By Jeffrey Asa-Hauser

For my STEP Project, I attended the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference on March 6^th and 7^th. I attended talks on topics like the strategy and game theory of Jeopardy and Sports Analytics in Soccer. I also attended workshops for learning how to create your own Statcast metric and using JuMP with Julia to solve optimization problems.

I walked into this conference with absolutely no expectations. I was had always been one of the nerdier sports fans, and this convention ended up being a gathering of people like me. Only, most of these people had turned their love of sports and data into fulltime careers. There weren’t many hobbyists at the conference. It was filled with students and full-time sports analytics people. The conference was absolutely packed with things to do and speakers and panels I wanted to attend. In fact, there were quite a few hours when I wished I could have been at two or sometimes three places at once. Before attending the conference, I was hesitant about whether or not this would be a field I wanted to work in. The big takeaway for me at the end of the conference was that I was absolutely sure now that I want to go into the sports analytics field.

I also want to acknowledge that this conference took place right at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, and state that despite the risks involved, I am happy that the conference took place just before large gatherings were stopped and that from the very beginning of the conference, we were all instructed to bump elbows instead of shake hands. I think everyone was at least slightly nervous about the outbreak of COVID-19 at the conference, but as far as I have heard, that wasn’t the case.

I had a number of impactful interactions at the conference, some longer than others. The first was a career conversations event that allowed me to speak with two people who worked in very different parts of the sports analytics world. One was a man who worked for the University of Nebraska’s Sports Analytics department and I discussed with him the ways in which undergrads can get involved in sports analytics. He gave me advice for how to best improve my resume while at Ohio State. The next person I talked to works for ESPN and was able to tell me more about how their company is planning to expand their analytics focused content and broadcasts. She also gave me good advice for how to stand out in the interview process and what people hiring sports data analysts are looking for.

The second impactful thing that happened was that I had a chance to speak one on one with Robert Hess, a FIDE chess Grand Master. I caught him just after his panel had ended and I got to ask him some questions about how the sports world can learn from chess and also pick his brain about how he visualizes chess boards when he gives a blindfolded simul. I came away from that conversations with a deeper respect for how the chess world works in terms of ratings and awarding their world championship, and also how the game of chess in many ways mimics life. The things that make you a good chess player are the same things that make you successful in anything you may pursue: preparation, the ability to look ahead, and always looking for ways to better your position.

Finally, I had a chance to go out to dinner with some people who worked in the industry. My BUSFIN 4242 professor also attended the conference and had been attending for the last few years. He knows a few people who go every year, including someone from the New York Islanders, and someone who works on a NASCAR drivers team, both of whom do analytics work. Going to dinner with them was a wonderful experience and allowed me to build a network in what is a very tight knit community. I also got to hear about the paths that they had taken to be in this line of work and it helped me understand that domain knowledge and technical ability are equally important, but that you can get them separately. Working in Machine Learning and a tech company and also just loving sports as a hoppy is excellent experience and I don’t need to strictly focus on sports analytics jobs right out of college.

Before this conference, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. I still don’t. However, what I did learn is that sports analytics is definitely one of my top choices. The industry is full of similarly passionate people who want to use their knowledge and technical ability to allow them to make a living doing something they love. Some of these people could absolutely be making more money working for fortune 500 companies, but they love sports and have dedicated themselves to sports. As the end of college approaches and I start applying for a job, in the back of my mind will be the passions that I have and how they can help me make sure that I do something that I love.

My STEP Signature Project took place over spring break in Washington, among the Cascade Mountains. It was a leadership event to earn my Wilderness First Aid Certificate as well as a leadership abroad certificate. The first half of the week was in class training, learning different first aid procedures and how to safely assess a situation. The second half was in the field, putting our knowledge to the test with simulated injuries.

Leaving this project, there are two major ways that I had come to better understand myself and the world around me. Firstly, I realized that I am more willing to speak up than I thought. I have always called myself a quiet leader, doing more from the background, because it has been more difficult for me to share my voice. In reality, I had just as much ability as anyone to take the lead with an idea, front in center. What held me back, was my lack of confidence. I thought my ideas were good, but I relied on others to tell me that by waiting back and seeing if someone else would have a similar positive thought. However, this is not what it is to be a leader. To be a leader, you are brave, knowing your decisions may crash but going in with no regrets of speaking out on it. Throughout this week, I was slowly building up the confidence to speak out loud, going with my gut more and hesitating less.

