Sports can be an inspiring career choice for many aspiring athletes. But it requires years of hard work, early mornings, dedication, and so much sacrifice. Having a career related to the sports industry isn’t that far off either! A career in the sports industry doesn’t have to be directly related to sports, there are other options that you can try out. Being an athlete is not the only option for an awesome sports career, there may be careers that never even entered your mind, or you may not have heard of! So here are some suggestions for you to take that next step into an industry you love.
Physical Therapist
The role of a physical therapist in the sports arena is to help athletes recover from their injuries as quickly and safely as possible. You could be involved in rehabilitation methods such as reflexology, or tendinopathy, which is specifically related, as the name would imply, to the tendons in your leg. There are very specifically focused disciplines for each part of the body, and as a result, you may have to train for a few years to gain a specific diploma. In some ways, it is similar to working in a hospital, but if you are working specifically with athletes, you may have a lot of dealings with other people from within the sporting industry.
Fitness Instructor
This is a very popular next step for people who are very health conscious and want to combine their favorite pastimes with a career. Many fitness instructor courses can take a few months or a few weeks. There are organizations such as Origym that can do one to one private tuition, or you can join a training course. To get on a training course is pretty straightforward if you have some money behind you. Once you have completed your training, you could go and work at a local gym, or you can start up your own business offering personal training sessions for people. Being a fitness instructor is all about a lifestyle choice, and if you love the feeling of exercising and motivating people to get to peak fitness, it is a career for life.
Being A Coach
On the topic of motivation, being a coach is not just about yelling at someone to do another 5 reps, it is about being a leader, mentor, and a confidante all in one package. In many ways, you will do a lot more work than the athlete you are coaching. You will formulate training plans, figure out ways to keep them motivated and do a lot of the organizing to get them into qualifying events for big tournaments. The entryway into this career is not a straightforward one, you would start as an assistant to a coach, and they will only take you on board if you show you are prepared to give as much as the athlete. It’s a lifelong pursuit, but it is a rewarding one.
Sports Writer
If you love sports and you want to flex your creative muscles, this is one option for you. Traditionally you would need a background in journalism, but if there are blogs, you can approach and provide a few sample pieces of your writing you may be considered good enough to be hired on a freelance basis. You could be writing promotional material on an athlete, or you could be reporting on an event, or even doing listicles. If you are looking long-term and want to gain full-time employment in being a sports writer, you will have to go down the educational route, and have a wide-ranging knowledge of sports and the history of all sports. Stats, facts, and figures play a big role in each piece, and you will need to demonstrate the same zeal and enthusiasm for football as you would table tennis or snooker and write about these sports in the same dynamic way to hook people.
Sports Psychologist
If you have an interest in topics like mental health or counseling, this is one arena that is seldom spoken of. Sports psychology is a very niche choice of career, and it involves the traditional methods of therapy, but it is to help an athlete overcome a person, mental, or even spiritual problem. You can face pressure to unlock the problem, especially if the athlete has a big game in a matter of days and they are feeling the pressure to perform well, so in that respect you can face many challenges. The route to this type of career is to obtain a doctorate and train for years until an opening arises in the field.