In this conversation, JLG Architects experts Kyle Kosior, Todd Medd, and Adam Davidson explore the innovative intersection of sports and healthcare design through their recent collaboration with the Summit League, Sanford Health, and Holiday Inn to provide dedicated mental health spaces for student-athletes.
The team breaks down the creation of the “Zen Zone”—a pilot mental health room designed with trauma-informed and evidence-based principles—to support the “whole athlete” experience during the high-pressure environment of a collegiate championship.
The team behind the project discusses how merging medical and athletic architectural expertise prioritizes cognitive wellness and respite serves as a critical tool for recruiting and retaining talent in the evolving era of NIL and professionalized college sports. During the conversation, surprising parallels emerge between the needs of high-pressure athletic environment with athletes, coaches, and trainers to healthcare spaces, for doctors, nurses, and patients.
The conversation also highlights the expanding need for these supportive ecosystems in youth sports and professional environments, emphasizing how intentional design can help athletes of all ages navigate the modern pressures of competition and social connectivity.
Transcription:
00:00:06:07 – 00:00:47:03
Kyle
Thank you everyone for joining us today. My name is Kyle Kosior and I’m a sports business consultant at JLG Architects, joined today by Todd Medd and Adam Davidson. Two of the really, what I would call the top minds at JLG. And I think it’s and I think that’s an objective breakdown. We’re going to talk to you today about a collaboration between JLG Sport and Medical Studios, where we went to the Summit League, A Northern Plains League, known for basketball and football, and set up a mental health room for them at their basketball championship as a test case about how JLG can bring some mental health spaces to different sporting venues, sporting leagues, and using, as I said,
00:00:47:05 – 00:01:04:10
Kyle
that as a test case to see where JLG Sport and Med studios might work together to collaborate and bring these spaces to more student athletes. Todd and Adam, would you guys mind introducing yourselves, telling us a little bit about what you do at JLG and we’ll kick it off from there?
00:01:04:12 – 00:01:27:15
Todd
Sure, I can kick that off. Appreciate the introduction, Kyle, and the glowing reviews of Adam and my skill sets. So, Todd Medd health care practice studio and principal architect here at JLG. I’ve been with JLG Architects for 16 years. During that time, my passion has grown and, you know, really gone towards the obviously the health care practice within our studio.
00:01:27:15 – 00:01:58:10
Todd
So we work across certainly the upper Midwest, and we’ve got clients around the country primarily focused on rural health care and behavioral health. And so actually this type of project aligns really well with that. With this focus on mental health, my kind of side hustle side gig, not much of a hustle. It’s not a very good moneymaker. But my family started the 463 Foundation, and that really is what drives me in the mental health space and the design that I can bring to the table with that.
00:01:58:14 – 00:02:35:03
Todd
Our foundation is primarily focused on reducing teen suicide and primarily focused on the sports side of that. We lost our son to suicide. He was a baseball player, football player. And one thing we realized is a lot of times it’s those kids that are suffering in silence. And so, you know, they’re the high achievers in school, high achievers, whether they’re at that high school level or into the college level, which is why we really got excited when the Summit League reached out to us and said, hey, you know, how do we provide spaces for our student athletes competing at a very, very high level, whether it’s basketball or track
00:02:35:03 – 00:02:51:03
Todd
or golf or baseball. So this is this is where this idea came from. And a combination of, of not only our health care expertise, design expertise, but then obviously the work that Adam and Kyle and the team do on the sports side. So glad to be here.
00:02:51:05 – 00:02:53:06
Kyle
Great. Thanks, Ted. Adam.
00:02:53:07 – 00:03:12:08
Adam
Yeah, thanks. That was a great introduction. And thanks too Kyle for the very, very gracious as always. So my name is Adam Davidson. I’m a principal architect in our sports studio here at JLG. Really with the focus on collegiate athletics and those types of projects. I’ve been with JLG now for ten years this year and really focused on collegiate projects. Probably the last eight of those ten here.
00:03:12:09 – 00:03:41:05
Adam
At JLG really with not only regional but also national and almost coast to coast. And so it’s been really a informative and a really great experience to be able to learn, to be able to engage and to be able to work with clients from various sizes of colleges, universities, athletic departments, really to see the inner workings of what they do, especially in the last five years, which, as most people know, the NCAA and just a collegiate landscape in the last five years has seen probably more change in the 30 plus years before that.
00:03:41:05 – 00:04:10:07
Adam
And it’s really a interesting and dynamic time to be able to follow and be in collegiate sports. As a student athlete myself, I was a distance runner, cross country and track, ran for a couple of years at North Dakota State University. While I was doing the architecture program. I’m also a veteran of the U.S. Army and a combat veteran going into Iraq, in 04 and 05 during that period, really experiencing for the first time in my life the understanding.
