Managing in sports can be an exciting career choice. However, it does take time and dedication to be successful. One example of a sports manager is a coach in American football, whose role we covered in a previous article. Without further ado, let’s discuss how one can get started in a sports management career.
Does One Have to Be an Athlete Before Starting a Sports Management Career?
There are many paths toward starting a career in management in sports. However, one common path is that people play professionally in a certain sport before going into management in that sport. Managers like Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta in soccer used to play soccer before going into soccer management. One doesn’t have to follow that path, though. Now that we’ve discussed that, let’s move onto discussing the main topic.
What Are the First Steps in Becoming a Sports Manager?
The first step in becoming a sports manager is to earn a relevant degree. This degree may be in sports management, business administration, communication, or sports business. Earning a degree like this is quite helpful. It provides one with a good foundation that they can build on moving forward.
It is also important to gain experience in the field of managing in sports. One can do this by doing volunteer work or getting an internship in managing in sports. This helps one acquire practical experience in the field. Additionally, volunteer work and internships can help one improve their resume. A stronger resume will help one continue to progress their career as a sports manager.
Work on Crucial Skills
Earning experience isn’t enough. One must also develop crucial skills like analytical skills, leadership skills, organizational skills, and communication skills. The industry of being a sports manager values these skills quite a bit.
Think About Advanced Education to Move Forward in Sports Management
Advanced education can also help one succeed as a sports manager. For example, earning a master’s degree can lead to greater career advancement. It can also help one become more qualified for more specialized roles that a sports manager without a master’s degree might not get.
Build Connections and Network
Once one has a relevant degree and good skills, it is time to move onto the next step. One action that someone seeking a career as a sports manager can do is to build connections and network with others in the industry. Doing so is quite important and provides a number of benefits. One can network and build connections in a variety of ways.
Go to Sports Management Industry Events
Industry events are a great place to network and build connections. Workshops, seminars, and conferences are a few examples of such industry events. One can network and build connections with other professionals in the industry at such events. Doing so can open doors for future opportunities.
Establish Online Connections
One might think of social media in terms of recreation or entertainment. However, it can also help one’s career, as well. One can use a platform such as LinkedIn to connect with others working as sports managers and expand one’s professional network.
Contact Professionals in the Field
One can also contact people they admire in the industry. Requesting an informational interview is usually a reasonable request. These interviews can provide plenty of useful information.
As previously stated, practical experience is key if one wants to be a successful sports manager. Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into the importance of practical experience in this field.
Acquire Practical Experience as a Sports Manager
Building connections and networking is good, but it doesn’t replace practical experience. One can acquire practical experience in a number of ways and one way to do it is by getting an internship in the sports management field. There are a number of organizations that may offer relevant and helpful internships in the field.
This includes organizations such as event management companies, sports teams, and other sports organizations. These organizations offer internships that will help one acquire useful practical experience. Studying about how to be a sports manager is a good start, but the hands-on experience one gains in such an internship can be invaluable. It is likely that one will learn quite a bit during an internship.
Work as a Volunteer
Another way to acquire practical experience in the field is to work as a volunteer for an organization that operates in the industry. This can be a sports team, other sports organization, or an event management company. In any case, it is often best to look at local sports organizations or local sports events for volunteer opportunities. A local opportunity is usually more practical than one farther away from one’s current location. Volunteering at such events or with such organizations helps one expand their professional network and gain valuable experience.
Shadow Someone in Sports Management
One more way that one can gain practical experience as a sports manager is to try to find an opportunity to shadow someone with a job in that field. It is best to shadow multiple people with different roles in the industry if possible. This is the most effective way because learning about different roles may help decide what interests you the most. Additionally, experiencing various roles helps you learn more about the industry as a whole. Job shadowing may even lead to a permanent position in some cases.
Also, one might need a license in order to get started as a sports manager.
Get a Sports Management License
If one wants to work in certain roles in sports management or become a sports agent, they will probably require state licensing and league certification. Representing players in professional sports leagues means one needs that league’s player association to certify them. For example, these player associations include the NBA Player’s Association and the NFL Player’s Association.
Some US states require one to obtain a license or register as a sports agent in order to work as a sports agent within that state. One might also have to pay fees, fill out an application, and go to informational conferences. It is best to check what kind of licensure is required for a certain role in sports management.
That concludes our discussion on how to get started in sports management.