June 24, 2024 • 47 mins
Delaney's journey is a testament to the power of perseverance and the belief that barriers are meant to be broken. During her senior year at the University of Alabama, she founded Girls Club, a groundbreaking platform designed to empower women and provide them with the resources and industry secrets they deserved.
With an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, Delaney transformed Girls Club from a podcast into a multimedia brand, creating a supportive network where women could connect, share experiences, and uplift one another. Her determination to challenge gender-based stereotypes and create opportunities for women in sports is truly inspiring.
Delaney's career path is a tapestry woven with resilience and a relentless pursuit of her dreams. From her roles as Head of Staff and Marketing at Alabama Hockey to her positions with the Boston Bruins and Worcester Railers Hockey Club, she has consistently proven that passion and hard work can overcome any obstacle.
Delaney Galbraith's journey is a beacon of hope for aspiring female professionals in the sports industry. Her unwavering commitment to empowering women and fostering a more inclusive environment is a driving force that continues to inspire and motivate the next generation of trailblazers.
With an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, Delaney transformed Girls Club from a podcast into a multimedia brand, creating a supportive network where women could connect, share experiences, and uplift one another. Her determination to challenge gender-based stereotypes and create opportunities for women in sports is truly inspiring.
Delaney's career path is a tapestry woven with resilience and a relentless pursuit of her dreams. From her roles as Head of Staff and Marketing at Alabama Hockey to her positions with the Boston Bruins and Worcester Railers Hockey Club, she has consistently proven that passion and hard work can overcome any obstacle.
Delaney Galbraith's journey is a beacon of hope for aspiring female professionals in the sports industry. Her unwavering commitment to empowering women and fostering a more inclusive environment is a driving force that continues to inspire and motivate the next generation of trailblazers.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
This episode is brought to you by Tina's vodka.
(00:02):
I'm Dolina Galbraith, I'm the CEO at Girls Club and this is her table.
Now you see her.
You are magnificent!
Welcome to her table, the podcast that shines a spotlight on the badass women who are redefining the game.
Join host Kate Foley and Megan Martinez as Pay Unlock the Secrets of Success
(00:26):
in the brightest female pioneers in the industry.
Welcome to another amazing episode of her table.
I cannot wait for you guys to meet our guest we have today.
From the University of Alabama, I love a Southern girl at heart.
We have Delaney Galbraith, who is a true inspiration for women in sports.
Her early days found love with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Another match for me because my family's a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
(00:50):
During her senior year at the University of Alabama, Delaney founded Girls Club,
a platform aimed at empowering women to pursue career in sports.
The name itself Girls Club speaks volumes about the barriers,
women face and accessing industry secrets and resources.
What started as a podcast evolved into a multimedia brand,
providing invaluable network opportunities and fostering Delaney's entrepreneurial skills.
(01:15):
I can't wait to learn more about her journey, where she's at, and where she's going.
Pull up a chair, welcome to her table.
Delaney, welcome to her table.
I'm so excited that you're here.
Thank you so much for having me.
Of course, all the way from, okay, we're going to butcher the name.
Say you say it. You say it. I'm not.
Worcester, Massachusetts.
(01:36):
Sure.
Massachusetts. I'm not even going to ask you how to spell it because I don't know
that I could say it was right or wrong.
So you might get a pass on my spelling beef.
But I don't remember how to spell it and I look here.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
Walk us through how you went from the University of Alabama to Worcester.
Did I say it right?
I didn't say it right.
(01:56):
I didn't say it right.
Sorry.
Sorry, that made me laugh because I just said it and then you said,
I've heard this now.
So it needs more vowels, not less vowels.
I agree with you.
I agree with you.
So essentially, I met my boyfriend in college when I was working for a hockey team there
(02:17):
at the University of Alabama and kind of came together where he was from Massachusetts.
So things were kind of a lining in that sense.
I wanted to work for an NHL team.
So I ended up getting a job with the Boston Bruins and then that's what shipped me up here.
And then I've had quite the journey since then kind of going from point A to point B to
(02:39):
C to D to E.
But that's it's fascinating because you went from somewhere that is a different climate,
different culture.
All the way to the Northeast that is 100% different climate, different culture.
What got you into hockey because I don't mean is Alabama University, Alabama known for hockey?
Like what drove you to hockey or the thing to cucumber?
Love the way you put that too.
(03:04):
So actually I, so I'm from Virginia.
I'm from like DC area.
But my family is from Pittsburgh.
They're all like deep rooted Pittsburgh sports fans.
Pittsburgh penguins are like just when I was going up,
they just could not have been more of like the bandwagon team.
Obviously I had claimed to liking them.
(03:27):
And so I just grew up as a Pittsburgh penguin fan.
It's like also a Steelers fan.
I'm a football girl too.
But you just like claimed my heart.
When I was picking a school for college, I literally flipped a coin.
It worked out for me.
Don't do it though.
Not not great advice.
Flip the coin and end up going to Alabama and no, they're not known for hockey.
(03:48):
Obviously they're known for football.
We all know that.
But they had a club hockey team and it just like was kind of like a student like
led organization where like the students actually ran the staff.
And my freshman year I just became so enthralled with like
getting to do like the actual hands-on experience that I wouldn't have gotten with any like if I was to
(04:10):
intern for the football team.
I would not have gone that same experience.
Because I did the sponsorships. I did the ticket sales. I did literally every job you name it.
Like I was even booking road trips for the team at times.
So I just really fell in love with like all of that side of hockey and like how hockey
like how games are put together all of it.
(04:32):
And so I just I just loved it so much and it just became a home for me.
And I ended up me my boyfriend like my sophomore year.
So it wasn't because of him. He just was a he was a perk and
as far as the line the destiny stepped in.
I believe you have to you have to have something in common too with like the person
(04:53):
that you're playing hockey or you're just a fan of it.
I'm just a fan too and like it's crazy because I move up here and literally every person I meet
is a hockey player.
Yeah.
What's happening before we get on?
I know. I know.
Well and it's interesting too because I feel like there's a shift in culture that's going on right now in sports.
NASCAR is taking off.
I feel like NHL is definitely taking off and it's one of those sports for me that
(05:18):
it struggles to reach underserved communities because it requires a lot of time, attention,
equipment that might not necessarily be affordable to everybody.
So I love that it's a place where you got to experience it kind of for the first time and then
fell in love with it.
And now you're kind of sharing that.
What for you was one of the driving forces that as you went to University of Alabama,
(05:39):
hockey is obviously male dominated.
We've actually had a hockey guest on this show.
Scotty Upshaw, a dog, was on and was one of our first male guests.
But he talked about how hockey's such a very labor intensive but also a physical contact sport.
You being a female, how did that work for you?
(06:00):
Obviously it's a different dynamic for you being on the operations and sponsorship side.
But you also are part of the operations side which goes into gave the operations.
How was that for you making that adjustment as a female and kind of a male dominated world?
Yeah, I would say well first of all the PWHL has been such a great example of like what
women can do when you let them thrive in the hockey world.
(06:22):
And speaking of I'm going to game five of the finals tonight.
So I'm excited.
Alter cups being awarded tonight.
I'm very excited.
But yeah, I just I think for me it was like as you know, my company is called Sports
Girls Club, Girls Club.
It's like it's because sports felt like a little bit of a boys club.
(06:43):
So it was one of those things when I was there.
I was like really experiencing and as I start talking to like all of my friends,
they were having like a similar similar underlying feeling like they had these experiences.
This experience and hockey is one of those worlds where like I will be completely honest.
I feel like hockey is one of the worst like for it.
(07:06):
And so I unpacked that for me.
What do you mean it?
Because I want to understand that feeling because you felt it.
But sometimes can you describe what that was like?
Yeah, I would so I guess what I mean is like like you just said is like with hockey being like
on the come up, there's a lot of things that hockey is very behind on.
And that's just the truth and everybody knows it's like one of those things where it's just like
(07:30):
actively you can see them getting better.
And there's so many things in place now too and I've gone to work with Kimberly Davis who is
the senior executive vice president of DEI for the NHL a few times and like she's said similar things
completely agree with her.
And essentially I just mean like when you take the NFL for example, they're making so many great
(07:53):
strides towards just inclusivity. They have all these programs in place.
Whereas you can just tell with like NHL like they're still kind of getting there because
they're growing in that popularity.
So it's like almost like they they're playing catch up a little bit.
But I think they're doing a great job and I think PWHL is also showing that.
But like going back to when I was at club hockey, like I said it was a student led organization.
(08:18):
There was like not a lot of adults in place where like they could kind of step in and
say certain things. So like there was you know the occasional like borderline like is that a
comment you should be making like is you know things like that.
And that's kind of where the whole experience at right.
(08:39):
I always say like people grace one time and sometimes they don't know and
it definitely being a woman in sports comes with his challenges right because you have to tell
the line of the boundary for yourself while also educating others of what might be or not be
acceptable. And for me I always find like it's hard.
You want to say something but then you're like how is that going to be received?
Because my intention might not be the way they receive it or they internalize it.
(09:03):
And especially in you know in NHL I mean they it's it's funny when we had Scotty on you learning
how intense it is. But also a lot of these young men play from ages 3, 4, 5 and they play forever.
And they've played till they're in the older leagues so it's definitely a generational sport.
So I think there's still a lot of generational boundaries that need to be broken but I think you've
(09:27):
done such a fantastic job with Girls Club and creating that conversation. What's like a success
story that you've had from Girls Club? Like what is there one moment in time where you had that
aha moment of like this is yeah this is why I started this and what did you get from it?
Yeah I mean I feel like I have that moment like every day it's I'm just like the luckiest girl in
(09:48):
the world to have like found the idea for this somewhere in my brain and like I know that doesn't even
make sense. I'm just like I think I'm so lucky to have like thought to do this because it's really
truly paid off for myself and so many others. But yeah I think like I have an aha moment like
literally every single day like today I'm like literally seeing thinking oh my gosh I get to go to
(10:12):
the like I get to go experience history tonight because the PWHL this is their inaugural season.
