We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Betsy Butterick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Betsy , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.

My purpose was born from life experience… I began playing organized sports when I was 3 (soccer) and played competitive sports through college. My athletic experience has shaped the person I’ve become, and it was a natural progression for me to go from playing sports to coaching sports. During my coaching career I learned that “coaching” was something that existed outside of sports, and when I learned that I could coach people that fit perfectly with my desire to be of service and my passion for the field of psychology. My work as a communication specialist evolved out of a demonstrated need in the coaching profession – I now get to help shorten the distance between intention and impact by helping coaches and athletes improve the quality of their communication.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m an executive coach for coaches of all sports and work as a communication specialist with athletic departments, teams, and organizations. I support high-performance by working on the people side of sports, specifically by optimizing communication between coaches and athletes.

I love what I get to do because it’s dynamic, impactful, and always changing. There is no one “best way” to communicate, and since communication is a skill, anyone at any time is able to improve the quality of their communication. Small shifts in language facilitate big shifts in connection, understanding, learning and development – and its SO MUCH FUN to play in this space.

Much of my recent work focuses on helping coaches better understand, communicate, and connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha athletes. Coaches of older generations experience a variety of challenges in coaching “kids these days” and my research in the field + work as a practitioner puts me in the field and at the forefront of a changing sports landscape.

My upcoming book, “Kids These Days: Effective Strategies for Coaching Gen Z and Beyond” will be available in October 2025, and serves as a resource for coaches of all sports to work collaboratively with today’s athletes.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. Seek to be of value before ever being asked to be of service. If you have something valuable to contribute to others, put it out into the world. Consistently providing value to others gives them the confidence to reach out when they are in need because you’ve “proven your worth” over time.

2. Curiosity is the key. Seek to learn from every experience and every conversation. Hold what you “know” lightly and leave space to unlearn, relearn, and be “wrong” often… a genuine curiosity will open doors to new experiences, insights, and opportunities.

3. Actionable is priceless. In everything I do I seek to transfer knowledge to people so that they have what they need to take immediate action on an area they desire. Theory is wonderful, but if you can build the bridge from theory to application in a way that helps folks take action – that’s the sweet spot for contribution!

Best advice: even if you’re not yet doing what you’d ideally like to do, look for opportunities to build skills that will add value to your vision. For years I held various jobs that enabled me to hone certain skills (facilitation, public speaking, written communication, navigating adversity, collaboration under pressure) that I now utilize in my daily work.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

The most impactful thing my parents did for me was to love me and love each other. That may sound silly, but growing up in a home that was filled with love, open conversation, space for feelings, and genuine care and respect laid the foundation for me to take risks and pursue challenge without questioning my worth. I learned how to treat people well and the foundational skills my parents offered support the strong relationships I have in my personal and professional life.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

All photos are mine 🙂

SEARCY – Eleven members of the Harding University men’s track and field team have earned All-Academic Athlete honors from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) for their outstanding performance both in competition and in the classroom during the recent season.

To qualify for the prestigious individual award, student-athletes must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.25 on a 4.0 scale through the end of the semester of competition. Additionally, they must have either finished among the top 50 individuals on the TFRRS descending order lists in their respective events, competed at the NCAA Indoor or Outdoor National Championships, or been a member of a top-35 ranked relay team (or participated in a relay at the national championships).

The 11 Harding Bisons recognized for their academic and athletic achievements are:

• Hayes Cox (Kinesiology & Health Education) – 3.44 GPA, No. 22 in Outdoor 4×100 relay

• Christian Erkert (Management) – 3.25 GPA, No. 50 in Javelin

• Casen Hammitt (Strength and Conditioning) – 3.37 GPA, No. 19 in Javelin

• Spencer Helms (Exercise Science) – 3.65 GPA, No. 14 in Discus

• Anton Kopytko (Kinesiology & Sport Administration) – 3.90 GPA, No. 7 in Outdoor Long Jump

• Vlad Malykhin (Kinesiology & Sport Administration) – 3.62 GPA, Indoor and Outdoor Pole Vault National Champion

• Donald Nwamere (Information Systems) – 3.56 GPA, No. 22 in Outdoor 4×100 relay

• Caledon Ruwende (Civil Engineering) – 4.00 GPA, No. 19 in Outdoor 200 meters

• Derick St. Jean (Management and Business Ethics) – 3.67 GPA, No. 35 in Indoor 400 meters

• Lukas Stiper (Teaching English as a 2nd Language) – 3.58 GPA, No. 14 in Discus

• Luke Walling (Kinesiology & Health Education) – 3.34 GPA, No. 45 in Outdoor 10,000 meters

Notably, Vlad Malykhin was named the 2025 NCAA Division II Men’s Indoor Track & Field National Scholar Field Athlete of the Year. Malykhin, who maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.62, further distinguished himself by winning the pole vault at the 2025 NCAA DII Indoor Track & Field Championships.