00:04:10:08 – 00:04:42:14
Adam
And actually, I should take that back. I don’t think it’s the understanding, but really the experience of what anxiety is, what depression is, and a lot of the pressures that I think coming from the collegiate side of things, that college athletics, such a huge jump from a high school to that level and balance that with education, coaching, architecture program and then really top that off with being in the military and going through a deployment really gave me, in hindsight, now, the appreciation for what mental health services behavioral health does for our society in general.
00:04:42:14 – 00:05:04:03
Adam
And with my architecture background design and really the love of sports, especially college sports, this is really a great and meaningful topic for me to talk about and to be able to integrate into our designs and our working with our clients to really make, you know, a fantastic and whole experience for student athletes and our clients in general.
00:05:04:03 – 00:05:08:04
Adam
So happy to be here and enjoy this conversation. So looking forward to it.
00:05:08:05 – 00:05:30:02
Kyle
Yeah, great. I teased it out a little bit in the cold open there. But you know, one of the reasons we’re here is we’ve established this partnership with the Summit League, the Commissioner there is Josh Fenton and Associate Commissioner Brian Miller, who have been really tremendous to us in terms of helping us trying to implement this vision, you know, back and forth with some other partners like Sanford and the Holiday Inn
00:05:30:02 – 00:05:58:15
Kyle
And essentially what we’ve done has gone to the host hotel, the Holiday Inn and set up a little space there for the student athletes at the basketball championship. Again, as a sort of the initial offering for what will hopefully be a, you know, a larger scale endeavor down the road. Todd can you start off just tell us a little bit about the actual the room and some of the thoughts behind it in terms of how that space can help with the, the mental health of the student athletes.
00:05:59:00 – 00:06:28:10
Todd
So maybe take it back a little bit to, to the idea not only in healthcare design but in other areas of architectural design is evidence based design and then trauma informed design. And you don’t have to have experienced trauma to be able to engage in room like this. But that’s the lens that we look at it from. So in healthcare design, gosh, maybe 15, 20 years ago, this this idea of trauma informed care came about in dealing with mental and behavorial health care.
00:06:28:10 – 00:06:56:09
Todd
And in the last decade, really elevated since the pandemic is this idea that that can be translated into trauma informed design. And so that’s what we look at it from its non triggering spaces. It’s spaces that we talk a lot about biophilic. And biophilic is a big word that basically means natural design, whether that’s of view of nature or that’s the ability to have grounded and nature focused materials within a space.
00:06:56:10 – 00:07:23:05
Todd
Is an important aspect of this. Calming colors, different engagement opportunities, whether that’s music or light or seating options, weighted blankets, things like that that we’ve brought into the space. That all comes from this evidence based design mindset. What works, what doesn’t work, what really drives value in a space like this? And I think something unique to think about with this space, Kyle, and as the team designed it, is a space that’s very we call it the Zen zone.
00:07:23:07 – 00:07:54:05
Todd
And that implies kind of a quiet, meditative space. Some people really thrive on that. It’s got to be quiet. It’s got to be subdued. Might have some lighting, but it’s not a stimulating space. On the flip side, some individuals really thrive in that stimulated space, Adam mentioned, especially when you’re talking about like PTSD and coming from, you know, background in the military, some of those spaces where there’s a little bit more energy actually are a positive in the space.
00:07:54:05 – 00:08:14:07
Todd
So we designed it to be both. And it’s hard to design a space that can do both of those things. But that was something that was important to us. So when the when the Summit League approached us, our team looked it, some of our great interior designers, went and toured the space, and it was an interior space. So we didn’t have the ability to bring in natural light, which was not a great thing.
00:08:14:07 – 00:08:35:14
Todd
But we made it work, and that’s where we’re intentional about the type of light that we have in the space, the use of images on the wall that might be natural in their setting to offset maybe the that ability to have natural light. Now, on the other side of that is because there isn’t an outdoor window. You also don’t maybe have the stigma that you might have if if somebody would feel like they’re exposed.
00:08:35:14 – 00:09:05:08
Todd
And that’s something to that we can never forget, is the importance of stigma and vulnerability in all of this. And I and I always say that leading with vulnerability always gets you to a better place. And you heard it with Adam’s introduction of his vulnerability as a as a former service member and his experience in deployment and everybody’s trauma that they bring or everybody’s history that they bring to a space, you know, understanding that and making that space respond to that vulnerability that you come to it with.
00:09:05:08 – 00:09:23:07
Todd
And maybe that concern about stigma was also something that was important. It didn’t you didn’t want it right in the lobby, right. So people could see that, you know, you’re walking into this space. But we also wanted to be open and available. And I will say too, and this generation that’s now in college, Gen Zers, they’re very different in the way that they think.
00:09:23:08 – 00:09:44:07
Todd
You know, Kyle, Adam, myself, we’re you know, we’re not boomers, but we’re not far from it. Maybe Boomer in our mentality. But we didn’t talk about this stuff when we were in college and high school. So you know, we do see that this is something that’s maybe a little bit more open for this generation. And so all of that kind of went into the design of certainly of this space.
