BYU’s Diljeet Taylor is in elite company, literally. Nike has invited Taylor to be part of its Athlete Think Tank.
While the program is in its third year, this year marks the first time coaches have been included in the think tank.
Taylor, BYU’s women’s cross country head coach and the associate track and field director, joins legendary coaches Dawn Staley, Emma Hayes and Jenny Lang Ping.
- Staley led South Carolina to an undefeated season and another NCAA women’s basketball championship this year.
- Hayes just coached her first game for the U.S. women’s national soccer team last week after winning her fifth consecutive Women’s Super League title with Chelsea last month.
- Ping is the former head coach of the Chinese and American national women’s volleyball teams and in 2016 became the first person to win an Olympic gold medal as both a player and coach, according to Olympics.com.
“Alongside incredible athletes, the third Athlete Think Tank cohort includes some of the greatest coaches of our time,” Tanya Hvizdak, Nike’s vice president of global women’s sports marketing, said. “Creating positive change through sport is done through listening to the voice of the athlete and listening to coaches. I’m excited about the ideas and perspectives they bring and how we can partner to turn those into action.”
What is the Nike Athlete Think Tank?
The think tank allows Nike to listen to women athletes — and now coaches — and think about how the company can grow women’s sports.
It’s working to turn those athletes’ “vision for a more equitable future of sport into a reality,” Nike Women said on Instagram.
Conversations with the think tank cohort members the past three years have “resulted in new Nike product offerings, services for athletes and support for community organizations that reflect athletes’ passions,” per Nike.
“I haven’t seen a collective like this for coaches before. It’s been the most incredible experience and the opportunity to create bonds with women in all different areas. When you invest in coaches, you invest in the next generation of community, Nike Think Tank is doing that,” Taylor said on Instagram.
As part of the think tank, Nike is also donating $1.7 million to nonprofits of the cohort members’ choosing.
Who is a part of the Nike Athlete Think Tank?
Other members of the Athlete Think Tank are:
- Alex Morgan, Olympian and World Cup champion.
- Alice Dearing, swimmer.
- Kiki Rice, UCLA basketball guard.
- Laurie Hernandez, Olympic gold medalist and gymnast.
- Nelly Korda, Olympic gold medalist and golfer.
- Oksana Masters, multisport Paralympian and gold medalist.
- Romane Dicko, Olympic bronze medalist and judoka.
- Sky Brown, professional skateboarder and surfer.
- Tunde Oyeneyin, Peloton instructor.
- Yulimar Rojas, women’s triple jump world record holder.