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General Description

This is an ideal career for intuitive thinkers. Professional sportspeople are the envy of most young Australians.

Career Advice - Sportsperson Career

The professional is either an athlete, coach or sports manager and they are often supported by other professionals such as dietitians, psychologists, physiotherapists and specialist advisors.

Sportspeople compete as amateurs until they reach a sufficiently high standard to be offered payment for their performance. At this stage their sport becomes their career. If you play sport for a living at elite level, and particularly if your sport has a large following, both your on-field  performances and your off-field behaviour can be the subject of great public interest and exposure. Your off-field preparation directly affects your on-field performance to either win or lose contests. In addition sportspeople can wrongly or rightly be perceived as role models by media, sponsors or public and unlike other occupations, sportspeople can suffer in their occupation as a result of incidents in their private lives

Athletes compete as individuals or part of a team. As a team player you rely on others to enhance your performance, as they do on you whereas as an individual sports person you are on your own. In most physically demanding sports, you usually have a maximum career life of only 10 years or so unless injury terminates the career earlier. In less taxing sports such as golf your career may continue into your forties and beyond.

Coaching or teaching careers are also possible in sport. Many sportspeople who are not able to compete themselves at elite level may still find a rewarding career in teaching or coaching, while coaching is one option for elite players once thir playing careers are over. A coach is likely to be technically qualified, possessing deep knowledge and experience of technique, strategy, training programs and competitors. A coach’s role is to establish, supervise, develop, guide and mentor the athlete, establishing performance goals and the training programs, strategies and tactics to achieve them..

The sports manager’s role is to direct and protect the commercial affairs of the athlete. This includes contract negotiation, promotional appearances, marketing and general management of the athlete’s business affairs to ensure financial security both during and after a player’s career.

There are other sports-related occupations. You can be a sports commentator who describes the progress of play during broadcasts of sporting events and explains the technicalities and the tactics of the sport to the audience. You can be a sports journalist, who writes articles for the print medium. You may be a sports development officer who works for clubs or associations promoting their sport or their club to schools, addressing pupils on the benefits of playing a particular sport or for a particular club and organising demonstrations and activities relating to the skills of the sport.

You can be in sports marketing, event management, sport media, leisure and recreation facilities management.

What you do every day

Sports differ but usually as an elite athlete you will start your day with the correct nutrition and then prepare your body for competition training, considering both aerobic (endurance) and anaerobic (strength) fitness. You will do interval work or short sprints combined with longer distance runs. You will pump iron in the gym and complete flexibility drills. Any minor or nagging injuries will be treated but if you have received a major injury such as a knee reconstruction, your day is a slow rehabilitation process back to recovery.

You will practice and practice and practice often under the watchful eye of the coach until a particular skill or discipline has been mastered. The training sessions usually go for 2 to 3 hours but in sports like golf a player can practice all day. Massage and muscle relaxation is important to recovery.

Not all athletes enjoy long and rewarding careers. Yours may be cut short from injury, loss of form or other personal circumstances. If you’re smart, you will prepare for “life after sport” by taking a University degree, or investing in a business. Personal injury insurance is important, as there many stories about brilliant careers cut down in their prime.

If you’re a coach, your day is often spent analysing players’ and competitors’ statistics which provide valuable insight into athletes’ performance strengths and weaknesses. You will review game footage, replaying game sections over and over again to establish strategic advantages. Video footage is also used to detect technique flaws in an athlete. Each day you will supervise the training routines, always inventing new angles to ensure boredom does not set in and as game day approaches, you will establish the game strategy which if executed well may ensure success.

Personality that best fit this career

There is no particular type of personality trait for a sportsperson. Professionals need a positive attitude, a strong work ethic, be highly resilient, competitive to the end, have the ability to listen and be open to advice. You also need to be able to motivate others with your actions, often leading by example. You have to be courageous, at time be a risk taker and possess the ability to see the unseeable and do the unthinkable. Some call it having the X factor – those with it reach a level others can only dream about.

Best thing about this career

....Is doing something you’re good at and simply love. Team camaraderie provides special moments and the time flexibility you have is excellent. If you compete internationally, you get to see the world and the diverse cross section of people you meet is stimulating. If you make it to elite level in any sport, the bucks are usually big.

Worst thing about this career

You’re now a public figure and people’s expectations are always beyond your ability. Rival supporters and detractors of you can either motivate or de-motivate you. The chances of your getting to State, then National, International and finally elite level gets smaller the further you go. Only the very few make it, and major injury may be only just around the corner.