00:09:44:07 – 00:10:06:13
Todd
And giving that really what it comes down to is optionality and the ability to use the space. How they see fit could be one person in, there could be three people in there. You know, we’re not imagining it to be some sort of, you know, raging party. But, you know, if you’ve got 2 or 3 people that kind of want to sit in there and, and chill and even just have a conversation, how you use the space was, was up to that individual or that group of athletes.
00:10:06:14 – 00:10:28:11
Kyle
Sure. I think I’m going to touch on the stigma a little later on because I had some conversations leading up to the, you know, this whole project. But Adam and Todd and myself all have kids involved in various stages of, you know, youth sports right now. And I think everyone would probably agree like that. You can probably see more of this, this anxiety and whatnot kind of building up in young players.
00:10:28:11 – 00:10:47:00
Kyle
It’s, you know, we’re going through some some hockey drafts right now. And a lot of parents and kids are waiting by the phone feeling anxious. You know, will I get taken? Will I not get taken? There’s tryouts. And, you know, your lacrosse season has started. Adam, there’s all these different anxieties that build up on kids where, you know, it used to be just a fun thing to go outside and play.
00:10:47:01 – 00:11:12:08
Kyle
Now it’s as the business builds, kind of falls to the kids. Ultimately. Now, that’s not what we’re doing right now. These are for collegiate athletes. But Adam, just in using, you know, some of your background, not only as a, as a former athlete, but as a guy now involved in youth sports, how do you take what you have learned and trying to apply it to what jumping out from what Todd said, apply it to what will help these athletes the most, given you have an idea of what they’re dealing with?
00:11:12:09 – 00:11:27:11
Adam
Yeah, absolutely. You know. Back to what he was saying. What generations I always like to cater now and say that I’m an Xennial You know, I was born in ‘82, so I had the best of both worlds of GenX and Millenial, Right, I know what a rotary phone is. And I also, you know, know what to do with the technology. So we’re special that way.
00:11:27:11 – 00:11:49:15
Adam
But seriously talking though, I think that the stigma that I was talking about has really been the paradigm shift in collegiate sports, I would say, in the last decade, but really in the last five years. And what I mean by that is that universities and colleges and the athletic programs now are really looking at student athletes with the quote unquote, whole athlete experience.
00:11:50:00 – 00:12:12:10
Adam
And what that really means is that instead of the kind of tried and true tradition of programs focusing on strength and conditioning and practice, you know, and things of that nature, that it’s really starting to look at a complete ecosystem for the student athlete. So the philosophy really digs into, you know, and this gets into what we do as architects, into these purposeful and high performance environments.
00:12:12:10 – 00:12:48:14
Adam
But the standard is no longer just looking at an expansive weight room or some of the bells and whistles. Hey, we got a barbershop in our athletic, you know, looking at like Oregon as an example. It’s really about providing the most comprehensive and integrated or interconnected. Maybe it’s a better way of putting it support system for students. And there’s some core pillars that we see with that because of other drivers with this, such as NIL which is, you know, something, and also the revenue sharing coming down from the court ruling last year, you know, between the House and NCAA students and student athletes in particular are very sophisticated.
00:12:48:14 – 00:13:14:09
Adam
And how they see themselves, they don’t see themselves as just an athlete going out there and working hard and get there. They really see them and their bodies as a commodity and investment into themselves. And so when they’re looking at programs out there, they’re looking for that comprehensive integrated support system to do just that. And some of those core pillars, you know, we’re looking at are going to be Advanced recovery and Sports Medicine.
00:13:14:10 – 00:13:39:15
Adam
You know, so we’re looking at you know what beyond just athletic training taping tables treatment tables. What else do you have. You know hydrotherapy, biometrics some other types of restoration techniques that are out there. I think the big one that you’re seeing more coming into support staffs for athletic departments beyond just strength and conditioning coaches, even nutritionists and athletic trainers, as you’re looking at, you know, mental health and cognitive wellness.
00:13:39:15 – 00:14:13:07
Adam
So psychologists, mental health professionals, you know, are increasingly on demand to be on staff so that they’re accessible. So as part of the day to day routine for student athletes that they have the kind of that care they’re looking for at the ready, as well as having really mindful spaces throughout, not just having the sports training room, you know, from the locker room, what other spaces are there to help them in that recovery mode, and really just that mindfulness that they need to help with those racing thoughts that happen.
00:14:13:08 – 00:14:38:15
Adam
Whether it be, you know, on the education side, you know, tests and things that they’re doing that way or on the competition side, a coming game, upcoming postseason, you know, how are those in place? I think the other big one two besides mental health and mindfulness, and that care is going to be nutrition, nutritional performance too, that we see with some of these core things and really trying to be, again, good to their body, both in terms of physical but also in terms of mental.
00:14:39:00 – 00:15:05:08
Adam
And so that whole athlete approach and experience is really, I think, driving what students are looking for in institutions. And so as architects, again, we come in and we can really help our clients develop and transform those drivers into those purposeful and really high performing environments. And so it’s just it’s so much more compelling. It’s so much more integrated.
