Weekly Newsletter, Oct. 7, 2026: Teaching My Playbook at Cal State Long Beach
GOOD MORNING.
Big one to lead with this week: Dan Freschi has officially launched his first book, Becoming Uncommon. More on that in a second — it's exactly the kind of resource I wish more coaches had in their hands. Beyond that, it was a genuinely packed week: Ryan Erisman took home Male MVP at College Swimming League Match 3, three clinics ran across three time zones, I traded contracts for a classroom at Cal State Long Beach, and our October business update is below too.
In today's newsletter, we'll look at:
Dan Freschi officially launches his first book with CG Sports Publishing, Becoming Uncommon: The Student Athlete’s Guide to Leadership and Life.
Ryan Erisman threw down a scorching performance at Match 3 of the College Swimming League
Three clinics, three time zones: Phoebe, Ella, and Rebecca's big weekend
A personal story: what I told a room of student-athletes at CSULB
Lilly King heads to Bothell, WA next, while I'll be in Long Beach for a different kind of Olympic prep.
Cejih's Corner: the storytelling framework from my CSULB talk
Our October business update: a September close-out, Q3 recap, and where things stand now
This week's biggest client news
Let's lead with the big one: Dan Freschi has officially launched his first book, Becoming Uncommon. If you coach — or you know someone who does — this is the one to put on their shelf. It's not another motivational read; it's data-backed best practices for actually instilling leadership in young athletes, built out of Dan's own years of coaching and developing leaders at the youth and collegiate level. We couldn't be prouder to see this out in the world. Available now on Amazon.
Big performance to shout out too
Ryan Erisman was named Male MVP of the meet at College Swimming League Match 3, the kind of week-making result we love seeing from our athletes. Congrats to Ryan on an exciting season opener.
Beyond that, it was a packed weekend on the clinic side too. Three CG Sports clinics, same weekend, three different corners of the country.
Phoebe Bacon wrapped a two-day clinic with the Summit Area YMCA in Summit, NJ (meet-and-greet Friday night, pool sessions Saturday morning).
Ella Eastin ran her clinic with Oregon Swimming LSC in Portland.
Rebecca Soni had the busiest Saturday of the three — a clinic with North Jeffco Swim Team at Arvada Aquatic Center in the morning, then a Colorado Swimming banquet appearance at the Denver West Marriott that afternoon. That second one came together fast: added to the pipeline Monday, signed Wednesday, on stage Saturday.
On the business side:
We officially renewed Ohio Swimming for Beyond the Blocks 2027, a brand-new multi-year event partnership — the deal that's been quietly in the works since a hallway conversation at the Denver USA Swimming Summit finally came together this week.
Luka Mijatovic added another name to his sponsor list: a new timing-brand partnership that's a nice complement to everything else he's got going on post-Pan-Pacs.
Personal story: What I told a room of student-athletes at CSULB
Last night I was a guest speaker at Cal State Long Beach's Sports Management Program, talking to a room full of upperclassmen and seniors about personal branding, networking, and how to actually find opportunities once you're out of eligibility and out of excuses.
Great group — mostly swimmers, water polo players, and cross country runners who are all extremely good at their sport and, like most college seniors, mildly terrified about what comes next. Relatable. I was that kid once too, except my sport was "aggressively walking on to a Division I swim team by promising the coaching staff I'd be a better recruiter than swimmer." (I was right, for the record.)
I opened with a question I like to ask every room: if I pulled up your Instagram right now, would I actually learn anything real about you? Dead silence, which is the correct answer. Instagram is a highlight reel — your best six photos and the one with your cat buried at slide four. It's not where anyone finds the thing that makes them remember you.
So we spent the hour doing an exercise I've run with our Pros, Olympic hopefuls, college athletes, and at least one Division I head basketball coach: building your own story, four prompts at a time, until you can tell it in under a minute.
A water polo player named Emma shared hers on the spot — cold, no notes — and nailed it well enough that I'm pretty sure three recruiters in that room would've hired her by the end of the story. A few other students came up afterward with the kind of "wait, I've never actually said that out loud before" look that tells me the exercise landed.
I wrote the whole framework up as this week's Cejih's Corner below, because it's not just a college-senior problem — it's the exact same thing we do for every athlete who signs with CG Sports, Olympian or not.
