From NCAA Champion to Air Force Academy — Developing Leaders of Character | Ep. 59 Abby Brenner

Most athletes compete to win. Abby Brenner chose to compete for something bigger.

Abby Brenner is the Director of Development at the United States Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation — and a former NCAA Division I student-athlete who won a National Championship and three Big Ten titles at the University of Michigan, then added a Pac-12 Championship and a third-place NCAA finish at the University of Utah.

She could have taken that resume anywhere.

She chose to take it to the Air Force Academy — where she advances philanthropic engagement efforts that strengthen Air Force Athletics and enhance the experience of cadet-athletes who will serve as leaders of character in the United States Air Force and Space Force. Before that, she built her development career at Boston College's Athletic Department, supporting fundraising across all 31 varsity sports, and at the University of Utah with Utes Sports Properties through corporate sponsorship work.

Her personal connection to service academy athletics runs deeper than her job title. Her husband, Nicholas Blessing, is a proud Air Force Academy Class of 2020 graduate and former member of the Men's Soccer team — a team that won two WAC Championships and made a Sweet Sixteen NCAA Tournament appearance.

In this episode, Erin Sarles and Thomas Roe sit down with Abby to talk about what championship athletic experience actually prepares you to do, what it means to serve something larger than individual achievement, and what she has learned about developing leaders of character from her years at the intersection of elite athletics and military service.

In this episode: — The biggest lie collegiate athletics sells student-athletes about what success actually means — What winning national championships taught Abby about the difference between achieving and serving — What makes service academy athletics fundamentally different from any other collegiate program — How her competitive background informs her approach to developing and fundraising for future military leaders — What student-athletes need to understand about building identity beyond individual achievement — What parents and coaches need to know about character development alongside competitive success

This one is for every student-athlete who has started to sense that winning isn't enough. Every parent raising a young competitor and wondering what comes after the sport. Every coach who wants to develop leaders, not just champions.

Connect with Abby: United States Air Force Academy Athletic Corporation Air Force Athletics — goairforcefalcons.com

The Standard Podcast™ — Raise the bar. Rebuild the culture. Become the standard.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Good morning, team. Welcome to the Standard Podcast, where we raise the bar, rebuild the culture, and call out the lies or misconceptions that nobody else will. This isn't motivation, this is a movement. I'm Thomas Rowe, joined by my host, Aaron Charles, and today we're super stoked. We're sitting down with Abby Brenner, Director of Development at the United States Air Force Academy, Athletic Corporation, a former NCA Division I student athlete and leader who embodies what it means to serve something greater than yourself. Abby's story is one of excellence. Service and understanding true leadership extends far beyond individual achievement. As a former D1 student athlete, she earned her bachelor's degree in sports manage from the University of Michigan, GoBlue, and completed her athletic career master's degree in administration at the University of Utah, GoUs. I know Aaron's gonna like that. Her competitive achievements also are remarkable. A 2021 NCAA National Championship and three Big Ten titles at Michigan, plus a 2023 Pac-12 championship and third place finish at the NCAA National Championships with Utah. But here's what makes Abby's story so powerful. She chose to translate her athletic excellence into service for others. After beginning her career at the University of Utah with Youth Sports Priorities, Learfield, where she partnered with corporate sponsors and then working in development at Boston College's athletic department, supporting fundraising across all 31 varsity sports. Abby now serves as the air at the Air Force Academy. As director of development at the Air Force Academy, Abby advances philanthropic engagement efforts and strengthen Air Force athletics to enhance the cadet athlete experience. She works closely with donors, campus partners, and leadership to support fundraising priorities for those who will serve as leaders in character in the United States Air Force and Space Force. Her connection to Service Academy Athletics runs deep. Her husband, Nicholas, is a proud U.S. Air Force class of 2020 graduate and former member of the men's soccer team. That's badass. Can't wait to hear about your kids in all of these days. Contributing to two WAC championships and a Sweet 16 NCAA tournament appearance. Abby is passionate about fostering meaningful relationships with those who believe in developing leaders of character, proving that true success comes from using your platform to serve something greater than yourself. We're diving into the truth of what it really takes to build identity, discipline, and legacy in sports and in life. Let's get into it. Actually, with that introduction, Abby, our podcast is over. Everyone just go meet Abby. I mean, my God, she has a key super wonder woman there. Abby, thanks so much for joining us today. We're super excited to have you.