00:15:05:08 – 00:15:11:06
Adam
It’s so much more meaningful, I think, and seeing these collegiate environments developed than what they were ten years ago.
00:15:11:07 – 00:15:43:14
Kyle
Sure. Now, you used the word ecosystem a little ways back. And I think that’s an important distinction here too. So, you know, your court or your ice or whatever you had your locker room or dressing room for my Canadian friends. And then everything was sort of compartmentalized. So both of you kind of just talk about the importance of that ecosystem and then how that affects the two of you guys coming from different studios, and how those studios bring the expertise to make that ecosystem, rather than just having an isolated room, isolated room, isolated room, and how that helps collegiate clients.
00:15:44:00 – 00:15:52:08
Kyle
And we’ll talk after this as a follow up, how that not only helps the athletes, but the institution that needs to make all of this work for everyone.
00:15:52:08 – 00:16:24:14
Adam
I’ll start real quick here. And I get thrown over to Todd on the medical side. But I think we talk about collegiate environments or maybe more importantly, athletic environments, whether it be an arena, a stadium, a performance and practice facility. You know, what we’re really interested in is understanding is the experiences of the users, the day to day experiences, the season to season experiences, the paths that student athletes and staff included and others take on a day to day to really develop spaces that help to help support them in that way.
00:16:24:14 – 00:16:40:10
Adam
So it’s not just like you were saying, Kyle, just the locker room, the training room, and then we’ll use hockey, for example, you know, hockey fan and Canadian and JLG and or ice experience. But it’s not just going from those three and the ice. Right. And then gone and then you leave the building. There’s so much more involved now.
00:16:40:10 – 00:17:00:08
Adam
And so what we’re really looking at is layering on top of that are going to be opportunities for nutrition enhancement. Where do we have those fueling stations throughout to make it easy for students whether they’re coming or going to be able to have that time and pause and take that time to do right for their body as part of their as part of their training.
00:17:00:09 – 00:17:29:00
Adam
The other thing, too, is having and this is really I think key is not forced spaces along these, but having spaces available maybe off the beaten path a little bit accessible, but you know, but maybe a bit removed to provide that. I think that mindfulness that they need, whether it be just trying again I said before some of those racing thoughts and comments down could be study, you know, and really what this encompasses together is a home away from home.
00:17:29:00 – 00:17:45:04
Adam
These athletes spend so much time invested into what they do, their craft here, right, no matter what sport it is. And that usually takes place away from home, whether it be their physical home where they grew up. But also there may be temporary home that they have on campus or, you know, around the community. They spend so much time there.
00:17:45:04 – 00:18:02:05
Adam
And so the idea is to make them feel like they’re at home and feel comfortable, and they have to have spaces to help support that. That’s where team lounges come in. That’s where again, those kind of, you know, respite rooms come in. That’s where recovery rooms are so much more than just athletic treatment tables and taping tables. Right.
00:18:02:06 – 00:18:21:00
Adam
And try to ensure that you see that there’s going to be sleeping pods or there’s, you know, red light therapy and there’s other types of breakout spaces they have along that path that they take to really support them. So I think that’s what’s really key. What we do is really provide that home away from home from them and that experiential design.
00:18:21:02 – 00:18:44:02
Todd
Yeah, I think I think the word ecosystem is fantastic. And we in healthcare design, we talk about it kind of as a continuing continuum of care. Right. It’s about it’s about spaces that deliver across a large continuum. You’re hearing it with Adam’s conversation about those spaces on a campus. It’s the very same thing, but within different kind of realms of design.
00:18:44:03 – 00:19:20:05
Todd
What we think is important at JLG and what Adam and I and Kyle and the team have been doing with this particular project is breaking down those barriers, those silos between two kind of thoughts, you know, one focused on the student athlete, one focused on health care type space. And so I think that’s what the beauty of this type of design exercise is, is breaking down those barriers between what we do as health care architects and what Adam and his team do as sports designers and say, hey, we can bring this together and bring ideas from our world and in in health care, one of the challenges that we have in the world of
00:19:20:05 – 00:19:38:08
Todd
health care, especially in rural health and behavioral health, that we do a lot of, is recruiting and retaining. You talked to Adam. What’s one of the biggest issues in their world is building and retaining, you know, ours. It’s nurses. There’s it’s student athletes and coaches. Right. So I think it’s bringing both those mindsets together and finding the best solution.
00:19:38:09 – 00:20:01:14
Todd
Because, you know, if you’ve got a nurse that’s working in a space 12 hours a day on his or her feet dealing with very complex challenges, very large issues, a lot of alarms going off, a lot of walking, a lot of distance between spaces. You got to create space for respite. And I love what you said, Adam too, because this is this is our world as well.
00:20:01:14 – 00:20:18:04
Todd
In healthcare design is it’s the in-between space. It’s interstitial space that you activate in a way that they can get away. Maybe it doesn’t have. There’s intentionality to even the in-between spaces and whether that’s a view outside, or whether that’s an area where they can just get away and take a phone call from a sick kiddo at home.
