The entrepreneurial spirit runs in MLL Chesapeake Bayhawks Owner BRENDAN KELLY's blood, as seven of his siblings own their own businesses. Keeping on top of each of his companies -- Smartlink, Driven and Chesapeake Sports & Entertainment Group -- makes for a hectic schedule, but he wouldn't have it any other way. Kelly recently spoke with THE DAILY prior to this weekend's MLL Draft to dish on his vision for a stadium and mixed-use development and how being a father always comes first.
6:00am: My wife HOLLY and I wake up every morning at 6:00am and start lassoing kids to get them ready for school. I have five children -- TAYLOR is a senior at Alabama, PATRICK is a freshman at Montana State, FINNIAN and TOMMY are in high school and I have a third grader named COOPER. I’ll turn on the local news and check on the weather. Then I’ll switch to Fox Business News to get an idea of what’s going on with the economy.
7:30am: The kids are usually out the door by 7:30, so 7:31 I start looking at my phone to see what I have going on. I live on a farm, so typically I’ll do a walk around the property. It just gives me 30-40 minutes of quiet time to get ready for the day. I quit trying to eat on the run years ago, so I’ll have breakfast at home. I’ll do eggs and bacon, maybe some organic granola or oatmeal and coffee.
9:00am: First thing I’ll do when I get into the office is take a look at my schedule and get a quick rundown of sales numbers for the Bayhawks. I spend time getting an update from my leadership teams on where things stand. I own three companies and the subsidiaries underneath those three companies.
9:30am: My first meeting is centered on Chesapeake Park. After buying the Bayhawks in '10, I started on the process of working with the state in ‘11 to build the first-ever pro lacrosse stadium. Fast forward, that idea has transformed into much more than just a stadium -- it'll be a real destination place for sports. I spend a lot of time on that, so that could mean meeting with politicians, the state, the county, naming rights partners.
The Bayhawks since Kelly took over in '10 have had considerable success, winning three championshipsCHESAPEAKE BAYHAWKS
10:30am: My next meeting is typically with Bayhawks coach DAVE COTTLE. We’re talking about the draft coming up right now -- who we’re looking to draft, who we’re looking to get.
12:30pm: I always make sure to take time for lunch. Today I went to this great, hugely-traditional Italian deli in Annapolis called Giolitti. Typically, I will get lunch at places that are sponsors of the team.
1:00pm: I’ll generally have some sponsorship conversations in the afternoons and attend any meetings we have with our big sponsors. Ticket sales is always a conversation of the day.
4:00pm: I would say that at least an hour out of every afternoon, I try to spend on a call or a meeting around influencing the game. I'm just trying to figure out how to continue to grow the game and get the whole sport more organized. Like any other sport that has been in our shoes before, we're near the explosion stage and there's a lot of money coming into lacrosse, and it tends to get a little unorganized.
6:30pm: Once I get home, I’m either driving Cooper to lacrosse practice or I’m playing lacrosse with him. He’s just getting into it so it’s always fun for me. If he or my other two boys aren’t playing lacrosse, we’ll either play basketball, football or go fishing. I’ll try sit down with Finnian and Tommy at some point too, just catching up about school. I’ll also either call or text Patrick and Taylor.
8:00pm: After dinner, we’ll usually just lounge around on the couch either watching a game that's on or a movie. Tommy is a huge NBA fan so I’ll watch that with him. Cooper is still in the Nickelodeon phase, so I’ll catch some SpongeBob too. Before we go to bed, we’ll also pray every night as a family.
10:00pm: I’ll finish off any work if I have to once the kids have gone to bed, whether that’s answering emails or anything else. But I generally try not to bring my work home with me unless it’s necessary. Once the clock hits double digits, I’m usually asleep.
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