his with male journalists and they always say, Everything youre saying applies to me, too. I think its absolutely true. I think women have largely created this ne

Before they became Adidas executives, Nicole Vollebregt and Kelly Olmstead were athletes with two different backgrounds. Vollebregt was a figure skater, went to the University of Toronto and worked for an agency after school. Olmstead played both volleyball and softball and earned her bachelors degree at Willamette University in Oregon.Both knew they wanted to continue to work in sports in some capacity. Vollebregt reached out to Adidas in Germany and thought she would work there for one or two years. That was back in 1997, 19 years before she became global head of womens business. After Olmstead finished her collegiate sports career, she remembers thinking, I cant be done. An alumni exchange program led to her meeting the president of Adidas North America and eventually landing a job with the company, where she now serves as its vice president of brand activation.They met early on in their tenures. Though when they did, Olmstead was on the cubicle side of the hallway while Vollebregt sat on the glass office side. The two of them work together from Adidas offices in Portland, Oregon, to try to lead the company into a new market that takes a larger focus on women and features a relatively new subscription-based service.New vision, new athletesNicole Vollebregt: Weve been making products for women since the beginning of our company and our founder, Adi Dassler, worked with some of the great athletes like Wilma Rudolph back in the day. But I think what has been the biggest change in putting together a womens team to look across the company is focusing on the new opportunity thats emerged in sport, which is the emergence of this -- we call her the versatile female athlete. They may or may not be the best name, but essentially its that post-collegiate athlete whos every bit an athlete as they were back in college or in high school, just a different type. They do a lot more different activities, but they are really committed to what the role sport can play in their life and living a lifestyle that includes sport. Its our opportunity now to embrace those women and see this entire new emergence of a whole new generation of athletes. In the past, we may have focused more on the high school or the college or the professional athlete. Its now widening our scope on what our definition of an athlete is.Kelly Olmstead: Shes maybe accessible, maybe inspirational to me, but thats what I think when we look at the campaign that we just put out into market, celebrating these different women, a really broad range of women who are highly competitive by their own terms of I want to be healthier, whether its at rock climbing or at running or just connecting with people and inspiring them to be fitter.Were not trying to force feed these untouchable icons to her; were trying to say we recognize these women are the ones who get you out of bed every day. These are the women who you need motivation to go to SoulCycle or to get you on your run. I think it is more about celebrating them at the level that we traditionally put these untouchable icons at, putting them up there and pointing to some of these major achievements. When we talk about what a woman does to balance her career, her own personal health, help her family, stay healthy and connected, we are trying to say that is a very extraordinary achievement in todays world and look to those as the new superstars.Vollebregt: From a brand perspective, women are influenced much more by their peers and by the inspirational athletes they see at their own gym and in their daily life, so when we change the way that we behave as a brand -- its traditionally been only top, top professional athletes driving down and using their message and their stories to inspire our consumers -- and I think what Womens will do for our brand will be helping create more women who speak to women about their stories and about their goals and about their inspiration. To us, that feels like a much more real and authentic way to grow our brand, which is much more on her terms.Work-life integrationVollebregt: I get up very, very early. A lot of people I work with are in Germany, so Im usually on the phone by 6 and doing conference calls usually until 10 or 11. In that amount of time, sometimes Ive made breakfast for my daughter with the phone on mute and driven her to school and the people on the phone have no idea thats happening, but it is. The afternoon is trying to get caught up in work, answering emails and work on next iterations of strategic plans, and hopefully spending some time to look out in the world as well and trying to leave at a reasonable time to pick up my daughter from school.I think theres no such thing (as work-life balance) anymore. I think you have to love what you do these days. I certainly have never left my job. Even if I leave at 5 oclock, Im never done thinking about it. I think its all sort of blurred together, which I dont mind, actually. Work-life balance has become about how you have it all in your head and compartmentalized different parts of your day. Its not something I strive to find; I think its something that you just need to figure out what you get from work and what you get from your personal life and how it all fits together. It doesnt feel like something that you balance anymore.Many identitiesVollebregt: Because our brand is so big and we have so many, we call them channels of distribution, so many places where our brand can be present. Its about really looking at the entire collection of female athletes through her whole life journey and making sure that we have the right packages of products for that consumer and then for each level of distribution. Its going into more information, but we will develop a specific product for an account like Dicks Sporting Goods thats absolutely right for that consumer. We also want to make sure we have the right product to sell at Barneys or at Bandier and the right product for Six:02, which is the new Foot Locker flagship. So its really understanding that there isnt just one type of woman and one type of activity, and using the breadth of our brand from performance to style, which we luckily have, to bring it together and make sure that were able to offer at different price-points and at different areas of distribution, really something that can be for everybody. There shouldnt be a woman who is an athlete who cant buy product from us. They should all find something they love.From Shark Tank to Avenue AOlmstead: Weve made a lot of efforts, both globally and locally, to find new ways