by Ryan Knapp on January 21, 2012
For the last two years, my favorite part of the NSCAA Convention has been the opportunity to give a session to those in attendance. Speaking at the Convention was an item on my bucket list (which has conveniently disappeared and I need to update) since I attended my first Convention in 2009.
In 2012, I had the opportunity to conduct two sessions on Friday, which combined with the NSCAA Blogger Brunch and New Media Mixer presented by Demosphere and the WPS Draft made for a fairly hectic but rewarding day. But then again, what day at the NSCAA Convention isn’t hectic and rewarding??!?
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by Ryan Knapp on December 18, 2011
I was honored to be the Keynote speaker for the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association Convention on November 16-17 in Naples, Florida.
Thanks to an introduction from Rob Kehoe, a member of the NSCAA staff, I spoke with Gothard Lane from the IWLCC and made arrangements to speak at their Convention. It is always an honor when any group, no matter how big or small, invites me to speak at their event.
While at the IWLCC I gave two talks. The first was on The Impact of Social Media and the second was The Modern Coach: Coaching in the 21st Century.
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by Ryan Knapp on October 23, 2011
The swope trails are my favorite place to run in all of Kansas City. I can get to the trail head 15 minutes door-to-door. Even though the trails are relatively close to the city, it feels like you are deep inside the woods — a welcome rest when I need to get away from it all.
This summer they opened up Phase Four of the trail, adding in a new 1.75 miles of trail which serves as a great section to get some speed work done, in contrast to the technical beginning few miles. Being that fall is my favorite season, I’ve been taking some shots during my trail runs the last few weeks and wanted to share some with you. The shots on the trail were taken with my iPhone 4 and the shots on the road were taken with my Nikon D200.
Check out some more pictures after the jump.
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by Ryan Knapp on October 6, 2011
Three years ago I welcomed into my life Ella, a bundle of Shetland Sheepdog joy (and fur…lots of fur).
On Sunday, Oct. 2, that bundle of joy got spooked by a loud noise and pulled away from us while we were on a walk on the Plaza in Kansas City. After a frantic two mile chase down two busy streets and up numerous hills, there was no sign of her. I was left with only her harness and leash she had slipped while running away.
I knew I had close friends, both online and offline, but the support and work you put in helping to spread the word about #findella was beyond any of our wildest dreams. The shares on Facebook, tweets and re-tweets on Twitter, texts and emails were a true testament to the power of good in the world.
Eighteen hours after she was last with us, a young woman spotted her running down the street at 5:45 am after taking her fiancee to the airport. We flew out of the house and into the car, caught up with Ella sprinting down the street, and with a simple command of “Ella, get in the car” our nightmare was over.
Some people may look at how we reacted to losing Ella as a bit strange or a bit over the top for losing a dog. Three years ago I cried in the car when we brought her home from the breeder.
Ella is the only constant in my life. The thought of never seeing her again broke my heart in a way I cannot describe.
Ella’s a little worse for wear. She’s worn off most of her pads on her feet and adopted a new found fear for going outside. She will heal, we will tell stories about this later and we will always remember how lucky we are to have her back.
We would have never found Ella without your kindness. You are all amazing people and I am forever grateful.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible for us to be a family again. We will never forget it.