This is how I began to change for myself, but at the same time I was coming to understand that in the world as a whole, every role is important, not just the leader. This life of staying back because I was nervous for my ideas has always left me, in a way. I felt like I was not useful because I was not putting myself out there enough. Now, I am prepared to take full lead, but I am also prepared to stay back. This program attracted people who are leaders, so all of us were eager to take that roll. However, in order for some to lead, others must follow. This does not mean that this role of following is any less important. Every step of the ladder is crucial to holding us up; if one person fails to provide support, the whole system becomes inefficient. Rather than feeling a lack of pride for following someone else, we should be filled with pride because we are playing our part in making something better. 

In terms of what has changed my confidence to speak up, there were certain situations throughout that week wear, put simply, I knew the option to stay quiet would not be positive. I was put into a group one night that was supposed to lead a discussion. We read an article about the topic and then had total freedom to our discussion and in what way we want to lead it. Normally in this situation, I may give one or two ideas and then nod along with others who create the final product. This time, I actually surprised myself by contradicting them, knowing my thoughts mattered. Without intending to, I turned into a devil’s advocate, bringing to light all these ideas that others  had not originally thought of. By the end, I believe our discussion plan was much better for it. I went in with confidence and came out proud.

Another moment where I pushed myself to speak when I otherwise wouldn’t have, was during a challenging hike. We were split into groups and one person was assigned the leader because she has had the most hiking experience in the snowy terrain. With that experience, however, came speed. There were two of us that had to take our time because it was very steep and difficult, but Maddie, the one up front, kept going at her fast pace and leaving us behind. Originally, I said nothing and held my frustration inside. Eventually, however, I reminded myself that we must stick together as a team and communicate, so I spoke up. I asked her to take more time to support us and from then on we were much better together. The confidence built.

These experiences helped me use my voice, but it was one of our field tests for training that helped me be okay holding back. There were 5 people who went out and were set up with different injuries as if they were just in an avalanche. We then had to go out and support them and determine who was the most in danger. I was with about 4 other people helping a woman who “broke her leg” and the bone was sticking out of her skin. At first, it felt very hectic because we were trying to figure out what happened and what to do. All of us being trained, we all wanted to help and take the lead. However, this only added to the disorganization and created more stress for everyone. Some of us had to step back and follow. It was difficult because I wanted to do as much as I could, but I realized that the best thing for me to do was less. I was still very helpful, cooperating with the ones “in charge” and supporting the victim. Had I not seen the importance of following, it may have taken longer for us to help the patient.

Overall, both my confidence to speak up and my willingness to hold back are going to be extremely helpful in my future career as a teacher. I will carry both lessons into the classroom as I hold the confidence to support my students and also stay back, letting them control their own learning. Teaching is a profession of give and take. I must create plans to support the students and reach specific goals but they are humans first, students second: I need to adjust based on how they are that day or how they learn best in general. It is a constant ebb and flow, learning when to step in and explain something or make suggestions and when to follow their thoughts instead of my own. This week has truly opened my eyes to leadership in ways I was not expecting, and I am forever grateful.

Over Spring Break of 2020, I traveled to Washington DC to speak with individuals in government, business, and nonprofits about their usage of data. Additionally, I aimed to learn more about the inner workings of these organizations and to get advice on how to achieve my goals from some very successful people. I had intended to also travel to New York, but this portion of the trip was cut short due to COVID-19.

My main understandings and assumptions that changed while completing my STEP project revolve around the importance of communication. When I initially began my project by reaching out to people, I believed that the majority of people could easily understand the very technical things I am learning in school. Over the course of many conversations, I have learned that the real importance of data is how to communicate it to the decisionmakers around you. I have now talked to people all across society, and they all emphasized the importance of displaying exactly what your point is without shrouding it in detail. When talking with others, you should be to the point and intentional in your conversation.

