Welcome to Chalk Talk
A new hub for cool stories and shows about NCAA gym
Hello everybody and welcome to Chalk Talk, a place for the engaging stories in NCAA women’s gymnastics that might otherwise turn to dust. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be getting an average of one podcast and feature story per day as I interview one person from each NCAA women’s gymnastics team.
Yes, from Simpson to Oklahoma to Lindenwood to UW-La Crosse to Missouri to BYU, all the teams you know and many of the teams you just plain don’t will be heard before the season kicks off. Podcast episodes will be roughly 20 minutes long and be available wherever I can get them out while written feature stories about each person beyond gymnastics will available to read in this newsletter. If you subscribe to it, you’ll get these in your email whenever they’re ready.
I can’t do this alone, so I’ve enlisted the help of my friend Gabi (@jadesdbldbl on Twitter) to do some behind-the-scenes work. It all starts tomorrow with an interview I did with Rhode Island College senior Olivia Keyes and a story on what she does outside of gymnastics that keeps her sneakily good.
Why do this? It gets too easy to say that there are only a handful of teams in the NCAA that “matter” or are worthy of coverage. The truth is that there are 86 NCAA teams all competing with a chance at the big wooden trophy in Fort Worth. Sports communications staff at those schools shouldn’t be the ones who have to tell that story, either. They are overworked as it is and should be the ones directing storytellers to subjects.
This series of preseason conversations is dedicated to the parents who sacrificed their time and money (so much money) to see their daughters’ dreams become a reality, to the sports communications staff who have a million responsibilities who don’t need a million-and-first responsibility, to the coaches who work so hard to build these women into stronger people for the future, to the fans who love the sport but want more than they’re given, and most importantly of all to the women who do this incredible sport and work so hard to do things that most people can barely wrap their heads around in the little gyms off campus or the palaces on campus. All of you deserve to have a voice at the table because you matter.
I hope you’re excited for what’s in store. I know I am!