This is their first season and I'm like thinking to myself 20 years down the road when I'm I don't
I don't know like in my 40s I'm gonna I'm gonna be thinking I I was there for that first yeah I'm
gonna have kids one day and like they're gonna say you were there that first like the first year
(10:37):
at the first final game ever for the first ever wasting of that cup so I'm like that's aha like
I feel like it's just constantly happening and just I feel like women in sports are having this
really big movement right now it's like it's it's just really huge to just support women who like
play and and work in sports right now and so we're just seeing that from all angles so I just like
(11:02):
every day I'm having the aha moments but that would definitely be one and recently at our conference
I just like looked out to the crowd at the end of the day when I was doing my my closing speech and
we were in this really great big room at Fenway Park and like the sun was rising over Fenway Park
and it was just the most beautiful thing I like I wanted to take a mental picture and like
(11:25):
I know because I have like 350 women in front of me just eager to like grow the community and learn
and it was just so and they're all dressed in their and they're pretty suits and colors and I was
just like this is just the prettiest thing I've ever seen like just did you want me to start
of this but this is kind of the level that it would go to because I think a lot of times we all
(11:48):
have this idea but we want to start something and it grows you know what struggles did you have
growing it I think I want our listeners to understand like sometimes you see the end result but you'd
miss the middle really hard part have you had any struggles as you've gone through this you know
and what are some specifically that you've had to overcome yeah there's struggles every day
(12:10):
and I'll put this as nicely as I can but let's just say when I was in one of my hockey roles
previously I experienced some things where like it was just absolute voice club like to the max and
so that and like I had already started girls club so it was just like I had people making fun of
(12:34):
what I was doing stuff like that so that was like a struggle because it was like I like this was
when the account had 3000 followers and I'm thinking to myself like maybe they're right and you
know and then it just gets in your head but like when I took the leap to take this full time there's
just never been a time where I've doubted myself because the the community and the response back has
(12:57):
been just amazing in terms of struggles like with just scaling it and everything like that it's
it's been a lot of like figuring out social media marketing like you know it's I feel like
there's struggles every day with like I'm a business owner I'm young and I don't have like
I don't I'm not a millionaire you know there's it's it's hard to like figure out how to scale a
(13:22):
business it's hard to figure out how to like what's what you need to do legally so there's so many
things that I feel like are struggles but I feel like the hardest struggle for me was just
taking the leap to like yeah for my path you know like and that's where I like I want every girl to learn
like if you're thinking of something you should just rip the bandit off and do it like I I think
(13:46):
of to myself all the time like where would I have been by this point if I had just done this sooner
and like yes everybody has their journey and it was part of my journey but you know like that's
hard it's still really hard and you know Megan and I talk about this a lot on the show it's
imposter syndrome and why I feel like it's so important to champion other people other women because
(14:08):
it's okay to not know it's okay to not have it figured out it's okay to fail right like it's a part
of life and I think when you have a community and you have people that you probably don't even know
supporting you encouraging you it's it's just as rewarding as seeing it be successful because it
feels like it matters yeah I think you know especially in male dominated sports it's definitely
(14:32):
changing and there's still a lot of room for it to grow but it definitely um has an opportunity
to continue to be more inclusive and more supportive and more innovative when it comes to circumstances
so you know it's it's funny to listen to you talk about you know it's boys club and it's these things
I think some people would say this right like well it's the male sport what do you expect my answer is
(14:54):
okay but in women's sports we expect different a different situation for a male
(waves crashing)
(waves crashing)
- It's okay.
- I am so sorry.
My dog is decided to wake up from quite the summer.
It's all good.
(15:15):
- Oh my gosh, that could not have been worse.
No stress.
It happens all the time.
Usually it's my dog, so don't stress.
I'm so sorry.
Can you just...
- No, no, it's okay.
No, no, we'll start over.
(laughter)
- We're all out of the half-king,
so we're just gonna go down to a different grab it whole.
So, there we go.
- It's so sorry.
- I'm so stressed.
(15:35):
So you touched a little bit on Boys Club.
What for you, you know, for those people
that don't know what that experience might feel like,
you know, I've often spoke to you
and Megan and I talk about in Poster Syndrome a lot
and how we feel like because we don't see other people
that might look like us, down like us,
stress like us, in leadership roles
or in roles of visibility that are celebrated,
(15:56):
you oftentimes feel isolated.
So, you know, for me, especially being in a male sport too
in the NBA, I feel like that too.
It's like, okay, there's a bunch of guys in me.
And it's an interesting feeling.
It's one when early in my career, it was intimidating.
Now I like laugh and I'm like, yes, and.
I feel like that area on a Broadway song, yes, and.
(16:18):
You know where I'm like, the gay.
- Yeah, no, for you, what, you know,
was there a moment in time where you had a specific,
and you don't have to get full details,
but just did you have a moment where you're like,
this is a boys club, am I supposed to be here?
And what happened?
Because I think sometimes it's good for people
and listeners to hear those struggling stories
(16:39):
because they're gonna experience something similar to it.
Know that, oh, they experienced that too.
And they came out, okay, it wasn't.
The sun came up, the world kept turning.
So when you talk about boys club and the intimidation
that you felt, and intimidation probably
is not the right word.
It probably lends itself more to.
It was an intimidating scene, perhaps, right?
(16:59):
Because you are one of you women, right?
You didn't really have anybody to look towards.
What, have you had any of those as you've gone through this?
You've obviously pivoted specifically to women sports,
but when you were working in men's sports specifically,
you know, what was that gender difference for you
from being out of female?
- Yeah, so I would say like, and we definitely still work
(17:21):
in like men's sports with girls club too.
It's like, we try to make every space inclusive.
But when I was at a previous hockey program
I was working for, I'd already started girls club.
And like, like I said, we had 3000 followers.
So like, I can't sit on some high horse and say like,
I was looking the coolest at this point,
(17:42):
but we had some merch out already and stuff like that.
And I just remember my heart sunk when one day
I had gone word of essentially just all the boys in the office
had recreated some, like the photos I took in the new merch.
And it was just some hoodies and all the boys in the office,
(18:07):
you know, recreated the photo and they were sending around.
And that to me where I was just like, wow, that,
like not necessary.
It just wasn't necessary.
It was like, you guys are like, think about what the point
of what I'm doing is and you're just like, yeah.
- Well, we're in, you know, and I think, you know,
(18:30):
one of the things Magnen and I talk about for show too
is just the opportunity that we have to educate people.
And I think at that point in your career
it was probably a little bit of immaturity from young men.
It was from a place of not even--
- Oh, they weren't.
- Oh, they weren't.
Okay, well, shame on them for acting young.
Let's just go ahead and say the children
because they acted like children.
I think, you know, it's sometimes when I find,
(18:52):
especially my career, men can lean in,
they do the opposite because it's intimidating to them, right?
And they see something that they don't understand.
And so I constantly try and even from my staff to clients
to colleagues of like, "Lick lean in,
I want you to understand the thought process here
and what I'm doing."
And then they get the choice to either lean in or lean out.
And I think it's hard because as women, we're so intuitive,
(19:14):
I'm like, how do you not know this is wrong?
But sometimes they just literally don't know that it's wrong.
And I think it's funny listening to that story
'cause had another female done that to you.
It would have been like, "Catty and argumentative."
And like, look at them battling each other.
But then when it comes to it, it's like, "Ha ha ha,
"oh wait, no, it's not funny."
(19:34):
You know what I mean?
So it's just the exact same thing.
- Exactly, I'm just like, "I'm just a joke."
And I have to take as a joke.
Like, and that's--
- I see your mental energy.
- Well, and it's now I feel like,
especially with a lot of women in leadership, right?
We're able to say it even for myself.
It's like, it's not funny.
And so if I hear something that's not funny,
you're not appropriate for me,
I feel like I have a responsibility to the next me
(19:55):
to speak up and say, "This isn't okay."
Because I didn't have that for me.
So I want somebody to have what I didn't have.
And it's interesting when you talk to women
who've been in sports for a while
and women in leadership positions
that have had some really terrible experiences.
You grew from it, right?
You probably, as I would expect,
it would have been very upsetting.
I would have gone home and cried and called my mom
(20:17):
and been like, "What is wrong with these people?"
And called my girlfriends
and then got my little tribe together.
And then been like, "Okay, it's them, not me."
But it's still, it's hurtful.
And I think, for men in positions of leadership,
them leaning in more.
We talk a lot on the show about women
who have had men lean in
(20:37):
and push them to become more.
Have you had anybody in your,
like, who do you look up to in the sports world?
Like, male or female?
Like, who do you look up to that you say,
"Hey, this is who I want to be like.
"This is who I want to carry myself like.
"This is what I aspire to grow be or do."
Yeah, I would say that there's so many people
that I'm just, like, so and off.
Like, especially, there's so many women.
(20:59):
And now they are just, like, absolutely
using their platforms, right?
And using, you know, the power they're being given, right?
And, like, I really truly admire that.
Somebody in particular who has just been my idol
in sports since I was younger is Kimberly Davis.
And when I got to work with her,
I've gone to work with her twice now
and just complete rock star.
(21:22):
And so that to me is like,
that's somebody who I definitely want to highlight
because I feel like she's just absolutely incredible
and just an idol for everybody.
And then somebody who is a male is like,
I'm like, it's, I hate to say it,
but I'm like trying to think of like,
who's, I will say I recently met the head coach
(21:45):
of PWHL New York's team and his name's Howie Draper
and just the way he spoke about the team
and like where women's hockey was.
Like, I will say he's somebody who like,
just definitely gets it, highlights it.
I personally haven't gone to work with anybody.
Like, in other leagues, like, that are like,
(22:07):
to that level, but I would say like,
those two in the hockey world,
I'm trying to think of like,
I feel like I'm so hockey oriented
that I'm like not providing the other.
- Wow, it's exciting.
It's like, you know what, I mean, you're young, right?
Like, there's so many theories and opportunities
coming up for you and it's exciting to watch it get to see.
What, you know, looking ahead,
(22:28):
what's your goals for Girls Club?
Like, what do you want to see Girls Club become
and grow to be?