Additionally, along with the topic of communication, I also learned that it is a core tenant of many people to want to help. Nearly everybody who I was able to make contact with was excited and passionate about sharing their experiences with someone who was wanting to learn. People genuinely cared about my goals and helped me talk through my aspirations with them. I learned that in order to be successful, it is important to be open to other ideas and to be excited for others when they are the ones who come up with the idea.  In summary, it’s important to be nice.

The Capitol Hill house where I stayed in DC, belonging to Nancy Johnson, Congresswoman from CT. All because I asked someone for help!

The first activity which led to this transformation actually occurred before the project officially began. As I planned this entire trip from scratch, I had to first utilize my network to foster connections and get meetings on the books. By developing the relationships that I already had and taking all the advice and recommendations that were given, I was able to pursue meetings with people from all across the spectrum of Washington society. I learned the importance of being friendly and holding on to friendships even after you are seeing the individual face to face. Some of the people in my network who referred me to others had not seen the people in over a decade. Still, their relationship was strong enough that their friends were happy to meet with me- even if not for me, then for the people who referred me.

Another place where I certainly grew was in my confidence. I reached out to over 40 people over LinkedIn, email and other social strategies without a connection. This was a process that was initially extremely uncomfortable as I continuously found myself believing that I was being a bother. Yet, over time, the responses began coming in. People were so excited that I was pursuing an area that I am passionate about. Over time, I got connected with individuals at Washington Post, Axios, Gallup, the Census Bureau, National Geographic, and others. These are people who I had never met before and had no referral, and yet they still were wanting to help. Through this pre-trip process, I learned a lot about being bold, brave and persistent.

While on the trip, a number of the conversations and interactions that I had made a major mark on the way that I think about my future. One specifically that stuck with me was with Robert Engel, a man with an impressive political, academic and lobbying career. Over the course of his life, he has been the Executive Director of the DNC, managed Joe Biden’s political campaign, developed a program at American University, and is now a major lobbyist representing American Automakers in Washington. Through our conversation, he led me through all the dramas of his life. Many of the highs and even some of the lows. As we continued, I began to notice that some of the stories which stuck with him the most are not the major things you would think of, like being appointed to lead the DNC. Instead, they were much more subtle. Like going on walks with a Senator or walking into a congressman’s office to discuss their political leanings. By being present in the moment and having shorthand goals, he was able to extract so much more from his career. He also is able to enjoy life to a very high degree.

Now that I have completed my STEP project, I have a whole new group of people who are there to support me as I investigate my future goals. An example of important relationships that I have been able to develop is with Jennifer Morrissey and Pete Tseronis, the co-leaders of Denton’s Smart Cities and Connected Communities Think Tank. Over a nearly two-hour conversation, we were able to share the things that mattered the most in each of our lives. Additionally, we learned about the cool things that each side was working on, and through the conversation, realized the value which could be gained in continuing our conversation after the meeting. As a result of our meeting, I am not going to be more involved in this group and can serve as a voice of students around the globe as major thinkers make decisions about the future of communities. This may have a major career, personal, and community implications as I go through my life, and I am absolutely thrilled about this.

Two of my new friends, Jennifer Morrissey and Pete Tseronis

I think that now I will approach many of my relationships differently after this project. Now, instead of being nervous about how people think about me, I will strive to be myself and to see the good in all others. I have now seen firsthand the successes that can come from this strategy, and I am excited to emulate it.

My STEP project was obtaining my Wilderness First Aid certification as well as completing a leadership and outdoor guide course. This project was completed through Give Volunteer’s WILD program in the Cascade mountains over the course of the week of spring break.

This project gave me an entirely new perspective on what it means to be a leader. Every night we held group discussion on different topics of leadership and it really opened my eyes to the ways in which everyone is and can be a leader. Since there are so many ways to lead, everyone can be seen as a leader in their own right. The hard part is finding out which type of leader you are and how to adapt and apply that differently depending on the dynamic of your group. Something I had to learn to accept was to make bigger decisions on my own and being comfortable with taking that responsibility as a leader rather than trying to form group consensus every time. As we took turn leading groups, I was able to see the ways in which others were choosing to lead and adapt their styles as well as my own. This made me much more appreciative for the various methods of leading and the difficult skill of adapting to new environments.

