By: Allison Bauers
As the world turns its gaze to Paris for the Olympics, the sports industry is front and center. The Olympics highlight the best of the best of dedicated athletes. They also inspire many to explore careers in the sports industry. The sports field is vast. It includes physical therapy, athletic training, coaching, sports marketing, management, media, and more. If you are passionate about sports and peak performance, you have many options to explore.
Physical Therapy: Recovery and Performance
Physical therapists play a critical role in helping athletes recover from injuries and improve their physical performance. You will work designing rehab programs and provide treatments for anyone from amateur athletes to professional sports stars. You play an integral role in their recovery and mobility. Keeping athletes healthy through physical therapy can make the difference between a podium finish and going home empty-handed. Whether you provide therapy for Olympic hopefuls or professional sports stars, you have a front-row seat to their dedication and success. You’ll find physical therapy opportunities in hospitals, sports clinics, and rehabilitation centers.
Athletic Training: Pushing to Peak Performance
Athletic trainers prevent, diagnose and treat sports-related injuries. They become unsung heroes behind many Olympic successes.They work closely and are a key part of the athletic staff. Trainers focus solely on injury prevention and health maintenance, both key in ensuring athletes can have long, successful careers. You see them on the sidelines or the dugout or next to the track keeping close watch on the athletes in their care. Opportunities in this field span schools, colleges, professional sports teams, and sports medicine clinics.
Coaching: Leading and Inspiring
Do you have the desire to inspire the next generation of Olympians? Coaches are responsible for shaping and forming toughness and resilience in their athletes through sharing their expertise in the sport they are participating in. They inspire and lead their athletes to achieve Olympic dreams. As leaders of an athletic staff, they train athletes and develop game strategies. They are the ultimate inspiration for teamwork and sportsmanship. Coaching is about making a significant impact on the individual athlete and the team. When hitting the tape to win a Gold medal, the celebrations always include the athlete’s coach as one of the first to get a big hug.
Sports Marketing: Promoting the Dream
Are you the creative type? The strategic thinker? And you also have a passion for sports? A career in sports marketing might be the perfect fit. These roles combine those skills and passions as you promote teams, events and brands. Sports marketers do this through advertising, public relations, and digital media. In this field, you get to be the mastermind behind the brand or the athlete, making sure everyone watching knows who your athlete or team is. It’s a chance to spread the Olympic spirit across your country or the world. It’s a growth field that combines business and marketing with athleticism. If you’re a great communicator, you may have the skills to connect audiences with athletes as a sports marketer.
Sports Management: Orchestrating Olympic Events
Sports management is the business end of the sports industry. By managing and organizing tasks from finance and operations to event planning and facility management, this role requires a keen business mind. Sports management careers put you in the role of ensuring smooth operation and success of sporting events. Working in sports management yields opportunities to manage individual athletes, sports teams, leagues, and even sports venues like the more than 35 venues in Paris. You can play a role as a sports director, facility manager, event coordinator, and more.
Sports Media: Capturing the Action
Working in sports media you have the chance to work locally or globally, traveling to broadcast live events. You get to interview champions and athletes at their very best or in the midst of disappointment. Whether you’re the face and voice of a broadcast or producing behind the scenes, you set the tone for how all at home experience the event. The field also includes creating and posting social media content. If you hold a degree in journalism, video production or public relations, when coupled with a passion for sports, this could be your perfect fit. You’ll be part of building the anticipation for and reporting on everyone’s personal favorite Olympic sport. Your reporting and your voice add to the excitement whether as part of a major sports network or a startup digital platform.
A World of Olympic Opportunities
Physical therapy, athletic training, coaching, sports marketing, media, and management all put you in a front row seat to put your passion for sport and athleticism to work. They sit front and center over the next few weeks in Paris. Working in the sports industry puts you in line for a dynamic, challenging, and rewarding career. The Olympics highlight the immense opportunities in the sports and wellness industries. You get to work closely with athletes. You get to see your work impact their success. And you get that front row seat near the podium!
Interested in connecting with an employer looking for someone with your background, or considering a graduate degree in one of these fields? Register for the August 14th All Sports Industry Professions Virtual Career and Grad Fair to meet with organizations actively recruiting for Full-time, Co-op and Internship positions as well as admissions reps and faculty from top Sports related programs across the country.
We’d be thrilled for you to join the fair!