- Yeah, I would say I really want it to be like,
just a, I want to say like a giant media network, honestly.
Like, and that's kind of where we're scaling to right now
and I'm very fortunate to get to do this full time.
(22:48):
And so I feel like there, like, that's a goal.
But to me, there's like, I have like a lot of personal goals.
Like, I want, 'cause it's so hard to say exactly
where I want Girls Club to go,
'cause I feel like it's already,
I hate to say it like this.
I feel like it's already exactly where like,
my mind never thought it would go.
(23:09):
Like, I knew it would go, but you know what I mean?
Like, I just hit a goal super early.
And so now I'm just like, anything's possible, kind of,
situations. - What's next?
What's next for them?
- I would say we're just expanding a lot more nationally.
And we also have some other projects we've been working on.
(23:32):
Not just podcast shows like that,
but I have a big secret we're saying on it.
That'll come out a little later this year.
And so that's just, like, it's given me the opportunity
to kind of expand and, you know, really do exactly
what you were just saying is like, kind of share the stories.
So that, you know, you're telling the generation
(23:56):
after you and the girls after you,
because you don't want them to experience that same thing.
And you're wanting to have maybe some more respect
than you did for yourself.
And so, like, I know that was like very like, vague.
- Well, you, I wasn't answer.
So I expect we get like, it exclusives.
Since you're keeping the secret going on.
What, what for you, you know, have you at Girls Club,
(24:19):
you know, how do people get involved in it?
How does it connect to the community?
And then what kind of services,
connectivity can people expect to have through that?
- Yeah.
So we're just really growing like all of our events.
So like we're about to open up like an ambassador program
where like girls nationwide will be able to like get involved
and help us run these programs
because one thing is like I live in Massachusetts.
(24:42):
So it's like, I can't zip over to all these places often,
but we're getting a lot of requests for everywhere.
So there's like one way we're really trying to get people
involved.
And then in terms of like having people
just like continue to grow this community,
like we're getting, we get so many college interns
where we get to be like their first bit of sports experience.
(25:04):
And that's where I feel really proud
because I know when I was in college,
it was really hard to find a sports internship
that would take me.
So we get to do that.
I think I did a day just answer that question wrong.
I'm like re re re re, but no, oh my gosh, no, well, it's interesting, because you know, for me, I'm the opposite.
(25:26):
I'm not a proponent of internships.
I'm a big proponent of experience because internships are very hard to get.
That have substance.
And so I think sometimes it's off putting for people of like, I didn't get an internship.
I can't believe this.
I can't go here.
And my answer is you don't need a six month internship of getting coffee just to put internship.
(25:46):
You need to have experience, right?
So if it's a two day experience, a two hour experience,
it gives you an opportunity to gain knowledge and meet people and create something that you then can draw from.
And you never know where it's going to go because I do think that having,
that's one of the things especially for girls and sports and women and sports and just generationally and sports,
(26:08):
you take all these classes, but a lot of them are not applied classes.
It's book top classes.
And then you get to the world and you're like, well, now what?
And then they go work for these people and they're like, how do you not know?
Like, you're like, it's not applied.
And so I always say to young girls, especially as like, take any opportunity you can get.
(26:29):
You'll learn that you love it or learn that it's something you don't want to do.
And learning something you don't want to do is just as important as learning what you do want to do.
Because it's helping narrow the path.
It's not right or wrong.
It's just you're narrowing, you're narrowing, you're creating a thing.
Yeah.
We're narrowing it.
And I think it's so intimidating because you hear so many people like, I've had six internships
and I'm applying for this job.
(26:50):
And I'm like, you might not have any real world experience.
Like you have a great paper resume, but you don't have any actual applied substance to
executing against what you learned.
The guys say all the time, like, I'm going to ask you a question.
What, you know, for you, what three classes did you wish you had taken in college to help
(27:11):
you be more prepared for where you are?
Yeah.
And I completely agree with you like experiences everything.
And that's why I worked for the hockey club.
Like, I got the experience.
And I learned that hands on.
I actually, and this kind of goes back to failure, I feel like I don't know what three
(27:34):
classes I would want to take because there wasn't a lot of options even at the University
of Alabama.
And I went, now they have it.
So like I would have taken sports management, but like I feel like I took all the right things.
Like I don't think there's anything during my time.
I necessarily regret.
(27:54):
Like obviously now I looking back.
I'm like, yeah, I probably would have taken sports management or like something along the
lines of NIL.
Like I think that's so fascinating.
But like honestly, when I was there, like I just switched my majors because I kept failing
classes in the other major.
What did you switch to?
What did you start and what did you switch to this morning?
The dream was always there.
(28:19):
It definitely was.
Yeah, I always knew I wanted to work in sports when I was in college because I just like
luckily found it in my heart when I was in high school, all that stuff.
Which does bring me to, I did take sports marketing with an amazing teacher in high school.
I was so lucky.
So if that's in your high school, definitely take it.
Yeah, you know, obviously that's like I feel like that's very specific in niche.
(28:43):
Like I don't know why my school had that.
But I switched from marketing to advertising actually because I could not, I could not pass
my e-con class.
I couldn't pass my math class.
I failed astronomy.
Like that you name it.
Who is astronomy a class for marketing?
Like I had some science credit, like it was, I don't even know.
(29:08):
I'm dead.
I'm like astronomy.
Yeah, like I'm not getting the Hubble telescope job.
Like that's not what I'm here for.
But and that's so interesting to me about college is, you know, all the, when I talk to these
young people, I'm like, look, take classes that challenge you, but take classes that also
are helping you achieve something because I think there's the standard of you have to take
these things.
(29:28):
But then the reality is you don't ever use those things.
Yeah.
I like this.
Yeah.
No, so it takes things that drive you to you.
Like it's, if I had a choose, I would say like public speaking is always something everyone
should take and take seriously.
I did not.
I took it because I'm like, you think I asked.
Now I'm like, wow, but you know, again, it's pushing you outside the box.
It's tools you're going to have to use in the real world, whether that's like in your
(29:52):
job at the bank, at target, like you have to be able to communicate.
You do because now so many young people can't communicate unless it's be a text.
And so that's not going to work in the real world.
And so I don't want you to go into it blindsided.
I always say like hostage negotiation too is important for me because it's like trying
to get my athletes sometimes to do what I need them to do is a little bit of hostage bank
(30:16):
negotiation where you're like, I'll give you this.
If you give me that, you know what I mean, it's a lot of back and forth.
And then also I think too, like just one of the things that I think is so interesting
to me now is, and no, is anthropology?
Oh my god, production cut that out of it's not right.
That's right.
That's right.
(30:36):
People anthropology?
Yes.
Yes.
No, anthropology is the study of bugs.
No.
I think you're right.
I think you're right.
What is the study of people?
We're going to ask right now.
My sister has a degree in it.
It's a sorry, I don't understand.
Yeah, no, you were right.
You were right.
Yeah.
Like anthropology, like the study, yeah, leave that in production.
(30:59):
I'm Steve.
I'm so smart.
I'm so smart.
No, it's the study of people because I think a lot of us collectively don't understand how
we work or how we receive or how we communicate.
It's how other people do.
And I think it as an, it would help us all a little bit more empathy towards each other
to better understand what is going on in someone else's mind, reference, culture, right outside
(31:25):
of our own bubble.
And so I think just collectively as people it would.
So like no one's telling you that when you're going to college, like take math 101, French
lit.
And I'm like, who, like, I'm not going to be a French lit teacher.
So like, I think it is.
But and it's interesting because I think now and that's what we talked about experience.
Having moments where you can have experience and you can get firsthand experience from someone
(31:48):
who has been where you want to go far supersteed any book experience because my path is not
like from a book, you know what I mean?
Like, I'm just, where I am just from a book.
So it's just taking opportunities and one of the quotes I love best is from Jay Shetty.
(32:09):
And it says, just keep opening doors.
Like don't worry about the ones that close.
Just keep opening the next door.
So when you're at the next door, it opens, walk through when you're at the next door.
Don't worry about where you've been.
Don't worry about what opportunities you can have in front of you.
(32:34):
And I think especially for women and sports, it's important to not get discouraged because
you don't see or understand or know, right?
Like, no one knows anything.
Anyone that walks in a room and says they know anything is full of shit.
So I'm like, if you don't know everything.
And now my game is, I'm trying to make you not like what don't you know?
But pulling in people to say, hey, this is my experience.
(32:54):
This is my challenges.
This is my struggles.
Here's how I've gotten where I want to be.
And here's where I'm still trying to go.
I think it's so important because so many young people are like, I didn't get the job I wanted
or I didn't get the internship or kind of like, don't be discouraged.
Like, just try something else.
And I think, you know, listening to you talk about just your career in your path, how
(33:16):
you ended up at the University of Alabama.
And you started in hockey, right?
Like, it wasn't like your by design where they're, what advice would you give to a younger
you back in that moment knowing what you know now, what advice would you give younger
Delaney in that?
Okay, I'm going to take you here in that moment with the pictures and the sweatshirts.
(33:36):
What advice would you give young Delaney now?
Oh, well, that wasn't college Delaney.
Okay.
Okay.
That was like yesterday.
That's some tea.
Yeah, no, obviously the pictures and the sweatshirts was, I'll just say it was not that long ago.
Yeah.
No, it's funny.
(33:59):
Trust me.
I'm okay.
And the really cool part is like, I think back to when that happened and we had 3000 followers
then and I was able to scale it in like a matter of eight months since then.
And then all sweatshirts I would.
I would just send them sweatshirts every month just to be annoying.
I would just be on repeat just now.
I haven't thought about it because honestly, you know, why would I spend some money on them,
(34:23):
but maybe I should, maybe I should follow up and, you know, make it feel good.
And I like it that much.
Yeah.
Did you know how it since you like it so much?
Yeah.
Honestly, I feel like, I feel like I'm past it.
Honestly, it's like it's a little fuel to my fire, you know?
And like, like I said, I have a, I have a, I have a secret I've been saying on.
(34:44):
So, hmm, hmm, well, what advice would you give young Delaney?
Like in a moment of struggle, don't have to be specific.
What advice would you give me?
I would do that was faced with the adversity or uncertainty.
Yeah, I would, I guess I would just say like, oh my gosh, there's so many things.
I would tell her, I'd, first of all, I'd tell her like, you know, wake up for your 8am
(35:06):
because I never did that.
That probably led to the failing of the classes.
But, I would tell her you wake up, you know, like set some more alarms.
But I, I think I would just like say like, really like tune out the noise.
Because for me, I just feel like there was a lot of like, I did.
(35:30):
And I had to learn it and I think everybody has to learn the lesson because otherwise, like
you can hear it all you want, but you do at a certain point have to like learn the lesson
yourself first hand, unfortunately.
But like there was just so many times where like I did let like other people's opinions or
kind of like I'd conform to like what other people were doing and then it would like
(35:50):
strain me from the path that I like, I knew I want to be on.
And so I would just say like tune out the noise, like put your head down, keep working hard
because like it does pay off.
And I think there was times where like I kind of, you know, would divert from, from the
path and that's kind of where I felt like I probably need to take a step back, take a deep breath,
(36:14):
tell myself, you know, you don't have to get the perfect job out of college.
You don't like not everything.
But there's like so many other things that led to those moments and like why, like why
I don't think I got where I want to be in my head.
And so, but yeah, I would take a deep breath as well.
I would calm down.
(36:36):
Shout out Aaron Andrews.
Calm down.
Love that.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
What would you say your leadership style is?
I think one of the things we see obviously were both CEOs, right?
Which is fantastic.
Shout out women CEOs.
How do you describe your leadership style and has that changed your evolved as you progressed
(36:57):
within your job?
Oh my gosh.
I feel like you're probably like a million percent better CEO than me.
My staff might not agree they're like, oh, they're like, yeah, no, no.
Performance reviews say no.
But no, honestly, I, yeah, I would say like my leadership style is constantly changing.
(37:20):
It's, I'm, I'm 24 years old.
I took this full time at 23 and I'm definitely learning like definitely.
And so it's very hard to, you know, be trying to figure this out because there's no book
of business out there that just kind of explains it.
So I feel like sometimes like I'll, I'll let my stress kind of come out in other ways.
(37:42):
And so I think it's just pivoting.
My thing is is like I try, I try to never do the same thing twice if something's failing.
So like if there's a community.
You said, that's such a thing.
I love that.
Try it.
I did the try, right?
Try not to repeat the same mistake or try not to have the same experience.
What's takes happened to and like, but like the reason we've been able to scale at the level
(38:05):
we have like social media wise is because I constantly pivot when I see something is
like not working.
So honestly, like I've just had to think outside the box, get creative.
I don't think that I am the perfect leader.
I don't think that my leadership style is one that should be mimicked per se.
(38:26):
I will say like this, you've gotten pretty dang far.
So I'm not going to a little jemmenist and you're not going to do that on here.
No, no.
No.
Okay, well then yeah, mimic me.
But yeah, no, it like honestly, I feel like I don't have like one leadership style.
It's just constantly like learning from the women who have found success.
And yeah, I just, I think like kind of just being willing to change.
(38:51):
Like you said, like constantly opening doors, I, I feel like I really resonate with that.
Because there's a lot of times I feel like and you're not going to see it all the time on social
media.
We say that all the time.
It's any human being will tell you it's a daily, right?
Yes.
If you're doing it right, you're failing daily.
Like if you're not sure, that means you're pushing your trying, you're trying to become more,
(39:15):
you're not just being like this, that is quote for a senior constantly trying to figure
it out.
And society is constantly evolving and changing.
And people are evolving and changing, right?
And the ways we communicate and the shape are different.
What for you, you know, you talked earlier, has technology impacted Girls Club more than
(39:35):
you expected?
Or was that an expected turn for you?
Yeah, I would say like definitely in ways, like there's definitely like things on like
online and social media, like algorithms are constantly changing, like all of that,
like that is like constantly having to relearn and algorithm is really hard and figure that
(39:58):
out.
But I would say like technology wise, there's, I don't really think that there's anything
that's like kind of like hard stops us on anything.
I think, like I said, it's just all about pivoting and trying and willingness to learn and
like try to take that opportunity and like, but yeah, I'm not, I'm not a big tech girl.
(40:18):
So honestly, maybe I should just, I don't know about you.
But I know I'm not either.
I think, you know, it's definitely a space that I don't find comfort in.
It's something I have to be pushed to do, but it is a space that a lot of people communicate
and are driven to now in this younger age.
(40:39):
So it's trying to take what my comfort level is and the best way to reach people is different.
Even with this show, I'm like, who listens to the show?
And then there's so many people that do it.
I'm like, why didn't I know like, you don't mean like you don't know what you don't know.
And so I think really having a robust group and tribe and staff and colleagues that are
going to push you is just as important because I always say, especially with my staff, if
(41:02):
everybody in the room knows the same things, we're going nowhere fast.
So I like to be in a room and have everyone know what their expertise is.
But then understand what everyone else is is too. So they can respect it and appreciate it.
But like, I want to be around people who know more than me.
I want to be around people who know things I don't know because I don't know everything
(41:24):
and I want to learn and be as fun and be curious.
But that's like how you get anywhere in life and being around people that have been where
you want to go and you're willing to say, I don't know, but I'm going to find the answer.
And what's left through different people through research things like that.
So for me, it's like, listen to it.
It's able to like if everybody knows the same thing, but what are we in here talking about?
(41:46):
We're going nowhere.
And it's a disservice to the people you lead as a leader to not show them what it's like
to grow and be fluid and thrive because you're constantly having to grow.
You can't just be like, I'm here and I'm going to stop.
It's like, okay, I got this right.
I got this wrong.
How are we going to go?
And I think that, you know, from for women is especially intimidating because it's like,
(42:08):
well, if I'm wrong, are they going to replace me?
If I'm wrong, if I'm not here, are they going to choose somebody else or go have this conversation?
And somebody else that they didn't want to take their PTO because they were afraid they
were going to get passed up for a project they really wanted to work on.
And I'm like, that's so sad because I brought you, there's a bunch of dudes that are like,
I'm out and wanted to like this weekend, see you next Tuesday and don't think about it.
(42:32):
But that's why for me is as we see women in leadership positions and just women in general
have a better working relationship with each other.
I think that helps come back and not it be so you or me.
It's a wee conversation and how we can continue to drive and strive and create that message
forward is the change, right?
We're all trying to make, which is so it's hard.
(42:54):
It's not going to happen tomorrow.
But at some point it resonates and one more person gets it and one more person gets it.
It creates a space for everybody to feel comfortable and it also creates a space for
everybody to feel accountable to each other because they don't want them to experience what
they experience.
So you kind of lean into the bag to get to the good if that makes sense.
(43:16):
So that's so important to have like your circle of women and like just like utilizing
the materials out there.
Like I recently found like a group of entrepreneur women and that is something where like I'm
learning from them.
And so it's so important to get in those groups and those spaces and just like you said,
it's going to be a sponge.
It's so hard though.
(43:37):
I will say you go into and you're like, oh my gosh, should I be here?
I don't know anything.
These people are so much older than me, better than me.
You know, they've had more success than me, but it's those are the rooms you want to be
in.
You want to be in the rooms where you have the ability to grow, not you're at the top.
Because at the top you got nowhere to go.
So you better people around you.
(43:57):
So I think that's fascinating.
Okay.
I'm so proud of you.
What do you want your legacy to be for sports girls club?
Oh my gosh, everything.
I loaded question for you as we close out this episode with a lady.
Yeah, I would say like my, yeah, I won't say everything.
(44:18):
My legacy, I just want to like leave sports in the sports industry better than I found
it.
And you know, I, I stay at where I found it.
It was very much a boys club.
And I think I don't want to say that we start the revolution, the, you know, the whole pivot
for this big women sports voice, but I do think that like we hopped on it right the right
time.
To me, it was like a completely organic idea that I came up with when I, when I put it
(44:42):
together and now we're seeing a lot of really big platforms.
And so I just want to, I want to be one of those platforms that people talk about in
our, when they're in these rooms, when they're talking about the platforms that help them.
And you know, just make them feel a little more loved in it.
I hope that we get to be one of those.
Delaney, I'll say this.
If I had to answer that question for you, it's you created the conversation for others to
(45:02):
join.
That's literally what you did.
As you created that conversation that others now want to join and participate in.
And that's fantastic because there's so many young women that need that.
And you're providing that and you're giving them this space to do it.
So I mean, it's got to the limit for you, girlfriend.
You're going to far supersede me over here.
(45:23):
I can promise you, promise you that.
And I want, you're going to have to come visit me and Arizona.
Oh, yeah.
Well, now we have to do it.
Van out there.
Yes.
Let's do it.
Let's go.
Where I, West Coast girl, I'm all for it.
I also would go back to Alabama.
I feel like there's a university Alabama like rebirth that needs to happen.
One of the ladies on my staff went to Alabama.
(45:43):
She's die hard.
She'll be in there for sure.
Oh, yeah.
Well, we have something we're trying to plan actually for early 2025 there.
So we'll keep me posted.
You will be posting all time.
Confirmed here right now, breaking news.
Her table will be involved.
Love it.
Love it.
Well, thank you so much for coming on today.
I love sharing your story.
(46:04):
Keeping amazing.
Keep blazing path.
What you're doing matters and it's changing lives.
And I want you to know that we celebrate you and are so proud to support you.
And we can't wait to see what's next.
Thank you so much.
I had the best time.
That was such an amazing episode with Delaney.
Honestly, watching a young woman strive to create change, create conversation.
(46:26):
She's doing all of those things.
I think one of the best things that I learned from her is to just not discount yourself
and what you don't know.
She talked a lot about how she had to change her majors.
She failed a couple of classes.
She was really honest and vulnerable with us about what her struggles were to get where
she is.
And she's now the CEO of a company that's continuing to thrive and grow and engage young
(46:48):
women who want to work in sports, have a career in sports or love her sports.