SPEAKER_01 2:45

No, thanks so much for having me. I mean, this is, you know, I was talking to my husband last night, Nick, and telling him that I was gonna be on this podcast. And he said, that sounds right up your alley. You could talk three days, four days, five days straight about that. So, no, truly, I'm so excited to be here, and thank you guys for having me.

SPEAKER_02 3:00

Awesome. Let's do it. Let's get into it. You're a former NCAA Division I athlete who won national and conference championships at Michigan and Utah, and you chose to dedicate your career to developing leaders of character through Service Academy Athletics. What does raising the standard mean to you and your work at the Air Force Academy?

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Yeah, I mean, I think as you kind of mentioned, I previously had a role at Boston College, which is a Power Force School, ACC, doing kind of what you talked about, which is, you know, student athlete development and fundraising for all these student athletes across the board. We all know that the NCAA landscape has changed drastically in the last five, six years. And so I think coming to the military and coming to the United States Air Force Academy has just meant so much more. There's three schools in the NCAA that I believe still operate how the NCAA was created and what it was meant for. And those are the military academies. That's West Point, Navy, and Air Force. You know, we don't have NIL, we don't have revenue share, and not to mention every single kid that's 18 years old is signing up to do something more than being a student athlete when it comes to campus. And so I think going off of, you know, raising the standard of being a student athlete and what it means to be a student athlete truly is at the center of any military academy. I'm biased. I love the Air Force Academy. I think it's the best branch. Don't tell my father because he's Army and he's gonna listen to this and probably shake his head. But biased with my husband being here and being a student athlete and knowing a lot of his friends and being on campus, been in this role for about five months now, and meeting all the student athletes, the amazing student athletes on campus, and how mature and just level-headed they are at 18 years old coming onto campus. And like I said, doing something, signing up beyond being an athlete and truly becoming a leader of this country. And so I just think when we talk about raising the standard and my my position at Air Force, I think, you know, military cadet athletes are by fun by far some of the best, some best leaders and athletes of character.

SPEAKER_02 5:15

No doubt. You know, I think we talked about it when we first met. My dad was a 26-year Marine and a career Marine, and he said the same thing when I was looking to go to college. He's like, if you're gonna look at one of the academies, start with the Air Force Academy, and that's coming from a Marine, so that carries a lot of weight. What's the biggest lie you feel the culture of collegiate athletics has sold student athletes about success, achievement, and what it really matters to building the life and purpose of service?

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Yeah, I think the biggest quote-unquote lie or misconception is your accolades and actual athletic ability and career as an athlete is the most important thing. I feel like the pendulum has swung from, like I mentioned, what the NCAA was built on, which is, you know, your athletic experience is supposed to enhance your academic experience. Your academic experience is supposed to enhance your athletic experience, and both are supposed to work simultaneously to enhance your overall four-year career at college and set you up for the professional that you're going to be. And I feel like we've gone away from that a little bit with this college landscape. And so I think my biggest misconception is, you know, that when you step onto campus, your four years is all focused on your accolades, your athletic career. Um, and that's the most important thing, and that's where your identity becomes and lies in. I just think there's so much more that sports provide and athletics provides than just, you know, what you have on paper. I remember doing my resume, uh, my junior year in one of my professional development classes. And I had, you know, as student athletes, division one student athletes, we don't have time for internships and things like that most of the time. You know, we have to get pretty unique when it comes to that. So a lot of our resumes coming out of college are, you know, how can we spin our athletic experiences into a professional world, which resonates a lot. And there's a lot of transferable skills. But I remember having a lot of my accolades down on my resume, and my dad said, you know, give it two, three years, and you're gonna have, you know, two, three bullet points of those left. And I was like, what do you mean? I've worked my entire life for this. Like, that's supposed to be my entire resume. And he's like, No, like at one point, you're gonna have all these professional skills that you are going to put in your resume, and all of those athletic accolades, big ten championships, scholarships, you know, individual things, those are all gonna go into one, two bullet points and call it a day. People really just care that you were a student athlete and all the other skills that they know set you apart, not really how many medals you have and what scores you ended up in your career.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

Awesome. Awesome. And you went from competing for national championships to working in athletic development at Boston College and now serving at the Air Force Academy. How did your athletic achievements shape your understanding of what true success comes from using your platform to serve something greater than yourself, working with in academics as well as with athletes now?

