Sports

How Europe helped Patterson find his way

Published

4 years ago

May 19, 2020

Jonathan Grilli

Photo curtesy - Julia Summers

Marcus Patterson needed to take a year off following an injury, but he came back stronger than ever.

Marcus Patterson had wrapped up his one and only season in England where he would find some success post-college. The 6-foot-4 guard would spend time with the University of East London. He would also suit up for the East London All-Star of the England National Basketball League following his stint with the University of East London.

Following his successes with the University of East London, Patterson got a cup of coffee with the London Lions of the BBL. It was the first professional team that the Bronx guard was able to be a part of and he learned a lot about the game during his time with them.

Patterson also would suffer an injury that would prevent him from progressing and receiving a professional contract following the year in England. Instead, he would return back to the states and continue to improve.

“I came back from England and started to train, workout, and perfect my craft. It was hard being away from the game, but I needed to get better to receive another opportunity.”

Patterson would continue to improve and relentlessly tried to find a home to continue his journey. He admitted it was tough at first.

“Seeing everyone go back and play was kind of tough,” Patterson said. “But I knew that I could get to where I wanted to be if I kept putting the work in.”

In addition to continuing his craft on the basketball court, the 6-foot-4 guard was hard at work getting himself out there.

“I had gone on the EuroBasket’s database. I emailed hundreds of coaches and reached out on LinkedIn and Facebook, and nothing. It would not stop me, though.”

The Sage graduate had received a tip of advice to enroll in the EuroBasket Portugal Tour 2019 where players compete against Portugal’s top teams. This was Patterson’s chance to impress and he did just that.

Patterson showed good ability to finish and also lock down the opposing team which led to him receiving his first professional contract from Portimonense SC, a first-tier team in Portugal. He did not disappoint, finishing on the All Portuguese First Division All-Import Team and All Portuguese First Division Second Team. He would also finish seventh in the league’s most valuable player voting.

Patterson is not under contract for this year coming up but is open to the option of returning to Portimonense.

Sports

Why Todd Graves Is Driven To Innovate Golfing Techniques and Inspire Future Athletes

Published

5 months ago

November 28, 2023

Jonathan Grilli

When you look up the history of sports and how it changed over the years, you will find several influential public figures and athletes’ names at the top of unique inventions. After all, those who play the sport, also know what could improve and popularize it. Todd Graves is one of those individuals with a passion for golf and sports innovation.

He is an innovative thought leader and business expert with nearly 50 years of experience in the golf community. He practiced golf under the training and guidance of Murray “Moe” Norman, the world-renowned PGA golfer of the 20^th Century. Norman was one of the most influential figures in the golf community with his unique techniques and innovative methods to approach the game.

His contributions and golf skills earned him the nickname of “Pipeline Moe”, mainly for his unmatched ability to hit one straight shot after another with the slightest deviation in the ball’s trajectory. As his protégé, Todd Graves vowed to be among the leading sports personalities and innovators in the golf space. He worked on the single-plane swing technique modeled by his mentor, Moe Norman over his professional career.

It is a technique that helps a golfer reduce strain on the lower back while increasing the consistency and frequency of making a solid impact with the ball. Before, it was limited in practice to highly experienced golfers with immense knowledge of kinetic movements and swinging techniques. Today, Todd Graves’ contributions have enabled the wide use and adoption of the single-plane swing method in the global golf community.

The pro golfer believes that innovation is a key component of progress and without progress, humanity could come to a standstill. Whether it is progress in the personal, professional, or sports world, every great athlete should strive for it and reach their maximum potential, according to Todd Graves. To bring new knowledge to a wider audience around the world, he recently partnered with Barry Morrow, who is a famous American screenwriter and film producer credited with co-writing the screenplay for the movie Rain Main (1988).

Graves partnered with Oscar-winning Barry Morrow to create a documentary on the life and achievements of the great pro golfer, Moe Norman. Through the documentary, Todd wishes to inspire athletes and motivate golfers to bring innovation to their gameplay. Todd Graves shares his drive for bringing innovation and catalyzing change in the sports world with aspiring athletes, pro golfers, and students.

Graves’s inspiration comes from his dedication to the advancement of sports science. He spent a better part of his career with kinesiology experts and sports scientists to discover intricate details involved in various physical activities, also including golf. He identified potential risk injuries, analyzed their occurrences, and gathered factual data with the help of scientists.

He aims to portray actual findings in his upcoming documentary and inspire young athletes to be more than participants in national and international competitions. Todd Graves stands as one of the most influential and inspirational figures in the golf community and has earned association with several famous personalities including Ben Hago, and Tiger Woods, among others.