A career in sports is one of those things that a lot of people dream about but only a select few actually pursue. There are so many people that give up on their hopes of making a career in the sports industry because they just don’t think it’s realistic. They bow to outside pressure to go for a safe career rather than shoot for something they’re really passionate about. But the truth is, there’s no reason why you can’t have a career in sports if you really want it. The first thing to remember is that you don’t have to be a player to work in sports. Not everybody will make it as the next superstar but there are all sorts of other jobs you can look for in the sports industry. Another big misconception that people have about the sports industry is that people get into it after one lucky break. Not everybody that works in sports was picked up by a scout at a college game. For some people, it does work that way but not always. There are plenty of people that got into the sports industry later in life after years of hard work. If you’re considering pursuing a career in sports but you don’t really know where to start, here are some handy tips.

Flickr

Study Your Chosen Sport

Studying your chosen sport is important and there are a few different ways to do it. Firstly, you need to make sure that you’re watching games regularly and analysing them properly. It’s also important that you’re playing as much as you can and keeping up to date with any developments in strategies and rules in your chosen sport.

Living and breathing you sport is one way to study it, but what a lot of people don’t realize is that you can study a lot of sports in the more traditional sense. Did you realize, for example, that there are a lot of great golf schools out there where you can get professional tutorage and learn how to be a better player? That’s just one example and you might not be able to find schools for every sport but it’s definitely worth looking into.

Volunteer

You’re not going to land a job in the sports industry without any experience which is why volunteering is so important. It’s the best way to get experience and it’ll also help you to make valuable connections which can help you later on in your career when you start looking for paid positions. There are plenty of local sports organizations and leagues that are always looking for a bit of extra help. If you get in touch and let them know that you’re interested in volunteering, they’ll be happy to accommodate you.

Highlight Your Skills

Now that you’ve got some good experience and you’ve taken any relevant courses that you can find, it’s time to start looking for positions if you’re not going to pursue a career as a player. When you’re applying, it’s important that you highlight your skills as well as your experience. Think about what you learned while you were volunteering and focus your applications around that.

Finding work in the sports industry is difficult but it is possible for you to find your dream career if you’re willing to put the work in.