I love that she loves the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I love that she loves Pittsburgh.
I should ask her about Vermonty Brothers.
But I think her whole message of just continue to strive.
Don't let setbacks continue to create narratives that don't serve you.
Unfortunately, I want to go get those young men that made fun of her.
(47:12):
But her moment now is that look at me now, which we all want to have.
The Laney is one of the women that is going to continue to change the world of sports
and create better conversations and engagement for young women who want to find an experience
and an industry that is male dominated.
So I can't wait to see what's next for her, all her secrets.
You're going to hear them on her table first.
(47:33):
So make sure you guys follow along so we can drop those out as it comes out.
But we'll see you guys next time.
Make sure you like, subscribe.
Let us know who you want to see and we appreciate each and every one of you.
This episode is brought to you by Tina's vodka, drink for spots, please.
(bell rings)
This episode is brought to you by Tina's vodka.
(00:02):
I'm Dolina Galbraith, I'm the CEO at Girls Club and this is her table.
Now you see her.
You are magnificent!
Welcome to her table, the podcast that shines a spotlight on the badass women who are redefining the game.
Join host Kate Foley and Megan Martinez as Pay Unlock the Secrets of Success
(00:26):
in the brightest female pioneers in the industry.
Welcome to another amazing episode of her table.
I cannot wait for you guys to meet our guest we have today.
From the University of Alabama, I love a Southern girl at heart.
We have Delaney Galbraith, who is a true inspiration for women in sports.
Her early days found love with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Another match for me because my family's a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
(00:50):
During her senior year at the University of Alabama, Delaney founded Girls Club,
a platform aimed at empowering women to pursue career in sports.
The name itself Girls Club speaks volumes about the barriers,
women face and accessing industry secrets and resources.
What started as a podcast evolved into a multimedia brand,
providing invaluable network opportunities and fostering Delaney's entrepreneurial skills.
(01:15):
I can't wait to learn more about her journey, where she's at, and where she's going.
Pull up a chair, welcome to her table.
Delaney, welcome to her table.
I'm so excited that you're here.
Thank you so much for having me.
Of course, all the way from, okay, we're going to butcher the name.
Say you say it. You say it. I'm not.
Worcester, Massachusetts.
(01:36):
Sure.
Massachusetts. I'm not even going to ask you how to spell it because I don't know
that I could say it was right or wrong.
So you might get a pass on my spelling beef.
But I don't remember how to spell it and I look here.
Oh my gosh.
Okay.
Walk us through how you went from the University of Alabama to Worcester.
Did I say it right?
I didn't say it right.
(01:56):
I didn't say it right.
Sorry.
Sorry, that made me laugh because I just said it and then you said,
I've heard this now.
So it needs more vowels, not less vowels.
I agree with you.
I agree with you.
So essentially, I met my boyfriend in college when I was working for a hockey team there
(02:17):
at the University of Alabama and kind of came together where he was from Massachusetts.
So things were kind of a lining in that sense.
I wanted to work for an NHL team.
So I ended up getting a job with the Boston Bruins and then that's what shipped me up here.
And then I've had quite the journey since then kind of going from point A to point B to
(02:39):
C to D to E.
But that's it's fascinating because you went from somewhere that is a different climate,
different culture.
All the way to the Northeast that is 100% different climate, different culture.
What got you into hockey because I don't mean is Alabama University, Alabama known for hockey?
Like what drove you to hockey or the thing to cucumber?
Love the way you put that too.
(03:04):
So actually I, so I'm from Virginia.
I'm from like DC area.
But my family is from Pittsburgh.
They're all like deep rooted Pittsburgh sports fans.
Pittsburgh penguins are like just when I was going up,
they just could not have been more of like the bandwagon team.
Obviously I had claimed to liking them.
(03:27):
And so I just grew up as a Pittsburgh penguin fan.
It's like also a Steelers fan.
I'm a football girl too.
But you just like claimed my heart.
When I was picking a school for college, I literally flipped a coin.
It worked out for me.
Don't do it though.
Not not great advice.
Flip the coin and end up going to Alabama and no, they're not known for hockey.
(03:48):
Obviously they're known for football.
We all know that.
But they had a club hockey team and it just like was kind of like a student like
led organization where like the students actually ran the staff.
And my freshman year I just became so enthralled with like
getting to do like the actual hands-on experience that I wouldn't have gotten with any like if I was to
(04:10):
intern for the football team.
I would not have gone that same experience.
Because I did the sponsorships. I did the ticket sales. I did literally every job you name it.
Like I was even booking road trips for the team at times.
So I just really fell in love with like all of that side of hockey and like how hockey
like how games are put together all of it.
(04:32):
And so I just I just loved it so much and it just became a home for me.
And I ended up me my boyfriend like my sophomore year.
So it wasn't because of him. He just was a he was a perk and
as far as the line the destiny stepped in.
I believe you have to you have to have something in common too with like the person
(04:53):
that you're playing hockey or you're just a fan of it.
I'm just a fan too and like it's crazy because I move up here and literally every person I meet
is a hockey player.
Yeah.
What's happening before we get on?
I know. I know.
Well and it's interesting too because I feel like there's a shift in culture that's going on right now in sports.
NASCAR is taking off.
I feel like NHL is definitely taking off and it's one of those sports for me that
(05:18):
it struggles to reach underserved communities because it requires a lot of time, attention,
equipment that might not necessarily be affordable to everybody.
So I love that it's a place where you got to experience it kind of for the first time and then
fell in love with it.
And now you're kind of sharing that.
What for you was one of the driving forces that as you went to University of Alabama,
(05:39):
hockey is obviously male dominated.
We've actually had a hockey guest on this show.
Scotty Upshaw, a dog, was on and was one of our first male guests.
But he talked about how hockey's such a very labor intensive but also a physical contact sport.
You being a female, how did that work for you?
(06:00):
Obviously it's a different dynamic for you being on the operations and sponsorship side.
But you also are part of the operations side which goes into gave the operations.
How was that for you making that adjustment as a female and kind of a male dominated world?
Yeah, I would say well first of all the PWHL has been such a great example of like what
women can do when you let them thrive in the hockey world.
(06:22):
And speaking of I'm going to game five of the finals tonight.
So I'm excited.
Alter cups being awarded tonight.
I'm very excited.
But yeah, I just I think for me it was like as you know, my company is called Sports
Girls Club, Girls Club.
It's like it's because sports felt like a little bit of a boys club.
(06:43):
So it was one of those things when I was there.
I was like really experiencing and as I start talking to like all of my friends,
they were having like a similar similar underlying feeling like they had these experiences.
This experience and hockey is one of those worlds where like I will be completely honest.
I feel like hockey is one of the worst like for it.
(07:06):
And so I unpacked that for me.
What do you mean it?
Because I want to understand that feeling because you felt it.
But sometimes can you describe what that was like?
Yeah, I would so I guess what I mean is like like you just said is like with hockey being like
on the come up, there's a lot of things that hockey is very behind on.
And that's just the truth and everybody knows it's like one of those things where it's just like
(07:30):
actively you can see them getting better.
And there's so many things in place now too and I've gone to work with Kimberly Davis who is
the senior executive vice president of DEI for the NHL a few times and like she's said similar things
completely agree with her.
And essentially I just mean like when you take the NFL for example, they're making so many great
(07:53):
strides towards just inclusivity. They have all these programs in place.
Whereas you can just tell with like NHL like they're still kind of getting there because
they're growing in that popularity.
So it's like almost like they they're playing catch up a little bit.
But I think they're doing a great job and I think PWHL is also showing that.
But like going back to when I was at club hockey, like I said it was a student led organization.
(08:18):
There was like not a lot of adults in place where like they could kind of step in and
say certain things. So like there was you know the occasional like borderline like is that a
comment you should be making like is you know things like that.
And that's kind of where the whole experience at right.
(08:39):
I always say like people grace one time and sometimes they don't know and
it definitely being a woman in sports comes with his challenges right because you have to tell
the line of the boundary for yourself while also educating others of what might be or not be
acceptable. And for me I always find like it's hard.
You want to say something but then you're like how is that going to be received?
Because my intention might not be the way they receive it or they internalize it.
(09:03):
And especially in you know in NHL I mean they it's it's funny when we had Scotty on you learning
how intense it is. But also a lot of these young men play from ages 3, 4, 5 and they play forever.
And they've played till they're in the older leagues so it's definitely a generational sport.
So I think there's still a lot of generational boundaries that need to be broken but I think you've
(09:27):
done such a fantastic job with Girls Club and creating that conversation. What's like a success
story that you've had from Girls Club? Like what is there one moment in time where you had that
aha moment of like this is yeah this is why I started this and what did you get from it?
Yeah I mean I feel like I have that moment like every day it's I'm just like the luckiest girl in
(09:48):
the world to have like found the idea for this somewhere in my brain and like I know that doesn't even
make sense. I'm just like I think I'm so lucky to have like thought to do this because it's really
truly paid off for myself and so many others. But yeah I think like I have an aha moment like
literally every single day like today I'm like literally seeing thinking oh my gosh I get to go to
(10:12):
the like I get to go experience history tonight because the PWHL this is their inaugural season.
