The Real Athlete Blog

Expert Contributor: Kelly Davies

Biography

I graduated in May from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I majored in Electronic Media (Broadcast Journalism). During my senior year, I was a sports reporter for Carolina Week-UNC's Emmy award-winning student-led live television production. I worked for ESPN in several capacities, including a live hit during the 2009 Duke/Carolina pre-game production that aired on ESPN U. I've also worked as a runner for many basketball and football games.

At Carolina, I competed for the Tar Heel volleyball team, winning ACC- Championships in 2005 and 2009, and reaching second-round NCAA Tournament play in 2009. In May 2009, I wrapped up my collegiate career competing for 2 weeks in Europe, touring Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Italy.

 

Most Recent Articles

1. Athlete Chat: IndyCar Driver Ryan Hunter-Reay

   by Kelly Davies 05-26-2011 08:19 PM Athlete Interviews

   
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   Ryan Hunter-Reay is a 30-year-old professional American IndyCar driver. This weekend he will be competing in the 100th racing of the Indianapolis 500. Hunter-Reay, the #28 car driver for Andretti Autosport for the past two years, will be driving the #41 car that qualified with driver Bruno Junqueira and A.J. Foyt Racing. Hunter-Reay, referred to as RHR by his fans, is the only driver to have won races in each of North America’s top open wheel formulas – CART, ChampCar World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is from Dallas, TX and currently lives in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.

   
   “I’ll have one hour of practice in a car I’ve never been in, in a car I don’t know, before the biggest race in the world… so wish me luck.”
   
   Ryan Hunter-Reay is serious. It’s coming down to the last hours before the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500, considered to be the biggest day in worldwide motorsports, and he hasn’t even driven the racecar that he will be responsible for taking 500 miles around the track at greater than 3.5 times the speed you drive down a major highway.
    

    

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2. Corey Jackson's One-Way Greyhound Ticket to the NFL

   by Kelly Davies 02-23-2011 01:04 AM Human Relations | Athlete Career Development | Athlete Interviews

   
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   With the second month of 2011 coming to a close, you may be finding yourself with a few less gym visits than you had planned. Or you may have let those pesky sweets that you swore off January 1^st make their way into your grocery bag. It’s the weather… It’s hard… It’s the end of football for seven whole months. Whatever the excuse, you are lacking the inspiration. 

    

   I’m about to present you with true inspiration. A kind of inspiration that is only found in each other.   

    

   Corey Jackson grew up in a town of a few hundred people in rural South Carolina. Corey was a basketball player. In high school, he was highly decorated, averaging twenty plus points per game, and snagging double digit rebounds. He had his eyes set on a division I scholarship, his dream since he was a little boy. Corey’s junior year arrived and he sat down with a guidance counselor. The counselor reviewed his average grades and recommended that he look into learning a trade skill. Corey was floored, devastated by his counselor’s bleak recommendations. At 16, an adult looked him in the face and not only told him he wasn’t good enough academically but that he wasn’t good enough to even pursue his dreams. 

    

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3. Interview with a Sports Professional: Richard "Big Daddy" Salgado

   by Kelly Davies 09-28-2010 08:54 PM Insurance | Interview with a Sports Professional

   
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   “All I want to do is make pizza.” 

    

   Not the phrase you’d expect to hear out of the mouth of a respected life insurance provider to some of America’s best athletes. 

    

   “You know I joke around and say that I’m the owner of a pizza shop and all I want to do is make pizza. I don’t want to be a player as a financial advisor. I don’t want to be their accountant. I don’t want to be their concierge. I don’t want to do those things. I want to do my job and I ask everyone else to do theirs and I’ll do mine.”

    

   Richard “Big Daddy” Salgado is onto something. He is where he is because he’s been in and around the NFL for fifteen years. Currently, as the president of Coastal Advisors LLC, an insurance consulting firm for high net worth individuals, professionals, and athletes, “Big Daddy” is a well-known name on the sidelines and in the locker room. 

    

    

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4. Athlete Chat: Pittsburgh Steeler Frank Summers

   by Kelly Davies 03-13-2010 02:56 PM Athlete Interviews

   
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   Kelly Davies talks to Frank "The Tank" Summers about his rookie year with the Steelers and what it's like to deal with a season-ending injury.

    

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5. Athlete Chat: Former Florida Gators Captain Drew Miller

   by Kelly Davies 09-12-2009 04:13 PM Athlete Interviews

   
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   Former University of Florida Gator and National Champion Drew Miller talks to Kelly Davies about playing in college, the NFL, and Tim Tebow.

    

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