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Yeah, I think, you know, I wish I knew development was a bigger piece when I was a student athlete myself. You know, we always joke, no one graduates and thinks they want to be a fundraiser. But it's such a big part to the student athlete experience as a whole. You know, when I think back to some of the postseason gear that we got, or when I was at Utah, we got to charter a plane, or some of the extra meals that we had on the weekends when the dining hall wasn't open, or you know, some of that new equipment that we might have gotten. A lot of those things don't come just from, you know, the athletics department. It comes from your supporters, your donors. We talk about endowed scholarships, you know, at the Air Force Academy. Obviously, we don't have those because everyone's on a full ride scholarship. But when we were at Boston College, you know, we were trying to help get endowed scholarships for a lot of these student athletes, you know, with the NCAA, they changed the scholarship rule, right? And so now it's not based on just Title IX and how many scholarships each support. Each support is based on the roster, right? And so we had endowed scholarships in Michigan. I had no idea what that meant. I didn't realize that someone, you know, gazed philanthropically to a mission, which was women's sports and endowed a scholarship for us to have a full ride scholarship to go to college at the University of Michigan. I had no idea about all of that, you know? And so I wish I knew a little bit more going in as student athlete, and I could be a little bit more thankful and understand and appreciate, you know, those people. And I wish I could have had a greater relationship with some of those donors. Our biggest donor at gymnastics, he named the facility at the softball and gymnastics facility and helped build those, both of those. He has scholarship throughout multiple women's sports and the band, actually. Funny story about him, he actually went many, many years ago to go give money to the football team. And the football coach kind of slept him off and was like, Why, who is this guy at practice? Like, no. So he went to the athletic director and said, All right, what programs need money? Because I'm not giving it to that program. Like, clearly they have enough that they don't care. And so he was like, Well, you know, we have two women's sports that, you know, are really up and coming. How about that? And, you know, he's transformed both of those programs. I would say both of those programs are probably the most winning female, winningest female programs at Michigan. And so I think, you know, competing at the very top and understanding that it takes a village to get there. And it's not just, you know, me and my team putting in the hard work and doing our job, but it's everyone else doing their job, having our donors and our supporters doing their job, having, you know, our compliance office making sure that we're all eligible. It's making sure, you know, that our team that's setting up all of our equipment is there and doing everything on time. It's our coaches, it's, you know, it takes the village, it takes everyone. Um, and not just, you know, it's easy for us as athletes just to think that it's all on our shoulders and it's just us out there and it's all about us, me, me, me, when it really does take a village. And I think not until stepping into this role more on the administrative side of college athletics and seeing that, I just really understood and had a greater appreciation for it.

SPEAKER_02 11:38

That's awesome. Yeah, no doubt. I mean it's an it's amazing. Do you have that gentleman's name? Do you want to give him a shout out?

SPEAKER_01 11:44

Or you can if you I'm totally blanking on that name right now. Let me think about it, but I will give him a shout out. He has a whole bio on Michigan's development website. He's an incredible, incredible man.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

That's awesome. That's awesome. We'll get to that name. And well, right now I'm going to turn it over to Aaron for segment two, which is identity and service. Aaron, take it away.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Abby, thanks so much for joining us. Uh so I want to just start off my segment here with who is Abby beyond all the accolades that Thomas shared at the top of the show. Just who's Abby? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Oh, that's such a great question. I'm a total goofball, like the most bubbly, clumsiest goofball person, but I definitely believe in just like helping others, you know, making everyone feel heard. I feel like those are all cliche sayings, but you know, I'm not who I am, and I'm not at my best if everyone else isn't at their best, you know? And so I'm definitely one of those people that likes to pour into others at all times. I've never met a stranger. I will never stop talking. Um, and I absolutely love my family.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Oh, I love that. That's so awesome. Yeah, I can it's so funny. My daughter is just wrapping up her senior year in high school, and I could see the girls at senior night for you just talking about how your personality and what you bring to the team. Like, I have this whole vision. I'm sure that happened. I just love those moments because girls are very different.