In addition to the individual honors, the Harding men’s track and field team earned the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team award, boasting a cumulative team GPA of 3.19. To qualify for this team distinction, programs must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher.

About the USTFCCCA All-Academic Awards: The USTFCCCA annually recognizes NCAA Division I, II, and III student-athletes and teams for their academic achievements in collegiate cross country and track & field. These awards highlight the commitment of student-athletes to excellence in both their athletic endeavors and academic pursuits.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – The University of San Francisco cross country program and Head Coach Jordan Carpenter have officially announced the schedule for the 2025 season.

“We are excited to begin the 2025 cross country season,” Carpenter said. “We wanted to put a significant emphasis on testing ourselves against the best teams in the country. This season will certainly challenge our runners, as we will face multiple top teams from the West region. These high-level opportunities will best prepare the groups as we build towards improved finishes at the conference and national levels for both the men’s and women’s squads.”

The 2025 campaign begins at home when San Francisco hosts the 32nd annual USF Invitational at Golden Gate Park on August 29. Both the men’s and women’s programs earned a sixth-place finish last season, highlighted by Zach Elam securing ninth out of 123 competitors, while Natálie Hluší earned 10th on the women’s side.

Traveling to Davis the following weekend, the Dons compete in the Stump Invitational on September 13 before heading south for the UC Riverside Invitational on September 27.

Returning home to begin the final month of the regular season, the team participates in the SF Invitational at Golden Gate Park on October 10 and then travels to Columbia, Mo., to compete in the Pre-National Invitational at Missouri for the first time in program history on October 18.

Wrapping up the regular season, the Dons travel to the South Bay for their final meet on October 18, when it takes part in the Bronco Invitational, hosted by Santa Clara, at Baylands Regional Park.

Postseason play begins on November 1 when San Francisco competes in the West Coast Conference Championship in Spokane, Wash.

The full 2025 San Francisco cross country schedule can be viewed here.

For more information on the San Francisco cross country and track and field programs, follow @donsxctf on Twitter, @donsxctf on Instagram, and @donsxctf on Facebook.

 

The Rainbow Wahine indoor and beach volleyball teams each earned team academic awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for the 2024–25 academic year.

This marks the fifth time in the last seven seasons that the indoor volleyball program made the list, while the beach program earned the distinction for the fifth straight season. The women’s indoor team boasted a 3.58 GPA, and the BeachBows had a 3.52 team average.

The AVCA Team Academic Award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA.

The indoor team finished the 2024 season 21-10 overall and captured the program’s fifth consecutive Big West title while advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 31st consecutive time. The beach volleyball team finished the season ranked 19th in the final AVCA poll, continuing its streak of being nationally ranked in every single week of the polls existence.

Read more at Hawaiiathletics.com.

Women’s Track & Field (Indoor)
7/22/2025 12:10:00 PM

DAVIS, Calif. – Both UC Davis track & field men’s and women’s squads were named to the United States Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic teams, while women Dani Barrett and Maya Shinnick were each named USTFCCCA All-Academic Athletes.
 
The men’s team posted a 3.13 cumulative GPA for the academic year while the women recorded a 3.40 GPA to achieve All-Academic honors.
 

Barrett and Shinnick each qualified for the NCAA Track & Field Western Preliminaries with Barrett going in the 10,000-meter run and Shinnick 400-meter dash. Barrett took home the Big West Championship in the 10,000-meter while Shinnick cracked the 400-meter podium in second at the conference championships.
 
