane.

ATTENDEES

Thank you to all the attendees of the conference who invested in themselves. It was so great to meet some of you and sit in sessions with y’all and hear the questions you asked. Y’all were locked in, and the speakers really feed of the energy y’all had. In my time of being a part of many virtual events I felt and saw how locked in y’all were.

S/o to Shelley Lyle, who has sponsored 10+ University of Florida Sports Management students to the Player Development Conference.

Also, big s/o to AJ Burse who attended all the sessions from GERMANY!

ATTENDEES, your attendance and energy created an atmosphere where success was the only possibility. THANK YOU.

MY THOUGHTS

I am personally blown away by the support of so many. Beyond The Field was something I created in a parking lot getting ready for a recruiting presentation and it has grown into something that has impacted so many people around the WORLD!! (It’s crazy typing this, but BTF is worldwide)

Every piece of support matters. Every like, retweet, purchase, share, subscriber, message, or email. IT ALL MATTERS and I thank y’all so much for it.

There are still many ways to impact the athlete development space and we all have a lot more work to do. As we do this work, you can be assured Beyond The Field will continue to provide elite player development impact through coaching, content, and courses.

Listen here for more on my thoughts and recap of the conference: