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From the outside looking in, a career working in sports has to be one of the best things ever right? Maybe you’re a current/former athlete who’s looking to advance your sports career now more on the business side? Or even a sports fanatic who grew up watching your favorite pro team and now decided you wanted to continue pursuing your passion and give the sports industry a try? Or in fact you’re unsure about your career endeavors, so you chose the sports industry because you played sports, or figured it would be easy? I wanted to share a few tips to consider before choosing the sports industry as a career.
I must admit working in the sports industry is in fact one of the best things ever! Honestly, how amazing would it be waking up every day going to a place that you actually love? That’s what you call a “dream job,” right? Something that’s exciting, fun and also a rewarding career. With that being said this industry comes with luck, hard work, and also a not what you know, but who you know type of mindset in order to be successful. Statistics have shown that the percentage of current pro athletes in the United States would be anywhere from 12-16k. While the other 99 percent of others that didn’t make it pro, are still passionate and have goals in mind to pursue this career more on the business side. Which in fact makes this industry extremely competitive.
Tips: It’s very important to stay competitive! There’s always a million others out there waiting for that same opportunity as you in this field. Be persistent, remember there’s a difference between a job and a career, so be sure to choose wisely. Be aggressive, think outside the box, separate yourself from your competition. Network, get to know everyone from the janitor to the GM. Stay humble, it’s a very tough field, it’s not going to be easy. The positive is that there is no timeline in this industry, so don’t allow a setback to discourage you, the key is to keep going! Consistency - It’s extremely important to stay consistent. No matter what role you take on in this industry, being consistent will follow you a long ways.
Goals: Have long term goals in mind. Just because you were a good basketball player doesn't necessarily mean you will be a good basketball coach. Remember this is your career, so choose something that’s going to be beneficial for you years down the road. Take it serious, setbacks helps prepares you for your future, so keep going! Write your goals down and research every person, place or thing you will need in order to turn your career goals into a reality.
Execution: If you're willing to work for free, willing to get paid bare minimum under a billion dollar sports organization, or even willing to sacrifice working a couple jobs until your sports career gets going? Then my friend the sports industry is for you! Have ambition, confidence and a winner's mentality and you will make it in this industry. Again do your research, ask a million questions and hopefully you will eventually start getting paid like these athletes in today’s professional sports.