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Yes. And you know what's so funny is I started off as a little girl who could not go on the school bus in first grade, had to eat with like our behavioralists because I couldn't make friends. I was so shy, crying at school every day. And my parents were always to say, like, we always worried about you. We didn't know if you were ever gonna be able to do like anything. You were so shy, and now you're like the most talkative person, and like to everyone, like how what happened? And I will say, plug it. Sports and gymnastics are for sure the reason why.

SPEAKER_00 13:47

Yep, it's amazing what sports does. It clearly brought you out of your shell, which is yeah, absolutely. I love it. So, you and your husband both have just an incredible academic service to athletes, uh, you know, and I want you to tell our audience what does legacy beyond athletic achievement mean to you, especially when you're helping develop not only the future athletes, but the next military leaders of our country?

SPEAKER_01 14:18

Yeah, I think, you know, I learned this lesson a little bit late, and I wish I would have learned it a little earlier, in the sense that people aren't going to remember whether you score the highest event scores, make us go to regionals, or you fell and you disqualified us, or you didn't score that goal in soccer, or you know, you had the fastest time in swimming or track. Those things aren't what people remember. I couldn't even tell you like half the meets that I competed at and what scores I got. But people remember how you made them feel. People remember the teammate that they would go to to make them laugh. People remember the teammate that when they were down in the dump to, you know, they would always say yes to go get ice cream. They remember the teammates that did their hair. They remember, you know, all these different things that those are what people remember. People remember how you made them feel. And so I feel like when it talks, when you talk about that legacy term, I know me and my husband were both very big on, you know, teammates come first and how you make people feel come first. And that's the legacy we wanted to leave rather than, you know, any of these accolades.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

I love that. I think that's so important. And you're absolutely right. You don't remember those details. So now you work with donors, campus partners, and leadership to support fundraising priorities for cadet athletes who become leaders in uh the Air Force and Space Force. What separates athletes who compete for themselves from those who understand they're part of something greater? And what's the service piece that transform uh transforms athletics excellence into leadership of character?

SPEAKER_01 16:04

These are great questions, guys. I mean making me think this morning. You know, I think I've said this before. I think, you know, those athletes, especially the ones at the academy, are so special. I've said it, you know, they're signing up to do something beyond themselves. When we talk about what, you know, these kids athletes go through. They're waking up at 6 a.m. and going to breakfast at 7 all together. They march into breakfast, you know. So when they wake up at 6 a.m. and they march breakfast at 7, that means they're in uniform, ready for the school day. Their bed is made in military grade. They're all doing it together. They march into breakfast, they go to breakfast, they go to class, they have noon formations. They all line up, do the same thing, and go to lunch. They all have a few classes after that. Every up, every sport starts at two o'clock. So everyone has practice at two. And then from two to six, they do, you know, practice, treatment, rehab, you name it. And then they go study, finish their homework, and then go to bed and do it all over again. You know, there's no break for them. I think the tenacity and perseverance that those athletes have, I mean, builds character in and itself, you know. I could have named a handful of times where I didn't make my bed in the morning or I purposely scheduled classes to not be on Friday. And, you know, they don't have that autonomy. And so when we talk about, you know, just becoming leaders and being something bigger than themselves, I mean, they sign up for that at 18 years old and they live, breathe it for four years, and then they go off and do it for a minimum of another five years. And so I don't know if people realize that, but they're in military formation all four years while they're on campus, and then they have five years of service to give back minimum. And so I think just their tenacity, their hard work is something that's so special. And like I said, when we're talking to these donors, these supporters, that's not saying that they're not giving up anything that is athletics. I mean, we had our gymnastics team go to the final, like the NCAA bracket, March Madness of gymnastics. We had a gymnast qualify the NCAA championship. So she went the farthest ever. My husband was there, he won two conference championships. We were in the conference finals for women's basketball. We have the most commander in chiefs for football. So that's not to say that we're, you know, sacrificing all that, not to, you know, strive on the field or on the court or, you know, on the mat. And so I think that's what's so special about the academy. And they're doing it the way it's supposed to be, right? This I mentioned. There's no NIL, there's no revenue share. There's no, you know, one athlete being above something else, as you mentioned, you know, doing it for something greater than themselves. That's what every professional, every organization, every company later in life, those are the skills they want. They don't want someone coming in thinking that, you know, they deserve XYZ or it's a a one-man shop. You know, it's a team. It takes a village. And I think, you know, you learn that at the academy from day one.

