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 participated 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 were encouraged to log at least 1,948 minutes of sports and/or fitness related activity between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Teammates logged their minutes in activity trackers and completed monthly surveys to lock them in. Teammates who earned at least 1,948 minutes in the challenge received a t-shirt and were entered into a raffle to win prizes.
In 14 weeks, teammates logged over 3.5 million Summer of Sport minutes!
“We didn’t really know what to expect with Summer of Sport,” Lodge-Jarrett said, “but these levels of participation and engagement exceeded my hopes for sure!”
The true beauty of the challenge was that teammates earned Summer of Sport minutes in ways that were meaningful to them.
For Dina DeVincentis, a floor planning analyst, that was 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.
DeVincentis ready to dive in and coach 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 stayed cool and logged 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 with the hockey tournament’s championship cup.
Miller said Summer of Sport sounded like a good way to track his time on the ice and share his love of hockey with his teammates. He also said it was inspiring to see teammates share 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.
Susan Ruiz out on a run with members of the Store 697 Run Club.
Summer of Sport also brought 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 started running twice a week at different times of day, so teammates working different shifts had 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 was not just a challenge for her, but her family too!
Leslie Ventura on adventure walks with her children and stepchildren.
“My kids asked me every day if we could go ‘get our minutes in,’” Ventura said. They would take adventure walks around their neighborhood.
“Summer of Sport was a great way to stay active and a fun, easy way to create memories with my family,” said Ventura.
Another way teammates made memories and earned Summer of Sport minutes with family and friends was by attending sporting events in person.
“We not only encouraged teammates to physically participate in sports and/or fitness activity, but we also encouraged them to support their local communities,” Jovenitti said.
From attending youth sporting events to MLB games and even international sports matches, teammates found ways to incorporate Summer of Sport into every day.
Jallayha Lagarda and her husband at an Arizona Diamondbacks game.
Jallayha Lagarda, assistant store manager of Store 1564 in Whitestown, IN logged 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 also clocked Summer of Sport minutes!”
Janet Merlino with her family at her son’s baseball game.
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 past summer was no different, except this time she logged Summer of Sport minutes at her son’s adult baseball league games!
“I earned my minutes while cheering him on with my family,” Merlino said.
While Summer of Sport required teammates to log their minutes, Jovenitti hopes they took away much more than that from the challenge.
“We hope our teammates were able to see just how much they do in the sports and/or fitness world and be proud of their accomplishments,” Jovenitti said.
So, will Summer of Sport return in 2025?
“Absolutely,” Lodge-Jarrett said, “we’re already planning!”
Written by Hilary Totin