Sports Blogs

I have been following a few blogs and would like to mention a couple that I found the most interesting. There a lot of sports blogs out there and many of them are very boring and basically follow EVERYTHING you could learn from watching ESPN. Below are a couple that I found, which have many great ideas depending on what you are interested in.

The first is Ask Coach Wolff. This site is written by a few bloggers who have done a tremendous amount of research on youth sports. They have some great articles on anything from sports safety, parents vs. coaches, players vs. coaches, and travel teams. There blog can be read by anyone who has an interest sports and will appeal to a wide variety of people including; coaches, players, parents, or the avid sports fan.

The next blog on what to mention is jbmthinks. This blog is written by Janis Meredith, who has spent her whole life around sports. Her blog concentrates on helping sports parents get their families active, give advice on trendy new items, and more importantly making good people through the process of sports. She also has a few inspirational stories my favorite which was of Brandon Crawford and philosophy to never quit.

The last blog I would like to mention is Sports Coaching Brain. I recently found this blog and he has some great articles on sports, coaching, sports science, and sports performance. He has a large variety of categories to choose from depending on what you are interested in. I think I may have enjoyed this blog the most because he had so many informative topics and really helped me realize some effective ways to utilize my skills.

These are only a few of the blogs I read and I am sure there are other great articles out there. I would love to hear any recommendations of other sports blogs that you find interesting.

Nature of the Job

As we have already talked about the sports industry is a very competitive. Many employees need to start at a low level and work their way through the ranks. People see the glamorous part of the job where they attend sporting events, get paid well, and opportunities for advancement. What they do not see is the hours spent on their job. Here a few things you may want to consider before deciding to have a sports career.

First, many sports management positions have very different working conditions. Working conditions for these people may consist of long hours. If you have a higher position you could be working a full week, while attending evening or weekend sporting events. For the sports fan watching the games may not be difficult, can be very enjoyable, and can be considered a perk.

Second, many sports management professionals travel with the team or athletes. This could also be considered a perk, but take into account they are usually only staying for a couple days. Most of the time in these cities is spent in stadium or hotel resting up. When they arrive they usually check into their hotel later in the evening, go to work the next day, watch the game, and then depart. They are not tourist going on vacations.

If you can handle the long hours and travel, you do get many benefits. As mentioned above you will get to see many games for free. You will get to go around the nation and visit all the stadiums of your respective sport. You will also be able to meet many people involved in athletics and the athletes themselves. The last perk is sports management professionals are also paid very well; these may vary depending on the school or team you work for, but if you can handle all these aspects there is money to be made.

Stepping Stones to a Sports Career

Last week we discussed potential jobs you could get if you wanted to begin a career in sports management. Today, I want to talk about the best steps to go about getting that job. Trying to find a job in a sports field can be just as competitive as playing, so you better bring your “A” game.

Be sure to provide a professional résumé and cover letter. This should go for any job you apply for. You want to highlight your strengths, while avoiding typos or poor grammar. You want your résumé to stick out and impress your potential employer.

I have recently spoken with some of the employees in the athletic department at the University of Nevada, Reno, and they suggest volunteering or interning. This may not be what you want to hear, since many of us, including myself, want to make money immediately. The benefits you will gain from volunteering and interning far outweigh not being paid. You will not only gain valuable experience, which will create a stepping stone to help you to get a full time job in the sports industry, but also can begin to network.

Networking is a step that goes for all job seekers. You want to get your name out there and in the right circles. The more people you know, the better chance you have for someone to recognize your name and, hopefully, receive a good recommendation for a job. Finding people who work within the sporting industry is a good way start, and as I have already mentioned do not be scared to intern or volunteer.

Lastly, use your social media. There is a ton of information on social media platforms, and many sports professionals use them. Creating a network where you can showcase your skills is important step in displaying your talent. I have recently begun working in an athletics department and these are my first steps to gaining experience. If anyone would like to recommend other options to help pursue a sports related career, I will gladly listen.

Continue Your Career Off the Field

If you love sports, as I do, and are not talented enough to play sports professionally, don’t worry, because there are many opportunities for individuals to find a job in a sports related field. Depending on what you are looking to do, there are many careers to choose from.

Coaching is a great option for the individual who loves to stay close to the field. Now, trying to find a head coaching gig immediately may be difficult, but don’t worry many people start as assistants and make their way up. It also allows you to develop relationships with the athlete and can watch them succeed throughout their career. Starting at the high school level may be your best option to get a spot and slowly start making your way up the ladder.

Another option is to be an athletic director. This would be for the person who wishes to deal with all sports. You will not deal as much with on the field issues, but you will help make schedules, deal with coaches, and be watching the budget for your department.

You can also be a trainer. This may be for the person who is into health care and wants to watch for the player’s safety. You may also be working on conditioning or weight training for the athletes. This will help them to better develop their skills.

