Living the Summer of Sport at DICK'S Sporting Goods
Written by Hilary Totin
Originally published on DICK'S Sporting Goods Sideline Report
DICK’S Sporting Goods believes sports change lives. Our teammates (employees) not only support athletes, we are athletes. That’s why more than 2,100 teammates companywide are currently participating in DICK’S first-ever Summer of Sport challenge.
Summer of Sport was created by the company’s teammate wellness program, Team Wellness, and Executive Vice President, Chief People & Purpose Officer Julie Lodge-Jarrett, after hearing about another leader’s experience with a summer fitness challenge at his previous company.
“We took the concept of tracking activity and transformed it DICK’S Sporting Goods style,” said Team Wellness Manager Kelly Jovenitti.
To celebrate the year DICK’S Sporting Goods was founded, participating teammates are encouraged to log at least 1,948 minutes of sports and/or fitness related activity between Memorial Day and Labor Day. That breaks down to about 20 minutes per day. Teammates log their minutes in activity trackers and complete monthly surveys to lock them in. Teammates who earn at least 1,948 minutes in the challenge receive a t-shirt and are entered into a raffle to win prizes.
Teammates completed their first challenge checkpoint to document minutes earned from May 27 through July 1. In just five weeks, nearly 1.7 million Summer of Sport minutes were logged! On top of that, a third of the teammates who completed the first checkpoint have already reached the 1,948 minutes goal.
“We didn’t really know what to expect with Summer of Sport,” Lodge-Jarrett said, “but these levels of participation and engagement have exceeded my hopes for sure!”
The true beauty of the challenge is that teammates can earn Summer of Sport minutes in ways that are meaningful to them.
For Dina DeVincentis, a floor planning analyst, that’s swimming. She started swimming at four-years-old and competed throughout school and in college. DeVincentis still competes and now coaches middle and high school students with Pittsburgh Elite Aquatics.
While relatively new to DICK’S Sporting Goods, DeVincentis said she wanted to give the organization a glimpse into her world and her sport.
“It’s great to give teammates a chance to shine a light on the sports they participate in and see what different types of athletes are at DICK’S,” DeVincentis said.
Software Engineer Matthew Miller is staying cool and logging his Summer of Sport minutes by playing hockey. After a pickup game with a friend, Miller signed up for a learn-to-play class eight years ago. This past June, he was in net for a tournament at the Baierl Ice Complex in Warrendale, PA. Not only did Miller’s team win, but Miller was named tournament MVP!
“It was one of the highlights of my hockey ‘career’ so far,” Miller said.
Miller said Summer of Sport sounded like a good way to not only track his time on the ice, but also share his love of hockey with his teammates. He also said it’s inspiring to see teammates sharing their Summer of Sport journeys.
“It actually got me out to jog and use the running shoes I bought myself earlier this year,” said Miller.
Summer of Sport is also bringing teammates with similar passions together. Susan Ruiz and Samarah Soto from Store 697 in Bakersfield, CA love running but usually work opposite shifts and can’t go together. When Summer of Sport launched in May, they got the idea to start up a Store 697 Run Club!
“That same day I posted a sign-up sheet in our breakroom,” Ruiz said. “It started to fill up within a week!”
The group runs twice a week at different times of day, so teammates working different shifts have an opportunity to lace up their running shoes and join in.
“We love to see our teammates leaning on each other to achieve their goals and celebrate their passions,” said Lodge-Jarrett.
For many teammates, like Store Manager Leslie Ventura of Store 313 in Tinley Park, Illinois, Summer of Sport is not just a challenge for her, but her family too!
“My kids ask me every day if we can ‘get our minutes in,’” Ventura said. They love to go on adventure walks and pick new routes around their neighborhood.
“Summer of Sport is a great way to stay active and a fun, easy way to create memories with my family,” said Ventura.
Another way teammates are making memories and earning Summer of Sport minutes with family and friends is by attending sporting events in person.
“We’re not only encouraging teammates to physically participate in sports and/or fitness activity, but also encouraging them to support their local communities,” Jovenitti said.
From attending youth sporting events to MLB games and even international sports matches, teammates are finding ways to incorporate Summer of Sport into every day.
Jallayha Lagarda, assistant store manager of Store 1564 in Whitestown, IN made sure to log challenge minutes while on vacation with her husband in Arizona. In between visiting with family and friends, the pair made time to head to a Diamondbacks game.
“We love going to sports games when we can,” Lagarda said. “It’s a plus that while enjoying our love of sports together, I can also clock Summer of Sport minutes!”
Janet Merlino, administrative assistant at Store 110 in Greensburg, PA, echoed Lagarda’s sentiment. Merlino said she’s a true baseball mom at heart who has been traveling to watch her son play baseball for 25 years. This summer is no different, except now she’s logging Summer of Sport minutes at her son’s adult baseball league games!
“I’m able to earn my minutes while cheering him on with my family,” Merlino said.
While the challenge requires teammates to log their minutes, Jovenitti hopes they’re taking away much more than that as the challenge continues.
“We hope our teammates are able to see just how much they do in the sports and/or fitness world and can be proud of their accomplishments,” Jovenitti said.
So, will Summer of Sport return in 2025?
“Absolutely,” Lodge-Jarrett said, “we’re already planning!”