This is their first season and I'm like thinking to myself 20 years down the road when I'm I don't
I don't know like in my 40s I'm gonna I'm gonna be thinking I I was there for that first yeah I'm
gonna have kids one day and like they're gonna say you were there that first like the first year
(10:37):
at the first final game ever for the first ever wasting of that cup so I'm like that's aha like
I feel like it's just constantly happening and just I feel like women in sports are having this
really big movement right now it's like it's it's just really huge to just support women who like
play and and work in sports right now and so we're just seeing that from all angles so I just like
(11:02):
every day I'm having the aha moments but that would definitely be one and recently at our conference
I just like looked out to the crowd at the end of the day when I was doing my my closing speech and
we were in this really great big room at Fenway Park and like the sun was rising over Fenway Park
and it was just the most beautiful thing I like I wanted to take a mental picture and like
(11:25):
I know because I have like 350 women in front of me just eager to like grow the community and learn
and it was just so and they're all dressed in their and they're pretty suits and colors and I was
just like this is just the prettiest thing I've ever seen like just did you want me to start
of this but this is kind of the level that it would go to because I think a lot of times we all
(11:48):
have this idea but we want to start something and it grows you know what struggles did you have
growing it I think I want our listeners to understand like sometimes you see the end result but you'd
miss the middle really hard part have you had any struggles as you've gone through this you know
and what are some specifically that you've had to overcome yeah there's struggles every day
(12:10):
and I'll put this as nicely as I can but let's just say when I was in one of my hockey roles
previously I experienced some things where like it was just absolute voice club like to the max and
so that and like I had already started girls club so it was just like I had people making fun of
(12:34):
what I was doing stuff like that so that was like a struggle because it was like I like this was
when the account had 3000 followers and I'm thinking to myself like maybe they're right and you
know and then it just gets in your head but like when I took the leap to take this full time there's
just never been a time where I've doubted myself because the the community and the response back has
(12:57):
been just amazing in terms of struggles like with just scaling it and everything like that it's
it's been a lot of like figuring out social media marketing like you know it's I feel like
there's struggles every day with like I'm a business owner I'm young and I don't have like
I don't I'm not a millionaire you know there's it's it's hard to like figure out how to scale a
(13:22):
business it's hard to figure out how to like what's what you need to do legally so there's so many
things that I feel like are struggles but I feel like the hardest struggle for me was just
taking the leap to like yeah for my path you know like and that's where I like I want every girl to learn
like if you're thinking of something you should just rip the bandit off and do it like I I think
(13:46):
of to myself all the time like where would I have been by this point if I had just done this sooner
and like yes everybody has their journey and it was part of my journey but you know like that's
hard it's still really hard and you know Megan and I talk about this a lot on the show it's
imposter syndrome and why I feel like it's so important to champion other people other women because
(14:08):
it's okay to not know it's okay to not have it figured out it's okay to fail right like it's a part
of life and I think when you have a community and you have people that you probably don't even know
supporting you encouraging you it's it's just as rewarding as seeing it be successful because it
feels like it matters yeah I think you know especially in male dominated sports it's definitely
(14:32):
changing and there's still a lot of room for it to grow but it definitely um has an opportunity
to continue to be more inclusive and more supportive and more innovative when it comes to circumstances
so you know it's it's funny to listen to you talk about you know it's boys club and it's these things
I think some people would say this right like well it's the male sport what do you expect my answer is
(14:54):
okay but in women's sports we expect different a different situation for a male
(waves crashing)
(waves crashing)
- It's okay.
- I am so sorry.
My dog is decided to wake up from quite the summer.
It's all good.
(15:15):
- Oh my gosh, that could not have been worse.
No stress.
It happens all the time.
Usually it's my dog, so don't stress.
I'm so sorry.
Can you just...
- No, no, it's okay.
No, no, we'll start over.
(laughter)
- We're all out of the half-king,
so we're just gonna go down to a different grab it whole.
So, there we go.
- It's so sorry.
- I'm so stressed.
(15:35):
So you touched a little bit on Boys Club.
What for you, you know, for those people
that don't know what that experience might feel like,
you know, I've often spoke to you
and Megan and I talk about in Poster Syndrome a lot
and how we feel like because we don't see other people
that might look like us, down like us,
stress like us, in leadership roles
or in roles of visibility that are celebrated,
(15:56):
you oftentimes feel isolated.
So, you know, for me, especially being in a male sport too
in the NBA, I feel like that too.
It's like, okay, there's a bunch of guys in me.
And it's an interesting feeling.
It's one when early in my career, it was intimidating.
Now I like laugh and I'm like, yes, and.
I feel like that area on a Broadway song, yes, and.
(16:18):
You know where I'm like, the gay.
- Yeah, no, for you, what, you know,
was there a moment in time where you had a specific,
and you don't have to get full details,
but just did you have a moment where you're like,
this is a boys club, am I supposed to be here?
And what happened?
Because I think sometimes it's good for people
and listeners to hear those struggling stories
(16:39):
because they're gonna experience something similar to it.
Know that, oh, they experienced that too.
And they came out, okay, it wasn't.
The sun came up, the world kept turning.
So when you talk about boys club and the intimidation
that you felt, and intimidation probably
is not the right word.
It probably lends itself more to.
It was an intimidating scene, perhaps, right?
(16:59):
Because you are one of you women, right?
You didn't really have anybody to look towards.
What, have you had any of those as you've gone through this?
You've obviously pivoted specifically to women sports,
but when you were working in men's sports specifically,
you know, what was that gender difference for you
from being out of female?
- Yeah, so I would say like, and we definitely still work
(17:21):
in like men's sports with girls club too.
It's like, we try to make every space inclusive.
But when I was at a previous hockey program
I was working for, I'd already started girls club.
And like, like I said, we had 3000 followers.
So like, I can't sit on some high horse and say like,
I was looking the coolest at this point,
(17:42):
but we had some merch out already and stuff like that.
And I just remember my heart sunk when one day
I had gone word of essentially just all the boys in the office
had recreated some, like the photos I took in the new merch.
And it was just some hoodies and all the boys in the office,
(18:07):
you know, recreated the photo and they were sending around.
And that to me where I was just like, wow, that,
like not necessary.
It just wasn't necessary.
It was like, you guys are like, think about what the point
of what I'm doing is and you're just like, yeah.
- Well, we're in, you know, and I think, you know,
(18:30):
one of the things Magnen and I talk about for show too
is just the opportunity that we have to educate people.
And I think at that point in your career
it was probably a little bit of immaturity from young men.
It was from a place of not even--
- Oh, they weren't.
- Oh, they weren't.
Okay, well, shame on them for acting young.
Let's just go ahead and say the children
because they acted like children.
I think, you know, it's sometimes when I find,
(18:52):
especially my career, men can lean in,
they do the opposite because it's intimidating to them, right?
And they see something that they don't understand.
And so I constantly try and even from my staff to clients
to colleagues of like, "Lick lean in,
I want you to understand the thought process here
and what I'm doing."
And then they get the choice to either lean in or lean out.
And I think it's hard because as women, we're so intuitive,
(19:14):
I'm like, how do you not know this is wrong?
But sometimes they just literally don't know that it's wrong.
And I think it's funny listening to that story
'cause had another female done that to you.
It would have been like, "Catty and argumentative."
And like, look at them battling each other.
But then when it comes to it, it's like, "Ha ha ha,
"oh wait, no, it's not funny."
(19:34):
You know what I mean?
So it's just the exact same thing.
- Exactly, I'm just like, "I'm just a joke."
And I have to take as a joke.
Like, and that's--
- I see your mental energy.
- Well, and it's now I feel like,
especially with a lot of women in leadership, right?
We're able to say it even for myself.
It's like, it's not funny.
And so if I hear something that's not funny,
you're not appropriate for me,
I feel like I have a responsibility to the next me
(19:55):
to speak up and say, "This isn't okay."
Because I didn't have that for me.
So I want somebody to have what I didn't have.
And it's interesting when you talk to women
who've been in sports for a while
and women in leadership positions
that have had some really terrible experiences.
You grew from it, right?
You probably, as I would expect,
it would have been very upsetting.
I would have gone home and cried and called my mom
(20:17):
and been like, "What is wrong with these people?"
And called my girlfriends
and then got my little tribe together.
And then been like, "Okay, it's them, not me."
But it's still, it's hurtful.
And I think, for men in positions of leadership,
them leaning in more.
We talk a lot on the show about women
who have had men lean in
(20:37):
and push them to become more.
Have you had anybody in your,
like, who do you look up to in the sports world?
Like, male or female?
Like, who do you look up to that you say,
"Hey, this is who I want to be like.
"This is who I want to carry myself like.
"This is what I aspire to grow be or do."
Yeah, I would say that there's so many people
that I'm just, like, so and off.
Like, especially, there's so many women.
(20:59):
And now they are just, like, absolutely
using their platforms, right?
And using, you know, the power they're being given, right?
And, like, I really truly admire that.
Somebody in particular who has just been my idol
in sports since I was younger is Kimberly Davis.
And when I got to work with her,
I've gone to work with her twice now
and just complete rock star.
(21:22):
And so that to me is like,
that's somebody who I definitely want to highlight
because I feel like she's just absolutely incredible
and just an idol for everybody.
And then somebody who is a male is like,
I'm like, it's, I hate to say it,
but I'm like trying to think of like,
who's, I will say I recently met the head coach
(21:45):
of PWHL New York's team and his name's Howie Draper
and just the way he spoke about the team
and like where women's hockey was.
Like, I will say he's somebody who like,
just definitely gets it, highlights it.
I personally haven't gone to work with anybody.
Like, in other leagues, like, that are like,
(22:07):
to that level, but I would say like,
those two in the hockey world,
I'm trying to think of like,
I feel like I'm so hockey oriented
that I'm like not providing the other.
- Wow, it's exciting.
It's like, you know what, I mean, you're young, right?
Like, there's so many theories and opportunities
coming up for you and it's exciting to watch it get to see.
What, you know, looking ahead,
(22:28):
what's your goals for Girls Club?
Like, what do you want to see Girls Club become
and grow to be?
- Yeah, I would say I really want it to be like,
just a, I want to say like a giant media network, honestly.
Like, and that's kind of where we're scaling to right now
and I'm very fortunate to get to do this full time.
(22:48):
And so I feel like there, like, that's a goal.
But to me, there's like, I have like a lot of personal goals.
Like, I want, 'cause it's so hard to say exactly
where I want Girls Club to go,
'cause I feel like it's already,
I hate to say it like this.
I feel like it's already exactly where like,
my mind never thought it would go.
(23:09):
Like, I knew it would go, but you know what I mean?
Like, I just hit a goal super early.
And so now I'm just like, anything's possible, kind of,
situations. - What's next?
What's next for them?
- I would say we're just expanding a lot more nationally.
And we also have some other projects we've been working on.
(23:32):
Not just podcast shows like that,
but I have a big secret we're saying on it.