Up Next: Lilly King Heads to the Pacific Northwest
This Friday and Saturday (October 9–10), Lilly King is in Bothell, WA for a two-day clinic with WEST Coast Aquatics — a full slate of age-group sessions both days, plus a coaches' dinner Friday night. It's the kind of multi-session, full-team clinic format we've leaned into more and more this year (see also: the Summit YMCA and North Jeffco weekends above), and it's become one of the more requested formats among the swim clubs we work with.
That same Friday, I'll be in Long Beach for US Rowing's Olympic Hospitality Preview — a reception tied to the opening day of the Long Beach Invitational, with a first look at Olympic Hospitality House opportunities as everyone starts gearing up for LA28. I'll report back on what I learn.
Cejih's Corner
This week's tip: the Hero's Journey framework for telling your own story.
If your Instagram, resume, or elevator pitch doesn't actually tell anyone who you are, you're not alone — almost nobody's does. Here's the fix, in four prompts:
How did you get into your sport? Two or three sentences, nothing fancy. "My mom was scared I'd drown, so she put me in swim lessons at three" is a complete answer.
Name one or two early obstacles you got through. They don't need to be dramatic — a long drive to practice, bad allergies, a tough choice between two sports. Small and specific beats big and vague.
What's the biggest challenge you've overcome? This is the one people remember. Not necessarily your saddest moment — the one that changed how you operate.
Why are you better because of it? The step almost everyone skips. What did it actually build in you? You already know the answer — you've just never said it out loud.
Put those four together and you've got your story: a beginning, a setback, a real challenge, and what it made you. That's the thing a sponsor, a recruiter, or a donor actually remembers — not your follower count or your stat line.
Howard Schultz said it best: "If people believe they share your values, they will stay loyal to your brand." Give people a story, or they'll make one up for you — or just forget you.
I ran this exact exercise with a room of student-athletes at Cal State Long Beach this week (more on that above), and it's the same framework behind some of our biggest athlete deals.
Our October Business Update
Quick zoom-out since it's the first newsletter of the month: September, Q3, and where October stands.
September was one of our busiest months in a while — We have a few athlete suit deal announcements coming soon for the CG Sports roster. We successfully extended Jack Wallace's partnership with Eli Lilly through Dec 31 of 2027. Hali Flickinger, Lilly King, Ella Eastin, and Rebecca Soni all added new clinic bookings. In classic end-of -quarter fashion, September alone outpaced July and August.
Q3 (July–September) closed at north of $380K in signed business team-wide — beating our 2025 number for the same period by a significant margin. Interestingly, total deal count stayed the same but average deal size increased a lot.
October's off to a strong start: Roughly $80K in proposals are out for review, and nearly $100K has moved into contract-sent status over the past 30 days. The number we're proudest of isn't a dollar figure, though — Ohio Swimming is officially in for Beyond the Blocks 2027. And keep an eye out: we've got a few more athlete sponsorship signings to announce soon.
CG Sports Client Events
Oct 9–10, 2026 (Bothell, WA): Clinic with WEST Coast Aquatics, Lilly King.
Oct 27, 2026 (Bloomingdale, NJ): Keynote at Walter T Bergen Middle School, Jack Wallace.
Oct 27, 2026: Speaking engagement at West Ridge Elementary School, Jack Wallace.
Nov 3–4, 2026 (Colorado Springs, CO): USADA Athlete Panel, Jack Wallace.
Nov 7, 2026 (Mesquite, TX): Clinic with Rodeo Aquatics, Lilly King.
Nov 15, 2026 (Bay City, MI): Clinic with Bay City Aquatics Club, McKenzie Siroky.
Nov 18, 2026 (Baltimore, MD): Speaking engagement at Bryn Mawr School, Emily Oberst.
Dec 3, 2026 (Wilton, CT): Leadership keynote & Captain's Workshop at Wilton High School, Elizabeth Beisel.
Jan 10, 2027 (Issaquah, WA): Clinic with Issaquah Swim Team, Hali Flickinger.
Apr 10, 2027 (venue TBD): Clinic with Border Swimming LSC, Phoebe Bacon.
May 1, 2027: Beyond the Blocks 2027, Ohio Swimming.
That's the week. See you next Wednesday.
Cejih and The CG Sports Company
