It’s important to find a career in a field about which you’re passionate – and for many, that field is sports. Most people who truly love sports grow up wanting to be professional athletes earning millions of dollars to play their favourite sport.
However, the reality is the majority of those people are more likely to end up betting on sports, like NBA Championship odds on betting sites such as BET US, rather than actually competing in professional sports leagues. Although, this doesn’t mean you need to give up your dream of working in sports.
There are only a couple hundred athlete jobs available in each of the top sports leagues in the world (NFL, MLB, NBA, Premier League, etc.) and thousands of jobs in second-tier professional leagues. Yet, every team employs people in sports-adjacent positions.
Trainer
Doctors are critical to the world of professional sports. They’re needed on-site at all times to treat injuries when necessary and play an important role in player safety. Trainers perform some of the same tasks – and it’s easier to earn athletic trainer certification as opposed to earning a medical degree.
Trainers are generally responsible for taping, bandaging, and bracing any physical ailments, as well as overseeing all team nutrition and strength and conditioning programs. They usually also facilitate physical exams.
You’re not going to make millions working as a trainer, but you can definitely earn more than $50,000 per year working with high-level teams.
Sports Psychologist
Sports psychology is a relatively new field in professional and amateur sports that focuses on equipping athletes with the proper mental tools and training so that they can perform at peak levels.
Sports psychologists function similarly to regular psychologists but deal exclusively with sports-related problems or other issues that are preventing athletes from achieving peak performance.
Athletes can sometimes experience the same challenges as people in other industries. They might have trouble focusing, interacting with teammates, and controlling their temper.
They might also find that they struggle in “big-game” or clutch moments. Sports psychologists help with the mental blocks attributed to these issues.
While it takes longer to become a licensed sports psychologist as opposed to a trainer, you can make substantially more money. The median average salary, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is $82,1280.
Marketing Coordinator
Sports teams, even at the junior and amateur levels, require marketing coordinators. Some even have an entire marketing staff, with each employee covering a specific area or platform, i.e., game-day communications, Twitter, and Facebook.
A good sports marketing coordinator should be adept at promoting the team for which they work as well as specific players and products. You’ll need to design effective marketing campaigns that inspire fans and give them added reason to be engaged with the team and attend games.
Sports marketing is a position for people with excellent communication skills and creativity as it involves interacting with colleagues and community members on a regular basis as well as creating innovative game-day advertising promotions. Usually, you’ll need a bachelor’s degree in marketing to work in this role, especially with professional teams.
Journalist
There’s an old saying that goes, “those who can do; those who can’t teach.” The same thing can be applied to sports journalism. Most sports journalists grew up wanting to be professional athletes but, after realizing that was out of reach, pursued other opportunities.
Traditional newspapers aren’t quite as viable as they used to be, but that doesn’t mean the sports journalist position is dying. In fact, there are plenty of online-only outlets (Yahoo! and The Athletic, to name a few) that employ sports journalists. Even betting sites like BET US often have writers.
As a sports reporter, you’ll often get to attend live games, conduct feature interviews with athletes, and come up with creative story angles almost every day. This requires a passion for the sport you’re covering as well as in-depth knowledge of the sport.
While a bachelor’s or associate’s degree in journalism can help advance your career in sports journalism, it’s not necessarily required. If you know the sport and can write quality content, consider starting a blog and growing your audience. Your hard work should eventually pay off.