That'll come out a little later this year.
And so that's just, like, it's given me the opportunity
to kind of expand and, you know, really do exactly
what you were just saying is like, kind of share the stories.
So that, you know, you're telling the generation
(23:56):
after you and the girls after you,
because you don't want them to experience that same thing.
And you're wanting to have maybe some more respect
than you did for yourself.
And so, like, I know that was like very like, vague.
- Well, you, I wasn't answer.
So I expect we get like, it exclusives.
Since you're keeping the secret going on.
What, what for you, you know, have you at Girls Club,
(24:19):
you know, how do people get involved in it?
How does it connect to the community?
And then what kind of services,
connectivity can people expect to have through that?
- Yeah.
So we're just really growing like all of our events.
So like we're about to open up like an ambassador program
where like girls nationwide will be able to like get involved
and help us run these programs
because one thing is like I live in Massachusetts.
(24:42):
So it's like, I can't zip over to all these places often,
but we're getting a lot of requests for everywhere.
So there's like one way we're really trying to get people
involved.
And then in terms of like having people
just like continue to grow this community,
like we're getting, we get so many college interns
where we get to be like their first bit of sports experience.
(25:04):
And that's where I feel really proud
because I know when I was in college,
it was really hard to find a sports internship
that would take me.
So we get to do that.
I think I did a day just answer that question wrong.
I'm like re re re re, but no, oh my gosh, no, well, it's interesting, because you know, for me, I'm the opposite.
(25:26):
I'm not a proponent of internships.
I'm a big proponent of experience because internships are very hard to get.
That have substance.
And so I think sometimes it's off putting for people of like, I didn't get an internship.
I can't believe this.
I can't go here.
And my answer is you don't need a six month internship of getting coffee just to put internship.
(25:46):
You need to have experience, right?
So if it's a two day experience, a two hour experience,
it gives you an opportunity to gain knowledge and meet people and create something that you then can draw from.
And you never know where it's going to go because I do think that having,
that's one of the things especially for girls and sports and women and sports and just generationally and sports,
(26:08):
you take all these classes, but a lot of them are not applied classes.
It's book top classes.
And then you get to the world and you're like, well, now what?
And then they go work for these people and they're like, how do you not know?
Like, you're like, it's not applied.
And so I always say to young girls, especially as like, take any opportunity you can get.
(26:29):
You'll learn that you love it or learn that it's something you don't want to do.
And learning something you don't want to do is just as important as learning what you do want to do.
Because it's helping narrow the path.
It's not right or wrong.
It's just you're narrowing, you're narrowing, you're creating a thing.
Yeah.
We're narrowing it.
And I think it's so intimidating because you hear so many people like, I've had six internships
and I'm applying for this job.
(26:50):
And I'm like, you might not have any real world experience.
Like you have a great paper resume, but you don't have any actual applied substance to
executing against what you learned.
The guys say all the time, like, I'm going to ask you a question.
What, you know, for you, what three classes did you wish you had taken in college to help
(27:11):
you be more prepared for where you are?
Yeah.
And I completely agree with you like experiences everything.
And that's why I worked for the hockey club.
Like, I got the experience.
And I learned that hands on.
I actually, and this kind of goes back to failure, I feel like I don't know what three
(27:34):
classes I would want to take because there wasn't a lot of options even at the University
of Alabama.
And I went, now they have it.
So like I would have taken sports management, but like I feel like I took all the right things.
Like I don't think there's anything during my time.
I necessarily regret.
(27:54):
Like obviously now I looking back.
I'm like, yeah, I probably would have taken sports management or like something along the
lines of NIL.
Like I think that's so fascinating.
But like honestly, when I was there, like I just switched my majors because I kept failing
classes in the other major.
What did you switch to?
What did you start and what did you switch to this morning?
The dream was always there.
(28:19):
It definitely was.
Yeah, I always knew I wanted to work in sports when I was in college because I just like
luckily found it in my heart when I was in high school, all that stuff.
Which does bring me to, I did take sports marketing with an amazing teacher in high school.
I was so lucky.
So if that's in your high school, definitely take it.
Yeah, you know, obviously that's like I feel like that's very specific in niche.
(28:43):
Like I don't know why my school had that.
But I switched from marketing to advertising actually because I could not, I could not pass
my e-con class.
I couldn't pass my math class.
I failed astronomy.
Like that you name it.
Who is astronomy a class for marketing?
Like I had some science credit, like it was, I don't even know.
(29:08):
I'm dead.
I'm like astronomy.
Yeah, like I'm not getting the Hubble telescope job.
Like that's not what I'm here for.
But and that's so interesting to me about college is, you know, all the, when I talk to these
young people, I'm like, look, take classes that challenge you, but take classes that also
are helping you achieve something because I think there's the standard of you have to take
these things.
(29:28):
But then the reality is you don't ever use those things.
Yeah.
I like this.
Yeah.
No, so it takes things that drive you to you.
Like it's, if I had a choose, I would say like public speaking is always something everyone
should take and take seriously.
I did not.
I took it because I'm like, you think I asked.
Now I'm like, wow, but you know, again, it's pushing you outside the box.
It's tools you're going to have to use in the real world, whether that's like in your
(29:52):
job at the bank, at target, like you have to be able to communicate.
You do because now so many young people can't communicate unless it's be a text.
And so that's not going to work in the real world.
And so I don't want you to go into it blindsided.
I always say like hostage negotiation too is important for me because it's like trying
to get my athletes sometimes to do what I need them to do is a little bit of hostage bank
(30:16):
negotiation where you're like, I'll give you this.
If you give me that, you know what I mean, it's a lot of back and forth.
And then also I think too, like just one of the things that I think is so interesting
to me now is, and no, is anthropology?
Oh my god, production cut that out of it's not right.
That's right.
That's right.
(30:36):
People anthropology?
Yes.
Yes.
No, anthropology is the study of bugs.
No.
I think you're right.
I think you're right.
What is the study of people?
We're going to ask right now.
My sister has a degree in it.
It's a sorry, I don't understand.
Yeah, no, you were right.
You were right.
Yeah.
Like anthropology, like the study, yeah, leave that in production.
(30:59):
I'm Steve.
I'm so smart.
I'm so smart.
No, it's the study of people because I think a lot of us collectively don't understand how
we work or how we receive or how we communicate.
It's how other people do.
And I think it as an, it would help us all a little bit more empathy towards each other
to better understand what is going on in someone else's mind, reference, culture, right outside
(31:25):
of our own bubble.
And so I think just collectively as people it would.
So like no one's telling you that when you're going to college, like take math 101, French
lit.
And I'm like, who, like, I'm not going to be a French lit teacher.
So like, I think it is.
But and it's interesting because I think now and that's what we talked about experience.
Having moments where you can have experience and you can get firsthand experience from someone
(31:48):
who has been where you want to go far supersteed any book experience because my path is not
like from a book, you know what I mean?
Like, I'm just, where I am just from a book.
So it's just taking opportunities and one of the quotes I love best is from Jay Shetty.
(32:09):
And it says, just keep opening doors.
Like don't worry about the ones that close.
Just keep opening the next door.
So when you're at the next door, it opens, walk through when you're at the next door.
Don't worry about where you've been.
Don't worry about what opportunities you can have in front of you.
(32:34):
And I think especially for women and sports, it's important to not get discouraged because
you don't see or understand or know, right?
Like, no one knows anything.
Anyone that walks in a room and says they know anything is full of shit.
So I'm like, if you don't know everything.
And now my game is, I'm trying to make you not like what don't you know?
But pulling in people to say, hey, this is my experience.
(32:54):
This is my challenges.
This is my struggles.
Here's how I've gotten where I want to be.
And here's where I'm still trying to go.
I think it's so important because so many young people are like, I didn't get the job I wanted
or I didn't get the internship or kind of like, don't be discouraged.
Like, just try something else.
And I think, you know, listening to you talk about just your career in your path, how
(33:16):
you ended up at the University of Alabama.
And you started in hockey, right?
Like, it wasn't like your by design where they're, what advice would you give to a younger
you back in that moment knowing what you know now, what advice would you give younger
Delaney in that?
Okay, I'm going to take you here in that moment with the pictures and the sweatshirts.
(33:36):
What advice would you give young Delaney now?
Oh, well, that wasn't college Delaney.
Okay.
Okay.
That was like yesterday.
That's some tea.
Yeah, no, obviously the pictures and the sweatshirts was, I'll just say it was not that long ago.
Yeah.
No, it's funny.
(33:59):
Trust me.
I'm okay.
And the really cool part is like, I think back to when that happened and we had 3000 followers
then and I was able to scale it in like a matter of eight months since then.
And then all sweatshirts I would.
I would just send them sweatshirts every month just to be annoying.
I would just be on repeat just now.
I haven't thought about it because honestly, you know, why would I spend some money on them,
(34:23):
but maybe I should, maybe I should follow up and, you know, make it feel good.
And I like it that much.
Yeah.
Did you know how it since you like it so much?
Yeah.
Honestly, I feel like, I feel like I'm past it.
Honestly, it's like it's a little fuel to my fire, you know?
And like, like I said, I have a, I have a, I have a secret I've been saying on.
(34:44):
So, hmm, hmm, well, what advice would you give young Delaney?
Like in a moment of struggle, don't have to be specific.
What advice would you give me?
I would do that was faced with the adversity or uncertainty.
Yeah, I would, I guess I would just say like, oh my gosh, there's so many things.
I would tell her, I'd, first of all, I'd tell her like, you know, wake up for your 8am
(35:06):
because I never did that.
That probably led to the failing of the classes.
But, I would tell her you wake up, you know, like set some more alarms.
But I, I think I would just like say like, really like tune out the noise.
Because for me, I just feel like there was a lot of like, I did.
(35:30):
And I had to learn it and I think everybody has to learn the lesson because otherwise, like
you can hear it all you want, but you do at a certain point have to like learn the lesson
yourself first hand, unfortunately.
But like there was just so many times where like I did let like other people's opinions or
kind of like I'd conform to like what other people were doing and then it would like
(35:50):
strain me from the path that I like, I knew I want to be on.