to recognize great ideas. We have a system, I dont know if youd call it a contest, that we went through this year called the Shark Tank where anyone at any point in the organization can come up with ideas, something they thought, Hey, I dont know why were not doing this. I think we should be doing this. I think we had over 800 submissions or something like that, and it ended with this really inspirational, amazing day where the top teams were able to talk through their ideas. We had a panel of both internal and external influential leaders in the industry to test and challenge some of those ideas. I think several teams, if not all of them, walked away with significant funding to execute their ideas.One of the ideas that came out of the first contest was Avenue A, which is subscription-based shopping for women and running. I think we are being asked to think unconventionally and to partner in new ways and to break down barriers of what group do I work in and what am I responsible for to find the next great ideas that will make consumers ability to embed sport in their life that much easier. ... I know that its not intended to be only for women forever. I think its absolutely a concept that can and will be used to the male athlete as well.Women leading the chargeVollebregt: Largely, what weve spoken about in terms of the use of icons as we call them or superstar male athletes resonate more with men than with women and is something we know to be true. I think actually, depending at what age, if you look at high school or the collegiate athlete, theres a lot less of a difference between men and women than we realize, maybe a bit moreso post-college. I think thats changing as well. I think, in a lot of respects, its women who are leading the shift to the modern athlete, and I think men are following in terms of the transition thats happened in the way that people stay fit and the way that they are interested in nutrition and the way that they see a wholistic life. I have done quite a few interviews on this with male journalists and they always say, Everything youre saying applies to me, too. I think its absolutely true. I think women have largely created this new shift. I dont think theres a massive difference in the way we market to men and women. It may be that we try things first with Womens that we end up bringing to the rest of the brand. Nike React Cheap Wholesale . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. Cheap Nike React Shoes . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. http://www.cheapnikereact.net/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Nike React Cheap Online .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Nike React Shoes Cheap . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time.DAVIE, Fla. -- Already behind in preparations for his first NFL season, Miami Dolphins top draft pick Dion Jordan sat out the first training camp practice Sunday, and declined to predict when he might take the field. The defensive end and linebacker from Oregon wore uniform No. 95 but watched from the sideline because his surgically repaired right shoulder has not fully healed. He was placed on the non-football injury list. "Its really frustrating to not be out there," Jordan said, "but I understand my health is the main concern." Jordan can join the active roster at any time before the regular season. If he isnt activated by then, he must miss the first six weeks of the season. The third overall pick in the draft, Jordan signed a $20.6 million, four-year contract Saturday that included a $13.3 million signing bonus. He has been in South Florida for the past two months working out with teammates, but sat out all of the Dolphins off-season practices. Coach Joe Philbin declined to discuss Jordans status but said hes not concerned about the rookie falling behind. Jordan said he was told in the past couple of days he would be placed on the NFI list. "Coach and the people in the training room decided it was best for me," he said. "I want to be able to have a good career, a long career. Im going to do what I have to do right now to make sure thats possible." Jordan, who totalled 14 1/2 career sacks at Oregon, missed playing time last season because of a torn labrum and underwent surgery in February. That didnt deter the Dolphins from trading up nine spot to make him the first defensive player selected in the draft. Theyll need the 6-foot-6, 260-pound Jordan on the field before they can determine his role. He wasnt an every-down player at Oregon, and while hes expected to help Miami immediately as a pass-rush specialist, its unclear whether hes better suited to play linebacker or end. Jordans one of 44 new players on the 90-man roster, and at least seven are proojected to win starting jobs.ddddddddddddThe Dolphins were busy in free agency, and they expect several rookies -- led by Jordan -- to make significant contributions toward ending a streak of four consecutive losing seasons. "Its a good group," second-year coach Philbin said. "There are some good pieces to work with. This is the beginning." While Jordan watched practice, new cornerback Brent Grimes lined up with the starters and reported no lingering effects from the torn Achilles tendon that ended his 2012 season with Atlanta in the first game. Jared Odrick, a defensive end in his first three NFL seasons, took snaps with the first unit at tackle but declined to declare the switch permanent. "I could be in a different position tomorrow," he said. Second-year tackle Jonathan Martin began his switch from the right side to the left, where hell attempt to fill the big shoes of departed Pro Bowl tackle Jake Long. Players caught a break with an overcast sky that spared them from the sweltering subtropical sunshine typical at Dolphins camp. Even so, receiver Mike Wallace -- perhaps the mostly highly touted newcomer -- groused with a smile about the weather. "This humidity is something serious," he said. "Ive never been around anything like this." The Dolphins started camp earlier than most teams because they play a fifth exhibition game against Dallas in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 4. The regular season begins in seven weeks on Sept. 8 at Cleveland. Fans are sending mixed signals regarding their enthusiasm about this years team. While practice Sunday drew a standing-room-only crowd of 2,700, the Dolphins have sold only 40,000 season tickets, which matches last years total and represents a 20-per cent decline from 2010. Players, of course, are fired up. July is a time for optimism. "The excitement is tremendous, and the expectations are very high," Pro Bowl defensive end Cameron Wake said. "The sky is the limit." ' ' '