00:20:18:05 – 00:20:38:07
Todd
It’s those types of spaces that we bring into healthcare that I think there’s a lot of overlap with the sports design as well. And so it’s really about how do we design, and as a as a person watching collegiate athletics from from the outside, there’s a lot of instability right now. It’s not like I’m going to the University of North Dakota, I’m going to spend the next 4 or 5 years there.
00:20:38:07 – 00:20:51:03
Todd
I’m going to redshirt for a year, and then I’m gonna be a student athlete, you know, an active student athlete for four years. I’m going to get my degree, and I’m going to go to the next stage of my life. It might be I’m coming there for a year, and then I’m getting an offer to go someplace else, or I’m not getting the playing time.
00:20:51:03 – 00:21:14:07
Todd
So I’m going maybe to junior college and then working my way back up. And it’s there’s a lot more instability. And so how do we bring more stability from a design standpoint to their world? I think is something that Adam and the team do such a great job of is, is understanding that this is the first time for a lot of these young people that they’re away from home in a highly stressful situation.
00:21:14:08 – 00:21:33:10
Todd
You know, you mentioned it, Kyle. You’re there’s a threat of being cut. There’s a threat of not having your scholarship to that same level. There’s the concern about, am I doing what’s right for for my family, for the future. You know, what’s what takes precedence? My, my, my grades or my athletic abilities? For some of us, it was a pretty obvious answer.
00:21:33:14 – 00:21:52:00
Todd
For a student athlete, it’s not such an obvious answer. It’s like anybody with an ounce of ability, it’s like they’ve got to make that decision. And so I think that that’s the important thing is understanding ecosystem is such a great way to put it because it’s really about whole person design, whole system design. And that that is important.
00:21:52:01 – 00:22:18:00
Todd
Like what what somebody experience is we always talk about it in healthcare design. When you’re coming onto a hospital campus, usually in a stressful situation. How do you make wayfinding clear? How do you make access clear? How do you make parking available? How do you reduce stress through finishes and design and wayfinding and light? And that’s something that I know Adam and his team do as well, because again, our environments and how we think through them are important.
00:22:18:01 – 00:22:38:15
Kyle
Yeah. You know, one of the jumping off points here that I picked up from the conversation to is, is, you know, what I would deem projection. How can you move this other places. Because I in setting this room up, you know, a couple years running, the hotel staff always says how much they like it, you know, very you know, the front desk staff especially said, you know, they got a couple of tough clients.
00:22:38:15 – 00:22:58:05
Kyle
They can go back there, chill out, move on. So it’s great. It’s not only for athletes, it’s applicable to other places. And in talking to other leagues about this and in my case, particularly hockey leagues like how valuable this would be. But where do you put it? And the, the sidebar to that is, you know, I mentioned these conversations.
00:22:58:05 – 00:23:14:14
Kyle
I had previously had a couple of cousins that are collegiate athletes in in the Summit league. The football player noted that he would like it, but would like it to be as far away from the team facility as possible, so not everybody could see it in the gal was a volleyball player, she said. You know, right off our room would be awesome, you know what I mean?
00:23:14:15 – 00:23:33:07
Kyle
So my question to you guys is, how do you take this and project this concept to other places that would work at a rink or in a dorm or, or wherever? And then how would that help? And, you know, I guess, how would that expertise help a client who wishes to put this concept in a, in a spot that works for them?
00:23:33:10 – 00:23:57:00
Todd
Yeah. I was just going to kind of kick it off with just the I do think that you have to be very open to each situation. Each one is going to be very different. And I think that that’s the importance of that evidence based design mindset to come in and say flexibility is going to be important because this might not look the same way day one is it’s going to look, you know, day 365, because I think that each space is going to be a little bit different.
00:23:57:00 – 00:24:22:15
Todd
Each need is going to be a bit different. In architecture, flexibility is a challenge because we’re dealing with we’re dealing with metal studs and concrete and you know, everything’s kind of created. But is there a way to think about this where what’s inside of that space or the location of that space, even, you know, do you set up a few different locations that could be utilized based on kind of the need, and you might find that one space works better than another space for that.
00:24:22:15 – 00:24:40:06
Todd
So I think the key to this is continual learning and continual knowledge gathering. That’s one thing we did with this room after year one. It said what worked, what didn’t work, what was the feedback we got from the teams and the student athletes and the coaches? How do we make it better next year and then each continual year?
00:24:40:06 – 00:25:04:12
Todd
Just kind of making it, making it a little bit better. Because I do think that I think these spaces are very, very transmittable to any situation. But you just have to know what that situation is and come in with some evidence based understanding of what would work best and then also be open to change. I think that’s the key to it, is what works for one university or what works for one tournament.
00:25:04:12 – 00:25:35:02
Todd
Adam and I have kids in cross-country. What makes a cross-country person tick is way different than what makes you got to. You’ve got you’ve got some goalies in your house. Kyle. What exactly. So but there but there’s similarities but there’s differences and understanding that I think is very important. That’s where leaning on expertise, whether it’s the coaches, whether it’s the student athletes themselves, whether it’s mental health professionals, even, you know, you talked about Josh and Brian and the team at Summit League.
