Becky Heidesch, CEO of Women's Sports Services & Co-Founder of the WISC Foundation offers insight to a career in women's sports and in the sports industry.
By Becky Heidesch
It is a wonderful time for women's sports in this country and an equally exciting time for women in sports related careers. With the surge of women's professional team sports - for the first time in this country - women are now moving into front office management positions of women's professional team sports. New opportunities are popping up in virtually every aspect of sports business as it relates to the women's market.
On the professional level the new women's soccer league (WUSA) is currently hiring in several front office management positions ranging from being a general manager to marketing opportunities and media relations positions. The growth and interest of the WNBA continues to provide new career opportunities in women's professional team sports.
With the movement of the Internet, new media is another area with exciting career opportunities. Companies developing a girls and women's sports component to their sports websites are all scrambling to provide compelling, exciting, and interesting sports content for the female market. There are numerous opportunities for freelance work in this area. The traditional print media is also growing -- not only in journalism -- but advertising sales, marketing and sponsorship sales. As more and more networks are televising girls and women's sporting events there is a growing need to find qualified women to broadcast and announce perspective games and events.
On the sporting goods side, there are opportunities in manufacturing with the design of product and apparel for the active female consumer. As the market continues its growth surge, manufacturers are working hard to meet market demands in both fashion and functionality.
Perhaps one of the greatest areas of need and opportunity currently exists in coaching, athletic administration and officiating. On virtually all levels, from the high school to the collegiate level, there is a growing need to retain these areas. If any of these areas are of interest to you, consider getting involved in NACWAA (National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators,) or a specialized coaching association, such as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AWCA), the National Fast pitch Coaches Association, or the Women's Basketball Coaches Association. All of these organizations are committed to bringing in more women and supporting the retention of women in sports related careers. If you are just starting out try interning with the Women's Sports Foundation.
The areas with the most opportunities during the next five years are in new business development, such as, sports apparel, new media and coaching, athletic administration, and officiating. The opportunities for new business development are huge here. Based on the number of participants in the 9-to-11-year-old girls age bracket, the sky's the limit on new opportunities. The manufacturers are lagging in designing apparel for this age group and there will be a growing need to keep up with the market growth.
With more women's professional leagues on the horizon, many newspapers and Internet sites are focusing on more women's content. There are all sorts of media opportunities emerging from radio, TV, and cable shows offering more and more content focused on the active female consumer. More career opportunities are emerging in event management with corporations as well. As many companies want to create their own signature events we expect to see more of this in the future. With the growing interest and market potential sponsorship and advertising sales positions will also increase.
Here's a few helpful hints on managing your sports career.
· Look for any opportunity to volunteer-intern-whatever it takes to get involved, do it!
· Get the experience and start building the relationships. Business is about building relations.
· Understand your skills, both strengths and weaknesses.
· Develop your weaknesses.
· Get focused and stay focused.
· Have a clear direction on where it is you want to go.
· Network, network, network.
· Build your rolodex.
. Be willing to sacrifice short term for long-term results.
· Forget about the money!
· Join organizations and associations.
· Participate.
· Be persistent. Work hard. And repeat all this ten times!
Remember that we live in a sports society. Who wouldn't want a job in sports? For every job you apply for remember there are hundreds more competing against you. What is it that sets you apart? Remember - it's not about what you have done --- it's about your value to that employer. Good luck - stick with it. It's a matter of loving what you do!