And so I would just say like tune out the noise, like put your head down, keep working hard
because like it does pay off.
And I think there was times where like I kind of, you know, would divert from, from the
path and that's kind of where I felt like I probably need to take a step back, take a deep breath,
(36:14):
tell myself, you know, you don't have to get the perfect job out of college.
You don't like not everything.
But there's like so many other things that led to those moments and like why, like why
I don't think I got where I want to be in my head.
And so, but yeah, I would take a deep breath as well.
I would calm down.
(36:36):
Shout out Aaron Andrews.
Calm down.
Love that.
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
What would you say your leadership style is?
I think one of the things we see obviously were both CEOs, right?
Which is fantastic.
Shout out women CEOs.
How do you describe your leadership style and has that changed your evolved as you progressed
(36:57):
within your job?
Oh my gosh.
I feel like you're probably like a million percent better CEO than me.
My staff might not agree they're like, oh, they're like, yeah, no, no.
Performance reviews say no.
But no, honestly, I, yeah, I would say like my leadership style is constantly changing.
(37:20):
It's, I'm, I'm 24 years old.
I took this full time at 23 and I'm definitely learning like definitely.
And so it's very hard to, you know, be trying to figure this out because there's no book
of business out there that just kind of explains it.
So I feel like sometimes like I'll, I'll let my stress kind of come out in other ways.
(37:42):
And so I think it's just pivoting.
My thing is is like I try, I try to never do the same thing twice if something's failing.
So like if there's a community.
You said, that's such a thing.
I love that.
Try it.
I did the try, right?
Try not to repeat the same mistake or try not to have the same experience.
What's takes happened to and like, but like the reason we've been able to scale at the level
(38:05):
we have like social media wise is because I constantly pivot when I see something is
like not working.
So honestly, like I've just had to think outside the box, get creative.
I don't think that I am the perfect leader.
I don't think that my leadership style is one that should be mimicked per se.
(38:26):
I will say like this, you've gotten pretty dang far.
So I'm not going to a little jemmenist and you're not going to do that on here.
No, no.
No.
Okay, well then yeah, mimic me.
But yeah, no, it like honestly, I feel like I don't have like one leadership style.
It's just constantly like learning from the women who have found success.
And yeah, I just, I think like kind of just being willing to change.
(38:51):
Like you said, like constantly opening doors, I, I feel like I really resonate with that.
Because there's a lot of times I feel like and you're not going to see it all the time on social
media.
We say that all the time.
It's any human being will tell you it's a daily, right?
Yes.
If you're doing it right, you're failing daily.
Like if you're not sure, that means you're pushing your trying, you're trying to become more,
(39:15):
you're not just being like this, that is quote for a senior constantly trying to figure
it out.
And society is constantly evolving and changing.
And people are evolving and changing, right?
And the ways we communicate and the shape are different.
What for you, you know, you talked earlier, has technology impacted Girls Club more than
(39:35):
you expected?
Or was that an expected turn for you?
Yeah, I would say like definitely in ways, like there's definitely like things on like
online and social media, like algorithms are constantly changing, like all of that,
like that is like constantly having to relearn and algorithm is really hard and figure that
(39:58):
out.
But I would say like technology wise, there's, I don't really think that there's anything
that's like kind of like hard stops us on anything.
I think, like I said, it's just all about pivoting and trying and willingness to learn and
like try to take that opportunity and like, but yeah, I'm not, I'm not a big tech girl.
(40:18):
So honestly, maybe I should just, I don't know about you.
But I know I'm not either.
I think, you know, it's definitely a space that I don't find comfort in.
It's something I have to be pushed to do, but it is a space that a lot of people communicate
and are driven to now in this younger age.
(40:39):
So it's trying to take what my comfort level is and the best way to reach people is different.
Even with this show, I'm like, who listens to the show?
And then there's so many people that do it.
I'm like, why didn't I know like, you don't mean like you don't know what you don't know.
And so I think really having a robust group and tribe and staff and colleagues that are
going to push you is just as important because I always say, especially with my staff, if
(41:02):
everybody in the room knows the same things, we're going nowhere fast.
So I like to be in a room and have everyone know what their expertise is.
But then understand what everyone else is is too. So they can respect it and appreciate it.
But like, I want to be around people who know more than me.
I want to be around people who know things I don't know because I don't know everything
(41:24):
and I want to learn and be as fun and be curious.
But that's like how you get anywhere in life and being around people that have been where
you want to go and you're willing to say, I don't know, but I'm going to find the answer.
And what's left through different people through research things like that.
So for me, it's like, listen to it.
It's able to like if everybody knows the same thing, but what are we in here talking about?
(41:46):
We're going nowhere.
And it's a disservice to the people you lead as a leader to not show them what it's like
to grow and be fluid and thrive because you're constantly having to grow.
You can't just be like, I'm here and I'm going to stop.
It's like, okay, I got this right.
I got this wrong.
How are we going to go?
And I think that, you know, from for women is especially intimidating because it's like,
(42:08):
well, if I'm wrong, are they going to replace me?
If I'm wrong, if I'm not here, are they going to choose somebody else or go have this conversation?
And somebody else that they didn't want to take their PTO because they were afraid they
were going to get passed up for a project they really wanted to work on.
And I'm like, that's so sad because I brought you, there's a bunch of dudes that are like,
I'm out and wanted to like this weekend, see you next Tuesday and don't think about it.
(42:32):
But that's why for me is as we see women in leadership positions and just women in general
have a better working relationship with each other.
I think that helps come back and not it be so you or me.
It's a wee conversation and how we can continue to drive and strive and create that message
forward is the change, right?
We're all trying to make, which is so it's hard.
(42:54):
It's not going to happen tomorrow.
But at some point it resonates and one more person gets it and one more person gets it.
It creates a space for everybody to feel comfortable and it also creates a space for
everybody to feel accountable to each other because they don't want them to experience what
they experience.
So you kind of lean into the bag to get to the good if that makes sense.
(43:16):
So that's so important to have like your circle of women and like just like utilizing
the materials out there.
Like I recently found like a group of entrepreneur women and that is something where like I'm
learning from them.
And so it's so important to get in those groups and those spaces and just like you said,
it's going to be a sponge.
It's so hard though.
(43:37):
I will say you go into and you're like, oh my gosh, should I be here?
I don't know anything.
These people are so much older than me, better than me.
You know, they've had more success than me, but it's those are the rooms you want to be
in.
You want to be in the rooms where you have the ability to grow, not you're at the top.
Because at the top you got nowhere to go.
So you better people around you.
(43:57):
So I think that's fascinating.
Okay.
I'm so proud of you.
What do you want your legacy to be for sports girls club?
Oh my gosh, everything.
I loaded question for you as we close out this episode with a lady.
Yeah, I would say like my, yeah, I won't say everything.
(44:18):
My legacy, I just want to like leave sports in the sports industry better than I found
it.
And you know, I, I stay at where I found it.
It was very much a boys club.
And I think I don't want to say that we start the revolution, the, you know, the whole pivot
for this big women sports voice, but I do think that like we hopped on it right the right
time.
To me, it was like a completely organic idea that I came up with when I, when I put it
(44:42):
together and now we're seeing a lot of really big platforms.
And so I just want to, I want to be one of those platforms that people talk about in
our, when they're in these rooms, when they're talking about the platforms that help them.
And you know, just make them feel a little more loved in it.
I hope that we get to be one of those.
Delaney, I'll say this.
If I had to answer that question for you, it's you created the conversation for others to
(45:02):
join.
That's literally what you did.
As you created that conversation that others now want to join and participate in.
And that's fantastic because there's so many young women that need that.
And you're providing that and you're giving them this space to do it.
So I mean, it's got to the limit for you, girlfriend.
You're going to far supersede me over here.
(45:23):
I can promise you, promise you that.
And I want, you're going to have to come visit me and Arizona.
Oh, yeah.
Well, now we have to do it.
Van out there.
Yes.
Let's do it.
Let's go.
Where I, West Coast girl, I'm all for it.
I also would go back to Alabama.
I feel like there's a university Alabama like rebirth that needs to happen.
One of the ladies on my staff went to Alabama.
(45:43):
She's die hard.
She'll be in there for sure.
Oh, yeah.
Well, we have something we're trying to plan actually for early 2025 there.
So we'll keep me posted.
You will be posting all time.
Confirmed here right now, breaking news.
Her table will be involved.
Love it.
Love it.
Well, thank you so much for coming on today.
I love sharing your story.
(46:04):
Keeping amazing.
Keep blazing path.
What you're doing matters and it's changing lives.
And I want you to know that we celebrate you and are so proud to support you.
And we can't wait to see what's next.
Thank you so much.
I had the best time.
That was such an amazing episode with Delaney.
Honestly, watching a young woman strive to create change, create conversation.
(46:26):
She's doing all of those things.
I think one of the best things that I learned from her is to just not discount yourself
and what you don't know.
She talked a lot about how she had to change her majors.
She failed a couple of classes.
She was really honest and vulnerable with us about what her struggles were to get where
she is.
And she's now the CEO of a company that's continuing to thrive and grow and engage young
(46:48):
women who want to work in sports, have a career in sports or love her sports.
I love that she loves the Pittsburgh Steelers.
I love that she loves Pittsburgh.
I should ask her about Vermonty Brothers.
But I think her whole message of just continue to strive.
Don't let setbacks continue to create narratives that don't serve you.
Unfortunately, I want to go get those young men that made fun of her.
(47:12):
But her moment now is that look at me now, which we all want to have.
The Laney is one of the women that is going to continue to change the world of sports
and create better conversations and engagement for young women who want to find an experience
and an industry that is male dominated.
So I can't wait to see what's next for her, all her secrets.
You're going to hear them on her table first.
(47:33):
So make sure you guys follow along so we can drop those out as it comes out.
But we'll see you guys next time.
Make sure you like, subscribe.
Let us know who you want to see and we appreciate each and every one of you.
This episode is brought to you by Tina's vodka, drink for spots, please.
(bell rings)
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