00:25:35:03 – 00:25:41:06
Todd
Get feedback from them on what they know. You know, they live in this world. Getting that feedback is going to be important. Yeah.
00:25:41:08 – 00:26:07:07
Adam
I think one thing to again, they go back to, you know, the last 10 or 5 years, how we’ve seen this paradigm shift in understanding, you know, again, that the philosophy of the whole athlete experience, not the conversations, especially early on design, have become so much easier because it’s the expectations. You know, clients and athletic programs and universities call it, they expect these types of this type of integrated design more so than ever before.
00:26:07:10 – 00:26:32:07
Adam
The also, the other thing too, with this is that there’s so much more sophisticated to than I think they were again, five even or even 5 or 10 years ago. And that’s because the model for athletics is shifting for more less of an amateur style to more of that professional style, and one that’s happening. Not only is it happening at like a revenue level in terms of the business model, but that’s also happening in the program level and the offerings.
00:26:32:07 – 00:26:53:00
Adam
These programs have to make sure they do that. And go back to what Todd was talking about earlier in recruiting and retaining, you know, college, I think athletes always see themselves as an investment into themselves. I think they see it even more today that this is a big investment into who they are to their bodies, of what they’re doing when they make a selection.
00:26:53:00 – 00:27:36:00
Adam
So these spaces that we’re talking about and the integration of them into design are now more at the forefront than they ever have been for. And so in my experience anyways, I think they have an easier conversations to have to bring up. I think also to it’s an expectation now that when a client at a university of college, whether it be in the athletic department or facilities, how, what have you, their expectations, I think of us coming in as designers and understanding the model of collegiate athletics, and what that means is an expectation that you have to have so that you approach the design of these spaces, the program and these spaces early on, very
00:27:36:00 – 00:27:55:05
Adam
integrated and very intentional, purposeful, as I said before, because they have to be extremely high performing, and that goes way beyond the tried and true locker rooms and strength and conditioning. As I said before, it goes into a lot more intentional design for, again, that holistic approach to the athlete.
00:27:55:06 – 00:28:16:07
Kyle
And that’s a real good spot to for me to jump in. I was I read earlier in the week an article in The Athletic that Kobe Bryant would meditate 15 minutes a day, you know, starting as a, you know, high schooler, the transition into the NBA and really one of the first players of his caliber to do that, and it made it more acceptable.
00:28:16:07 – 00:28:31:07
Kyle
So speaking of these spaces, if you had something in your mind, what you would make it enticing to a player that hasn’t done this yet? And how would you use that space to help that player make the investment in him or herself that you mentioned?
00:28:31:10 – 00:29:00:05
Adam
I think it’s, you know, the athletic departments. I’ll start off here, the athletic departments, I think it’s to really talk about these amenities as something that really I think that really is going to connect them as a complete person with their institution. And really, I think, really talk about the care that goes into and I think maybe even the understanding that the university really values them as a, you know, a complete person, right?
00:29:00:05 – 00:29:24:05
Adam
That complete student more so than just the athlete. And so I tend to repeat myself a lot with this. But that’s why that whole athlete and the way you talk about that philosophy is really important, because that’s really, I think what those students need to hear that, hey, this institution is just not seeing me as a commodity, you know, to their business model, you know, as a, you know, let’s say it’s a top Division one sport.
00:29:24:05 – 00:29:47:12
Adam
It could even be Division three now or having this conversation. So it goes across the whole spectrum of divisions. But you know, students really need to hear and want to hear that this is valued to them about what they’re entered into and that you’re not just a commodity, that they see you and they understand your investment into them as well, and they’re going to do everything they can to give you that whole experience across the board.
00:29:47:12 – 00:30:02:00
Adam
And so I think those are the conversations and the points that you’re going to start making, whether it be with, you know, nil collectives, whether it be with the institutions themselves and recruiting is really is changing the conversation and the narrative to that.
00:30:02:00 – 00:30:19:08
Todd
Yeah. I think that that’s a good point, Adam. I would say in this, in this world we’re living in, in collegiate athletics, especially right now, it’s going to be that could be something that could be the tipping point, right? Hey, you know, there’s some nil dollars, there’s good facilities, there’s good. I connect with the coach, I see opportunity here.
00:30:19:10 – 00:30:37:07
Todd
And I see that, you know, maybe with another institution or another conference and then you add on, hey, we really care about your mental health. And that whole athlete that you mentioned, that could be the tipping point to say, hey, these guys really are invested in my success. And it’s not just about, you know, filling a spot on a roster.
00:30:37:08 – 00:30:57:02
Todd
It’s about it’s about me as a person. So I do think that that’s something that really has been a change, and it can be a part of the sales process and the recruiting process, which I think drives a lot of value. We’re invested in, you know, individual that goes a long way.