Here is the criteria for a team to be named an NCAA Division I All-Academic Team:

1. The cumulative GPA for all student-athletes on the institution’s NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, including the most recent grading period, certifiable by either NCAA Faculty Rep or NCAA Compliance Coordinator or Registrar’s Office.
2. The cumulative GPA of all student-athletes on the institution’s NCAA Squad List for Indoor and/or Outdoor Track and Field must be computed by the following method:
   
   a. Total the cumulative number of semester hours or quarter hours earned for all
   
   student-athletes on the NCAA Squad List including the most recent grading
   
   period;
   
   b. Total the cumulative number of quality points earned by all student-athletes
   
   including the most recent grading period;
   
   c. Divide the cumulative number of quality points earned by the cumulative number
   
   of semester or quarter hours earned.
3. Institutions utilizing a different GPA scale than 4.0 then must convert the GPA to a 4.0 scale using the standard conversion method [GPA/Scale x 4.0].

Here is the criteria to be named an NCAA Division I All-Academic Athlete:

1. Cumulative GPA: 3.25 or higher on a 4.0 scale, including the most recent grading period, certifiable by either NCAA Faculty Rep or NCAA Compliance Coordinator or Registrar’s Office.

   1. Institutions utilizing a different GPA scale must convert the GPA to a 4.0 scale using the standard conversion method [GPA/Scale x 4.0].

2. Athletic criteria for the award can be met in either the indoor season, the outdoor season, or both:

   1. For the indoor season: must have finished the season ranked in the top 96 in any championship individual event, or in the top 48 in any championship relay event, for the most recent indoor season, certifiable by their place on final season performance lists on TFRRS for Indoor Track and Field (including performances achieved outside the qualifying window during the indoor season).
   2. For the outdoor season: must have participated in any round of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships (the Preliminary Championship Competition and/or the Final Championship Competition) or must have finished the season ranked in the top 48 in the East or top 48 in the West for the most recent outdoor season, certifiable by place on the NCAA Division I descending order list on TFRRS for Outdoor Track and Field.

3. Must have completed at least two (2) semesters or three (3) quarters at the certifying institution.

The Kentucky volleyball team was picked to win the Southeastern Conference title last week, which, if it happens, would be a ninth straight SEC championship. While that remains one of the goals for the 2025 Cats, they have their sights set on even bigger prizes.

Kentucky won the SEC’s only national volleyball championship in 2020. This year’s UK squad, with returning standouts like Brooklyn DeLeye and Molly Tuozzo, is openly talking about bringing a second title back to Lexington.

“I think it’s a hard thing to do but we’re ready to do it this year,” Tuozzo said on Tuesday. “We’ve already put in so much work and we had the great opportunity to get all of our transfers and freshman here in the spring and we used that time to grow closer to each other and play for each other. We are all so bought into each other and the team that it’s a super exciting year for us. I think we’re not done yet and we just want to keep getting closer and eventually a national championship.”

Sophomore Asia Thigpen said that the Cats don’t regularly talk about a national championship, but it shows in how they practice.

“We don’t talk a lot about winning a national championship,” Thigpen said. “It’s all kind of an underlying goal that we have, so we all go to the gym and we’re all practicing and competing our best to win a national championship.”

Thigpen noted that the Cats are hoping to win multiple titles this season.

“Our expectation this season is to win the SEC championship, both the tournament and the (regular season),” she said. “So, I think you check that off and we want to go for a national championship.”

Thigpen said that last year’s UK team took a lot from former Kentucky All-American Madison Lilley, who led the Cats to that national title in 2020.

“Mads talked to us about what that looked like in practices,” Thigpen said. “She talked about how every day, it was just competing. She stressed the importance of winning every single drill and then everyone’s roles are super important, whether you’re on the blue side or the white side.”

Marquette transfer Molly Berezowitz, the sister of former Cat Maddie Berezowitz, knows that everything will not be perfect. However, she believes that how the team handles adversity will be key.

“We just want to go further this year,” Berezowitz said. “It’s not going to go perfect. There’s going to be setbacks for sure, but how can we come back from that and have that goal in mind, that we want to win the national championship.”

UK head coach Craig Skinner even took a potential national championship run into consideration when he put together the 2025 schedule.

“The decision was, do we schedule tough because we know we have some great players and have a chance to end the year competing for a national championship,” Skinner said. “It is what we typically do, maybe even a little bit tougher, all four of the Final Four teams from last year are on our schedule. But I do not feel like we will get to where we want go if we don’t play these teams.”

The Cats all agree that the pieces are in place to win multiple titles in 2025. And no one is shying away from talking about adding a second national title for UK.