SPEAKER_00 19:04

That's so cool. Yeah, it's almost kind of an anomaly right now within the landscape of uh college sports. And I think much, I think much needed. So um shout out, go to the academies, kids go to the academies.

SPEAKER_01 19:18

Let me tell you, yeah. Like I said, you want to build true leaders. I'm saying, and that's not to say that you know, there's not schools and there's not programs out there that aren't the same, but it's definitely changing right now. And I think, you know, you hear some football coaches that we're talking about the transfer portal a lot. You know, I remember reading something about the Texas football coach who said, you know, if you're going in the portal just to search for how much money you want, like you're not coming back to Texas. Your position's gonna be filled. We're not, you know, going out there seeing what money we can get and coming back here. And I know a lot of coaches are starting to do that and say, like, no, we can't, we can't build a winning championship off, you know, wishy-washy. We're only here for yourself and the, you know, the attention and NIL money that we can get. I remember hearing the headline for Michigan winning the NCAA championship in basketball. And they said the headline was first team to win with like five new starter transfer starters. I'm like, that's not really the headline I want to hear. I want to watch the kid that's been there since freshman year that is now a senior and has helped transform his team, you know? And so I think those are those those are the stories I like to hear.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yeah, I think that's so powerful. And I think you're spot on. Like there's in the relationship you talked about earlier of building that relationship with your donors, you know, and who's supporting you that attitude of gratitude versus you know, what's in it for me and taking versus what can I give? Because these donors are giving for me to be here. So how am I giving back?

SPEAKER_01 20:52

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 20:53

So powerful.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

And you know, when I was having conversations with donors at BC, a lot of it was, you know, scholarship, but a lot of it was, you know, NIL conversations, like subsidies, like how can you give us money, help us raise money to for revenue share for NIL or for these other things, you know? And at B or and at Air Force, like those aren't the conversations. The conversations are your dollars are going directly to support, you know, the cadet athlete experience. They're going to help with locker room renovation, you know, they're going to help with flights. You know, maybe the team can take a two o'clock fight instead of an eight o'clock flight and not get there at 10 p.m., you know, extra nutrition, things like that that are really gonna help the student athlete versus, you know, a lot of these colleges are fighting their way of, you know, we need development more than ever, but we need development, you know, to kind of to keep players on our roster. And, you know, that doesn't feel as as good, that attitude of gratitude or like true philanthropic conversations.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Yeah. So my last question before I turn it back to Thomas is what's one truth you wish athletes, the current athletes. Athlete today really understood.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

There's so many. One truth, I think, you know, your identity isn't in sport. And I think, you know, the other piece to that is we always talk about, you know, athletes make the best leaders, but it's not best athletes make the best leaders. It's athletes make the best leaders. And so I think we get caught up into, like I said, you know, I can't be a leader unless I'm have the most playing time. I have the best scores. I'm on top of the leaderboard. And that's not true. You know, that's why we put kids into sports, as we mentioned. I was a shy little kid and now here I am. You know, we put kids into sports because of so many other things. And so, you know, on top of that, like sport isn't your identity. There's so much to it and there's so much to take from it. And there's so many life skills that are so transferable. And it's like such a small portion of your life. Like when you are done, whether at 18 or 23, you know, there's so much more to life and what you can learn from everything that sport has taught you and all the leadership qualities and leadership skills that that you have like have learned. But I think we get mixed up of, you know, best athlete, best leader. And it and then that's not the case, you know.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

No, I love that. Okay, Thomas, I'm gonna kick it back over to you.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Awesome. Abby, we're gonna get into segment advice across all stages. If you could sit down with yourself as a young student athlete at Michigan, before you understood how athletic excellence could translate to service and develop in others, what what would what advice would you give the young Abby about purpose and leadership?

SPEAKER_01 23:44

Oh what would I give? Be authentic and be yourself. There's many different types of leadership styles. And while they're all to the same goal and they end up in the same spot, there's so many different ways and so many different avenues to get there. And so I think don't try to be something that you're not, you know, take the skills that are innately who you are. You know, for me, it was being super vocal, being super loud, being super bubbly. That's not everyone's cup of tea, you know? And there's definitely leaders out there that are the stealthy, you know, silent but deadly leaders that, you know, people just gravitate towards. And so find what resonates with you, being your most authentic self, because that's how you're gonna get the most the most out of it.