00:30:57:03 – 00:31:22:07
Kyle
Now, shifting gears once again, as a person needs like to drive a manual transmission. I love the shift. Aside from the fact that, you know, the really the entirety of the staff that would work on projects like this are needed as, as users or former athletes. Like there’s a lot of real world experience from JLG, What would you say to a potential client or an institution or university that would be considering something like this?
00:31:22:08 – 00:31:34:05
Kyle
You know, we talked a lot about the student experience, how that can help them. What would you say to a university or collegiate client that was considering something like this, and how it might help not only their teams, but, you know, the campus at large?
00:31:34:06 – 00:31:52:10
Adam
I can start to get in here to a little bit. I think that what I would say to them that this is the norm now, this is the expectation and this is what your peers are doing. Whether you’re said this before, whether you’re in the top power four conferences or whether you’re in a mid-major or whether you’re in Division three, this is the norm.
00:31:52:10 – 00:32:24:10
Adam
And if you want to compete up and I say this a lot, that it’s an arms race out there. It really is that colleges and institutions, universities are really competing against each other for talent, top talent, recruiting top talent, retaining top talent and that and that and that goes a lot of ways, you know, to be practically saying it does go to sometimes the bottom line, which is, you know, to drive revenue for these institutions so that they can compete, especially in, again, the changing evolution of collegiate athletics and revenue sharing, etc..
00:32:24:12 – 00:32:45:12
Adam
And so that that’s sort of the conversation. It’s not really trying to talk them into it in a way, design wise, it’s being very practical in front that this is what you need to do to compete. This is what we see with peer institutions and that if you want to be relevant in today’s collegiate athletics, these are going to be the expectations.
00:32:45:12 – 00:33:07:12
Adam
And that’s where we can really help them understand what does that look like. And I always say that’s our job to right as designers that we help transform those drivers. It says before and I think transforms a big word. We’ll transform those drivers for clients into these purposeful, high performing environments. And that’s where we can help them visualize what that investment looks like so that they can compete at the highest level.
00:33:07:12 – 00:33:26:10
Adam
So if a client is teetering or talking about it, and we understand too, there’s so many other things with budgets and schedules and other things that play to ride donors come in. It’s not a it’s a simple snap your fingers and do it. But I really think it’s to be clear and upfront as a trusted advisor to our clients about this is really what you need to do.
00:33:26:10 – 00:33:27:15
Adam
And here’s why.
00:33:28:00 – 00:33:49:12
Todd
And I think, Adam, you talked about the investment side of it. I think two things to to highlight. One, it doesn’t have to be a huge square footage. It doesn’t have to be huge investment on top of what you’re already doing. And like we talked, you know, find some interstitial spaces that can be activated or find some areas that they’re under utilized that can be used in a more front forward way like this.
00:33:49:13 – 00:34:22:08
Todd
I’d say the second thing, my shameless pitch, but find a firm, find a design partner that understand not only the sports design side, but also the mental behavioral side. Right. We can bring both of those together to really drive value. It’s not rocket science, but but I think there’s some things that can be with the experience that an architect can bring to the table or an interior designer that’s done this before and, and gone through a number of, of, of revs, we can bring that expertise to bear.
00:34:22:08 – 00:34:46:07
Todd
And I think that that’s something that can they can drive a lot of value, not only from a, from a cost standpoint, but a schedule standpoint and even just a functionality standpoint. The last thing we would want is to design a space or multiple spaces into a facility that don’t get utilized. For whatever reason. We want to make sure that it’s something that’s functional and, and drives value for for those athletes, for the coaches, for the whomever is in the space that can utilize it.
00:34:46:07 – 00:35:03:05
Todd
And that’s the other thing, too. I think just we can’t ever forget about the coach, right? I mean, talk about a high pressure job. It’s like, you know, but we also know, too, that maybe they’re a little bit older and they’re coming with a little bit more of that stigma that we talked about before that our generation maybe comes with more so than the younger generation.
00:35:03:06 – 00:35:08:13
Todd
But I also know a lot of coaches to that would would jump at this opportunity to have a space like this.
00:35:08:14 – 00:35:29:07
Adam
I would say to I always tell our clients, especially athletic directors, I would not want to have their job right now and the stresses they go through to be able to manage these expectations, these high expectations. And I think that’s a great point, Todd. I think that’s where I really value what can offer to our clients is the intentional experience and the discipline that we have across our studios in our culture.
00:35:29:08 – 00:35:52:08
Adam
Right. We know what would it be sports, whether it be medical and health care or even higher education. I think that is just a great asset that we have and we get value. We bring our clients and having that dedicated experience, you know, and understanding of those, and to be able to really bring that all together and again, that really, you know, authentic and purposeful solution for our clients can’t be understated.
00:35:52:09 – 00:36:11:00
Kyle
And to tie a bow on all of this at the at the onset, we talked a little bit about, you know, your younger athletes that are, you know, some of them are in college now, but there’s a lot of kids playing youth sports right now that could probably benefit from, you know, something very similar. And I know there’s been rooms like this put in some different youth sports facilities.