If you enjoy searching for talent or believe you are personable, you may want to look at being a scout or recruiter. Recruiting and scouting would be for the person who loves to travel. They will go around the country to evaluate talent and make first contact with the players. In this position you may have to work closely with the coach, since many coaches happen to be scouts and recruiters. In the end the coach will make the final verdict on the athlete, but you may have a big part in the process.

These are only a few of the many positions available in the sporting world. These are the first job that came to mind for me, because these are the positions that interest me. Just remember that if you love sports, your career does not have to end when you come off the field.

All About the Benjamin’s

If you read my article yesterday you will know that this is the other side of the argument about college athletes deserving to get paid for their performance. Again, we are only talking about those athletes who are playing football or college basketball, because they generate millions of dollars for universities.

College athletes deserve to be paid. College athletics is a multimillion dollar entertainment business. The universities receive millions of dollars a year for providing facilities and bringing in these young athletes, but the main attraction does not receive any compensation. Isn’t it about time these athletes get a piece of the pie?
The fans come to watch the players. There are millions of dollars made each year from tickets and jerseys being sold. The college athlete never sees a cent of the money that millions of fans pay. Instead there are told if they accept these illegal benefits they will punished.

No one is coming to see Chris Ault, fans want to see that high powered offense that averages 41 points a game. So why is that, from a study taken in 2008, 42 of the 119 DI coaches receive over 1 million dollars? You can’t possible convince me that Chris Ault was worth more than Colin Kaepernick.

I recently saw an article where the NCAA and CBS made 13 year contract, worth around 10.8 billion dollars. This money is for March Madness, for those of you who don’t know that is the college basketball tournament, held at the end of each year. Why shouldn’t the players get a slice of this money since it is athletes everyone will be tuning in to watch.
All signs point that college athletes will not be paid. The NCAA stands firm that it won’t allow these players to be paid. At least give these players a chance to make a little side cash. If someone wants to pay these players to come speak at an event, or endorse a product, let them. This would allow the University to still maintain all its revenue and give the player a little extra cash.

Paid to Play?

With college football arriving soon and college basketball coming shortly after that, one question that arises year after year is: should college athletes be paid? Sorry I did not include other sports, but let’s be honest, football and men’s basketball are the main source of revenue for most colleges.

College athletes do not deserve to be paid. They are student-athletes who get scholarships, discounted merchandise, room and board, and get to play in front of thousands of fans who love them.

As I have mentioned they are getting an opportunity to go and play in front of thousands of fans who love, and maybe on occasion worship athletes. Some fans even think they play harder because they are not being paid, but I’d like to think it’s the competition and the desire to win that drives these players.
They also receive scholarships which pay for a large portion, if not all of their school. Now, if these athletes have some sort of career ending injury, then the education received will help to find a quality paying job that they can perform for the remainder of their lives.

If these athletes were paid, it would change Universities. It would change college sports to more of a professional or semi-professional industry. Universities would lose money and probably have to drop other sports teams or areas of education to pay these players.

College is an experience. The majority of students are experiencing the same college life-style that the athletes are, that being one with very little money. Finally, if these athletes are talented enough, one day they could be making millions of dollars to do what they love! Feel free to leave a comment and come back tomorrow to read why they deserve to be paid.

Losing Interest

I know I would not talk about professional sports but I felt compelled to mention comments made by Curtis Granderson, a professional outfielder. For those of you who do not know he recently made a remark about African American youth’s lack of interest in baseball. Now, I want to argue that all American youngsters are losing interest in the sport for a few simple reasons…

Baseball is boring. I hate to say this because I love baseball, but the general perception of baseball is the games are too long, there is not a lot of runs scores, and overall lacks action. Many kids would rather watch a high flying above the rim dunk or an acrobatic circus catch in the endzone.

Baseball has done a poor job marketing their sport. Since, steroids have been dropped from the league and there is no longer a record being broken ever year with moon shots into McCovey Cove, baseball has lost its appeal. Unlike the NBA, who promotes it young players such as, Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant, and sends them into the community where everyday people can speak to and relate with the players. Major League Baseball players have a couple hours before each game to mingle with fans for a limited amount of time.

Finally, baseball is hard. In a society that rewards instant success, baseball is difficult. In my opinion it is the hardest of three major American sports. All you need to do to prove this is look at the success rates in each sport. I mean a good baseball player is succeeding 3 out of every 10 at bats. If you compare this to basketball where a good shooters make around 45% of his shots, or a quarterback who completes around 60% of his passes. It is easy to see why a kid might choose a sport where he is more likely to succeed and would not have to deal with as many failures.

So in a way Curtis Granderson is right, the interest in baseball is declining. For the sport to gain interest I believe players, coaches and management should promote and market themselves further and as a family friendly activity that any can enjoy. Leave a comment below if you want to add anything.