SPEAKER_02 24:32

Sure, sure. And what about current student athletes who are achieving at high levels but may not understand how to translate competitive excellence into service and character leadership? What do they need to know about building identity beyond individual achievement?

SPEAKER_01 24:50

What do they need to know beyond individual achievement? I mean, I think the number one thing that I realize are that sport has so many transferable skills. And I know I've said that about 800 times, but I mean we talk about, you know, teamwork, we talk about being able to perform under pressure, we talk about being able to talk to leadership, your coaches, your captains, you name it. When we talk about, you know, hitting deadlines, like all these things, time management, you're being a student athlete, so you're doing school and athletics, you know, then we talk about all these skills, but they're so transfor transferable into the workplace and into leadership. And that's the reason why, you know, so many employees want to hire athletes. And it's not because of, oh, they were, you know, an all-American, but it's because they have these skills that, you know, they don't have to teach. They can teach you how what their company is about and how to work their CRM system. They can't teach you, you know, how to motivate how this, how to motivate yourself or, you know, are they gonna be able to meet time? Are they gonna be able to perform under pressure? Do they know how to like multitask? All those things that athletes just we take for granted because we've just been doing it for our whole lives. Um, and so realizing that there are so many skills that we have that build such great leaders of character. And as long as you're being authentic to yourself, realizing that you have all those things and being confident in that.

SPEAKER_02 26:14

That's awesome. You have a very unique uh position having competed at Michigan and the University of Utah, and now you're dealing with cadets at an academy. And of course, you can't speak for all academies, but what would you say to parents and coaches working with young athletes? What do they need to understand about developing character alongside athletic achievement, especially if they're considering one of the service academies?

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Mm-hmm. Absolutely. I mean, I think, you know, my parents told me this story when I was, gosh, doing my master, one of my master thesis projects. And it was about, you know, sport specialization and how much pressure, you know, parents are putting on student athletes these days and young, young athletes. And they said that my club coach would sit all of the parents down and say, if you are giving me your money to give your child, get your childhood scholarship, you are better off saving your money. He's like, I am not here to just get your childhood scholarship. I am here to build strong young women. And I thought that was so powerful. You know, we used to after practice, we would sit down, he had a quote jar, and we picked two or three quotes. And every practice, we talk about, you know, what those quotes means and how we can instill those in our practice and in our daily lives. And I think, you know, for me, it started from a young age. You know, I had great parents that always were looking out for those type of things and me beyond just my sport, but also my club coaches were instilling in that too, you know, and the fact that the end goal isn't just, you know, yeah, sure, it's division one athletics, it's everyone's end goal. But what else are we achieving along the way?

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 27:56

What are we achieving as building like, you know, care young women, young men of character, you know? Like we said, we talked about dealing with hard things, how to push through, how to make goals, how to achieve goals, how to set goals, you know, all these different things that, you know, athletics brings. Not to mention it helps us with just your overall wellness and health and well-being when it comes mentally and physically. And so I think we take for granted all these amazing things that sports brings to young athletes and to young adults. And we kind of get blindsided by that end goal, that that goal under the rainbow of you know, D1 athletics or you know, professional athletics. And we forget to stop and think about, you know, all the other things that we're building, that the building block to get there.

SPEAKER_02 28:45

Totally, totally. And on that one, I'm gonna turn it over to Aaron, segment five, rapid fire round. Aaron, take it away.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

Awesome. So this is fun. I'm gonna just start a sentence and you're gonna finish it for me, okay? Okay. Discipline equals. Discipline equals hard work, leadership equals. Good character. Service equals.

SPEAKER_01 29:13

I can't say hard work again. Service equals tenacity.

SPEAKER_00 29:18

Legacy equals. How you make people feel. What is one thing you would never compromise on? Who I am. And if you could put a message on a billboard for the next generation of athletes, what would it be?

SPEAKER_01 29:36

You are more than sport, and there's so much more to sport.

SPEAKER_00 29:40

I love it. And with that, I'm gonna turn it back to Thomas.

SPEAKER_02 29:44

Awesome. Thanks, Aaron. Abby, we're gonna get in the closing round here. And before we wrap up, we always love to turn the floor over to our guests. Is there something we didn't touch on today that you feel student athletes, parents, or coaches need to hear about character development, service, and building a life, a purpose well beyond their personal achievements?

