How to Have a Career in Sports Without Being an Athlete

Even among the best athletes in the country, few people earn a living playing sports. According to statistics, only about 2% of high school athletes receive scholarships to play sports in college and only 2% of college athletes go on to play professional sports. However, you don't have to be an elite athlete to have a career in sports. Here are some tips from USC24x7.

Play Sports

Even if you aren't very athletic, playing sports will provide you with insight into the sort of products and services athletes, teams, coaches, and parents need. It is also a good background to have if you are interested in becoming a coach, manager, team owner, broadcaster, or sports writer. High school and summer league teams are a good place to get a start. You can also look for opportunities at your local parks and recreation office and your area YMCA.

Get an Education

Many sports-related careers either require specific training or are easier to get a job in if you have that training. For example, if you are interested in sports medicine, you need to complete training as a physical therapist or go to medical school. Sportswriters and broadcasters may benefit from pursuing a journalism degree. People who want to start their own businesses can benefit from completing a business-related degree, such as marketing, accounting, or finance.

Sell Things

If college isn't for you, there are sports careers that you can pursue without getting a degree. Sales may be a good path if you enjoy working with people and are passionate about the products you sell. There are many different sales opportunities in sports. You could sell merchandise and memorabilia, such as t-shirts and baseball cards. You could also sell sports equipment to teams or individual athletes.

Have a Sports Career Without Leaving Your House

Professional athletes may travel the world, but you don't have to. There are many remote jobs available in the sports industry. Potential jobs you can do from home include sports writing, podcasting, and sports marketing.

• Sports writers may write for local publications, national papers and magazines, blogs, or specific teams. They write about many different sports and may cover them from different angles, such as reporting the results of games or writing opinion pieces about management decisions.

• Podcasters serve a similar function to writers, except instead of writing about sports, they talk about them. Podcasts can be audio only or video. Some podcasters work alone, while others work in a team with other podcasters.

• Sports marketers help sports teams promote their events, sell tickets and increase their fanbase. Marketers may work for a single team or operate an agency that serves multiple clients.

Start a Business

Sports teams and athletes require services from many different types of businesses. As an example, sports stadiums need complex lighting systems to be able to safely host events indoors, at night, or during cloudy weather. Sports venue lighting engineers specialize in designing and installing these systems. You can learn about this trade by reviewing case studies to get a better idea of what is required to light large to mid-size indoor arenas and outdoor complexes for college and professional sports. You may want to look into LEDs for better control and efficiency.

There are many possible career paths for people who love sports but are not elite athletes. No matter what your interests and ability levels are, there is probably a job opportunity for you.

USC24x7 is a blog where we follow the USC Trojan Football team year round. We’d love to hear from you!

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