00:36:11:01 – 00:36:19:07
Kyle
Could you guys just briefly talk about the importance of having it there for the younger athletes as well, and where you see that going in the near future?
00:36:19:07 – 00:36:38:12
Todd
Yeah, I can I can maybe touch on that one. But I would say just from our standpoint, we’re seeing we do a lot with wellness centers as well that are more focused on those youth athletes, those community focused events, traveling teams, you know, middle school, high school. Again, the pressures are so much more than they used to be.
00:36:38:13 – 00:36:58:01
Todd
And a lot of that self-imposed. So I do think there’s value in those. We’ve done a lot of projects where that’s a request, hey, we need a we need a space, a respite room or a wellness room built into this. So never we never don’t talk about it when it comes to a space, a building like we’re designing.
00:36:58:01 – 00:37:25:03
Todd
So I think it’s just something too, to raise early in design and bring up that conversation. You know, the pressures on kids. We talk about it. We do a lot of speaking in front of teams and coaches. And one of the big challenges is, you know, we have this little supercomputer in our pocket, you know, when we were bullied or when we were invited to a party as a, as a kid, we’d go home and we wouldn’t know any different.
00:37:25:03 – 00:37:42:02
Todd
Right? We’d be able to get away and there’s some, some protection. These kids don’t have that anymore. They’re constantly connected. And that’s a good thing in some ways. But it’s a bad thing in many more ways. They can see what’s happening on Instagram. And maybe the girl or the guy that they broke up with last week is already dating somebody else.
00:37:42:02 – 00:37:56:07
Todd
And so it’s not just about maybe the pressure of the sport. It’s also about that, you know, it’s tough being a kid nowadays. And so yeah, we can’t understand the importance of having a place for kids just to go and decompress.
00:37:56:08 – 00:38:33:13
Adam
You’re absolutely right. I think that, again, the really good thing about today, it gives me really a lot of hope as we continue with this. Yes. You know, the phone and our kids and how there’s so much more exposed and integrated to the world, which has positives, but also has a lot of negatives, you know, and I’m sure you can start seeing studies that contribute to the anxiety levels and depression because of that accessibility to the world in general, and everything it has to offer is really challenging, whether it be parents especially, but also coaches and, you know, community members who volunteer for our youth sports.
00:38:33:14 – 00:38:56:03
Adam
But what gives me hope, though, is that the stigma is really starting to, you know, I think peel away, go away and which is great that we’re having really I think these fantastic conversations and all these different levels of our community and society to really help make it better for, you know, not necessarily for us, us old people now.
00:38:56:03 – 00:39:22:10
Adam
Right, but for our, our youth, right. Our kids and their kids moving forward, in particular to youth sports. I think the American model, I tend to compare this very similar to what’s happening in the college realm. You know, the college going from amateur to professional. I see youth going from recreational to amateur and taking that similar step. And that puts a lot of pressure onto everybody, not only the student athletes, but to parents.
00:39:22:10 – 00:39:43:10
Adam
You talk about travel costs, you talk about, you know, the investment you have into that from money perspective. And then, yes, the kids and the expectation to compete successfully and that travel to on top of that, you know, they’re in school, their kids. I coach a help coach, I should say more than anything with our local lacrosse club team here in town.
00:39:43:10 – 00:40:05:09
Adam
And, you know, 12 you kids and I talk with the coaches, you know, and there’s there there’s such skill players there. So they’re so good at what they do. And sometimes you tend to forget their 12 year olds and 11 year olds out there. Mostly having fun, you know, and coaches kind of get on them for goofing off and everything, you know, because, hey, we’re traveling and we’re in the cities this weekend.
00:40:05:10 – 00:40:36:14
Adam
We’re competing, you know, it’s time to take it seriously. And when you step back and think, dang, you know. And so that model does put a lot of pressure. And so the conversations we’re having here today about, you know, collegiate athletics and all those resources and all of those spaces and integrated design approach we can take is absolutely effective in our wellness and recreation, in our youth sports complexes and should be treated as such and having similar conversations because I think it’s just it’s the right thing to do.
00:40:36:14 – 00:40:44:10
Adam
But also I think it is the the norm and the expectation that our communities and society needs to have with these types of environments.
00:40:44:14 – 00:41:03:15
Kyle
Yeah. That’s great. Really well said. We’re about at our time. Guys, I really want to thank you for this conversation. Really, really great to see how, you know, sport and med can come together to make med and Todd Medd can come together to make a, you know, a room that can certainly help out athletes. And it’s nice to see it’s it’s moving forward.
00:41:03:15 – 00:41:15:14
Kyle
And with the help of the Summit League and some of our other partners here, feels like we’re getting some traction and certainly something we can help project out into the into the sporting world here before too long. So appreciate the time guys.
00:41:15:14 – 00:41:19:04
Todd
Thanks Kyle I appreciate it. Thank you. Bye.