SPEAKER_01 30:04

Yeah, I think, you know, when we're talking about finding a place that you want your son or daughter to go after, you know, high school athletics. I think a big thing that people are now forgetting is that it's not just about sports and there's so many other things that you're picking a university for. And obviously, right now it's a lot tied into money and how much money is my son or daughter going to get. But also, I think we forget that a lot of those dollars are for very few sports, right? And that shouldn't be the number one thing that you're deciding by. And as we've mentioned, there's so many different things that build you into becoming a leader of character. And I think, you know, finding that beyond, you know, taking some real deep time to figure out what that means for your son or daughter and not just picking based on the sport or maybe even just the coach. I know you want a good coach, but what else are they gonna provide for you? You know, at Michigan, there's a lot of different things that we had. You know, we had a lot of careers, career centers, we had a lot of conversations about what you're going to do beyond sport. And I think that's what helped me a lot with my transition, too, of becoming a leader in sport beyond being a student athlete. And so when I was going on to Utah and, you know, I was 23 and making that decision myself, those are some big questions that I had for myself. And, you know, the reason why I transferred was I knew I wanted to work in college athletics. And what better way to see another conference, another athletic department, you know, see a marketing department that truly supports women's sports with 15,000 fans at a women's dramastics meet, you know, making those decisions beyond just who you are as an athlete and really making those decisions based on who you want to be after those four years and how that's gonna trajectory you into who you want to be.

SPEAKER_02 32:05

Awesome. All right, you went from the uh rapid fire to the hot seat. Okay, according to Abby, of the four events, bolt, uneven bars, balance beam, floor exercises, rank them best to worst, according to Abby.

SPEAKER_01 32:19

According to Abby, so absolute worst is the balance beam. I can absolutely tell you that. If we're talking about practicing every day, because I think there's a difference between competing and practicing, sure, you know, which are the ones that you you love, you love to just do every single day. I loved bars. Bars was number one, floor was number two, vault was number three, beam was still the bottom.

SPEAKER_02 32:45

I love that. That is awesome. Abby, thank you so much for your time. But before we close out, let the audience know where they can connect with you, whether that's your social media, a website, or your email.

SPEAKER_01 32:57

Yeah, honestly, any of the above. Social media is my now new last name, which is Blessing. So it's Abby Blessing. My email is my first and last name, 22 at gmail.com. So Abby Brenner22 at gmail. LinkedIn, it's still my maiden name. So Abby Brenner. I'm still in the transition of changing, so bear with me. But yeah, any of the above. And please, please, please do not hesitate to reach out. I mean, if there's any gymnastics families, I love talking gymnastics. There are so many skills beyond just, you know, building character and leadership that I love to talk about that, you know, I definitely struggled mentally through, you know, learning how to compete and things like that. So if there's things even beyond just, you know, becoming leaders and good character and professional development, I am, you know, all ears. I love to pick up the phone and have a conversation. So anyone out there that's, you know, wanting to connect, please don't hesitate.

SPEAKER_02 33:55

That's awesome, Abby. Thank you so much for showing us what it looks like to translate athletic excellence into service and developing leaders and character. Big, big, big thanks. And team, if this conversation hit you, we need you to do two things. One, share this episode with someone that needs to hear it, a student athlete who needs to understand character and service, a parent considering one of the service academies, a coach who wants to develop leaders alongside champions, and two, learn more about the Air Force Academy's mission to develop leaders and character through the Air Force as well as Space Force. And if you're called to serve something greater than yourself, explore what makes Service Academy Athletics special. And if you're an athlete or parent or a coach ready to raise a standard, check out me and Aaron at blueprintbluechip.com. We help athletes build identity, discipline, and legacy that goes far beyond the sport. And if this epino, if this episode resonated with you, leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps us reach more athletes, parents, leaders who need to hear this message. And team, please take Abby up on her offer to reach out to her. She's an exceptional resource. If this stand this is a standard podcast, and this movement only grows when we raise a standard together. Talent fades, but truth endures. Let's raise the bar, rebuild the culture and become the standard. We'll see you next time. Abby, Aaron, thank you guys so much. You guys have a fantastic weekend.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Thank you. You too. Thanks so much for having me.

SPEAKER_02 35:20

That was awesome. Excellent. Abby, you were absolutely