Think Again: Youth Sports on the Rise

With the economy being down and the cost of youth sports increasing you would think that youth participation numbers would be down. Add to that youth’s growing interest in technology and videogames you would think there is no way youth sports is more popular today. Well if you have the same though process as me you would be wrong!
Youth sports are bigger than ever today, as they should be. The main reason, in my opinion, is the rewards outweigh the costs. Now, besides the very obvious rewards, building a healthy body, and helping children develop a sense of what they can and cannot do, it can

1) Build Relationships– Some of the strongest relationships I have built within my life are those people I met playing sports, either with peers or coaches. Many of my friends have come just from having a common goal, usually trying to win, or sharing interests as other players on the team. Also, coaches can give guidance to the kids, while being a very persuasive role model.

2) Confidence– Through sports many individuals can gain confidence. I know personally sports have helped me develop confidence by placing me in challenging situations. I did not always succeed in these situations, but even my failures have helped me grow into confident young man, or that’s how I view myself.

3) Commitment– Youth sports can give a child a sense of commitment. Just by having the child show up each practice they will gain a sense of commitment. Then add in that kids are dedicated to a common cause and you can see how it helps them commit to a team, cause, or themselves.

4) Leadership– Now there are two types of leaders in my opinion and it differs with each person. The first is a vocal leader who helps get the team going. The second is leading by example. Both are very important to develop as a child.

5) Proficiency– Lastly, it helps children become more proficient. At each practice you have kids working on different aspects of the game (hitting/defense/shooting), and helps them develop skills to become more efficient.

These are only a few of the many skills your child could gain. I think it is obvious why sports are stilling growing. Hopefully, the skills that are established at a young age will continue to be applied when they grow up and can be taken into their careers as adults.

Small Ball

Little League baseball helps provide kids with an opportunity to learn skills such as teamwork, leadership, sportsmanship, along with many other skills. Little League has also helped to bring the community together to help our youth grow in a positive environment, but I believe lately we having being sending these youths the wrong message.

Think about this…. Around 30 years ago there was 1 All-Star team that consisted of 15 of the best players. When I was in little league there were two All-Star teams. This allowed for around 30 kids to play either on a 9-10 all star team or an 11-12 all star team. Now imagine that there is a renegade team, 9-10 team, hooligan team, 11 year old team, and a 12 year old team. Well if you can’t imagine that just go down your local ball park and you will see around 75 kids who make the All-Star team yearly.

Now many of you are probably asking yourself, how are more All-Star teams hurting our youth? I believe that by creating these extra “All-Star” teams, with average players, we have developed a system where kids are rewarded for participation rather than competition. Instead of being rewarded for being the best of the best, more and more kids are making the team because there are so many spots to fill!

The All-Stars used to consist of kids who spent extra time practicing and developing their skills, where now most kids make the team if they participated and showed up to every game. What will happen later in life when these kids get a job? Will they expect to get a promotion just for showing up to work? Will they believe that by accomplishing the minimal work they deserve recognition? Will they think that participating in daily work activities and not contributing to the company will lead to greater opportunities?

I would like to end by saying I think Little League is an awesome opportunity for kids to get out and learn quality skills, meet other children, and a great way to bring communities together. I do feel, however, that the All-Star teams need to make an adjustment back to rewarding those who truly deserve it. This will bring the spirit of competition back to our youth, help them strive to succeed and be the best, and hopefully, in the long run translate to their everyday lives. Leave me a comment if you like, I will try to respnd within 24 hours

Sports Managment

Many of you have probably already gathered that this blog will be about recreation and sports management and many people immediately relate this to some type of coaching. I am here to tell you that this topic covers a lot more than coaching and can include a wide range of athletics from professional, college, local leagues, sports associations and the representation of individual athletes. Also for people who are looking to somehow stay involved in sports as the careers end, such as mine if you count playing at the JC(Junior College) level, or if you are just looking for a job and are interested in sports there are numerous opportunities available. Sports directors, scouts, agents, and broadcasters are few jobs on the list amongst various others.

This blog will try to focus on the sports for local leagues, and how they help bring together a community and create a positive influence on young athlete’s lives, although at times some of my posts may be related to college athletics. You may want to follow this blog if you are into sports or looking to find a job somehow related to sports management. I will not be covering ANYTHING at the professional level because this area already draws so much attention in the media and I will not be blogging about my favorite team.

I believe that I can provide a unique perspective on this subject from being a former athlete and from the current/former college and professional athletes I know and gaining a little insight how they view some college policies, such as title nine, college athletes being paid, and the competitiveness of youth sports. Lastly I feel I should mention that I may be a little bias towards baseball since that is what most of the athletes I speak with are currently doing.