The other big lesson I learned was patience. This was the lesson I explained as my biggest take away during the last day of my trip. The first thing they told us during our Wilderness First Aid course was that every time, it is important to take a moment to assess a scene in order to act appropriately. If you only rush into a scenario to try and help somebody, you could be missing crucial information, or you could be putting yourself in the same danger of the person who is hurt. For example, if you stop to help somebody who has been in a car accident, but you don’t assess the situation and realize that traffic needs to be stopped before approaching, you could risk getting struck by a car yourself. I also took this lesson to apply to other areas of the week and my life in general. I think it is important that I become more patient with myself because I often get down on myself if I am not achieving things as quickly as I would like to. I have to remind myself that everything is a learning process and those steps I am taking are just as important as where they lead me in life.

I learned that I am definitely a leader who likes to get consensus on decisions before charging ahead on a project or idea. There was a day of the week in which we were all using snowshoes for the first time and we were broken up into teams to traverse up a very steep and difficult hill. This was a hike in which I was my team’s leader and I often stopped as we progressed to make sure everyone was comfortable with the path that I was leaning towards taking. This was often met with indifference as most of my teammates said they trusted my decision since I could see ahead best. At first, I found it frustrating because I didn’t understand how they would not care or want to have a say in the direction we took. However, as the hike continued, I found myself more comfortable with making these kinds of decisions on my own. I had realized that they were showing to me that they wanted a leader who would take charge. In order to still make myself feel comfortable in knowing that they were happy with my choices, I transitioned into asking for feedback on route choices so that I had more information to make each decision. In this way I came to understand the importance of acknowledging other leadership expectations and how to adapt my own style to fit that.

Patience was definitely something I had to work on in the Wilderness First Aid portion of the course. I am somebody who tends to rush into situations and, in the case of emergency situations, panic. That is obviously not helpful when somebody’s life is on the line. To work on this we did countless scenarios in which our course leader would interrupt us exclaiming they needed help somebody has been hit by a snow mobile, or somebody fell and is having a seizure, etc. Even knowing the scenarios were not real, it was still hard to use patience and follow the steps we were taught. After the scenarios we would discuss what we did, what we found, and how we treated it. Usually, we would realize things we had forgotten such as lifting the injured person off the snow onto a sleeping mat or coats to insulate them. However, every time I noticed I would remember something I hadn’t before, and it was because I was taking the time to fully assess a situation and go through every step.

The relationships I formed on this trip were a major addition to these things I learned. There were twenty of us that attended this course as well as a Wilderness First Aid instructor, two international guides from Give, and the founder of Give himself. Not only were all of the different leaders of the trip of different backgrounds and style, but it was the same case with the other course participants. I was working with nineteen other people that I otherwise might never have met or talked to because we were so different. I even met another student there from Ohio State that likely would not have met on campus due to our very different course work. I think being surrounded by such diversity really forced us all to consider other perspectives on leadership and we had to be patient with ourselves to understand that. However, since we were all learning in this same way together it fostered such a welcoming and comfortable environment in which twenty completely different people bonded so quickly and strongly throughout the course of only a week. If it were not for the atmosphere that was created between us, I don’t think the week would have been half as successful.

I am an international studies major at Ohio State and in December of this year I will be graduating. To learn how to be an adaptive and patient leader who strives to understand multiple perspectives in order to reach an outcome in which everyone is happy is something that is important in most situations. This is especially true for me as I would like to pursue international humanitarian work following graduation. This means that I will constantly find myself in new environments where it is even more important to be able to adapt quickly and in a way that is effective for the intended goal. These skills will also be effective as they have prepared me to become better at communication skills with diverse groups where multiple perspectives need to be considered. Not only will that make me a more successful leader, but it will help me build both professional and personal relationships that I might not have otherwise built. These lessons that I learned during the course of my project are life lessons that I will carry with me always and continue to apply to different situations within my life.