Jobs in the sports industry - what are they?

[SirChenjins]

Our youngest cherub has managed to fail every single one of his prelims - a combination of a complete lack of effort and a low level of interest in academia. The former pisses me right off, the latter is fine - university is not for everyone.

He's very into sport and is naturally talented - he's fantastic at every sport he turns his hand to. This is where we come unstuck as I am not sporty at all and it's been a good few decades since DH graced the rugby field. We're both in solid professions and know nothing about the opportunities in the sports industry that will give him a reasonable income and job security. Any suggestions?

• solid boring professions

Bump 😊

Our local leisure centre does an apprenticeship scheme, exposes them to all aspects from lifeguarding to duty manager. It’s run by Everyone Active who have locations all over the country. Might he be interested in that?

My BIL used to do marketing and corporate hospitality for one of the premiership clubs and my friend's DS does marketing for another. They do both have degrees though. I'm not sure how easy it is to get into that sort of thing without. Also they didnt get those jobs straight away- my BIL did fabric conditioner first :-)

Presumably he’d have to stick to something to make it work: sports teacher, swimming instructor, sports physio, sports assistant (like where they do sports for toddlers etc).

Oh good shout - thank you. I didn’t think of apprenticeships in this field, I tend to think of them in the trades so will take a look at Skills Development Scotland for that specialty.

He’s really keen to do physiotherapy and specialise in sports therapy but he hasn’t got a hope of getting the grades he would need sadly (I’m being realistic here, as opposed to being negative).

Also, and I hope this doesn't come across as negative, but just parroting BIL here. There is a difference between being interested in playing a sport and being interested in the industry around that sport IYSWIM. One doesn't necessarily translate to the other. So for example while BIL's job involved football on the face of it, his actual job involved pricing up packages, making lists of prospects and sorting out the menus.

A friend of mine works as a physiotherapist assistant at the local hospital, like a hcsw but just for the physios.

I know a degree would open more doors for him, but at the moment it’s not looking promising (he’s our third teen so I have others I can compare his marks to). If he does decide to go to Uni at some point I think it will be via the SVQ/HNC/HND route.

Does the Scottish system have an equivalent to BTECs? There is a fabulous one in sports science that can lead onto a degree if that’s what he wants but equally gives a qualification in something he is interested in and opens doors within the industry. If he has a preferred sport , is there a coaching pathway?

Not negative at all @illiterato that’s a really good point and one he’ll need to be mindful of.

I didn’t think of a physio assistant @OntarioBagnet that’s a great idea. Do you know if that’s a route into physiotherapy later if he does decide to go down a more academic road at some point?

Sport covers everything from grass roots competition to elite - an apprenticeship at a national governing body might be worth a try. It might not be a sport scientist or biomechanist or whatever but a governing body covers everything, so they have departments for membership, competition, marketing and Comms, sponsorship, logistics, events etc. A good apprenticeship would include a rotation of different departments. Try Scottish rugby and football clubs, Sport Scotland, the Scottish Institute of Sport, Scottish Cycling, the Scottish FA etc and ask if they have an apprenticeship scheme.

I know a fairly well known sports commentator. He just loves all sport, watching as well as playing. He got into it through reporting for local news radio. He got into local news radio via a politics degree, but my understanding is that's this is not necessary; more the love of sport and lots of (voluntary) work experience on local radio. Even hospital radio if that's still a thing.

@Biscuitsinthestaffroom I think the equivalent is a lower level SVQ but would need to look into it in more detail. Sports science is a good idea - we’ll look at the routes into that.

Yes, some universities I believe offer physio apprenticeships and these will be open to physio assistants/sponsored by nhs trusts for these employees. Like nursing apprenticeships

He will still need some form of better qualifications I think but may be able to do this through work. Or look at a distance access course, but he will need effort for this.

What about being a personal trainer? Training etc required.

Personal trainer has professional qualifications to do which he will likely be capable of.

Have you had him screened for specific learning difficulties?

My sporty, taught herself to ride a bike by 4 actually has dyspraxia!! Always struggled at school.

I’m not sure about PT work - one of my extended family is one and employment is not always consistent, there seems to be a lot of competition for work.

@RandomMess no, he’s not been screened. He doesn’t struggle as such, he just puts zero (and I mean zero) effort in.

Sometimes they put zero effort in because it's so hard and exhausting for them.

The one with ADHD is the same 🙈

It's a bit like
Working with animals, bloody hard work, you need qualifications and they pay can be shit. H ended up as a PE teacher, not what he wanted from his SS degree.

I had a school friend who was a PT for the Fire and Rescue Service.

Does he enjoy coaching? Our local authority has an Active Schools scheme, they have apprenticeships.

I don't want to be negative because this is clearly a lovely mum post - but a lot of stuff in sport takes a lot of hustle. It's either very competitive to get a foot in the door (anything glamorous) or very self-driven (anything that isn't glamorous).

An apprenticeship with a governing body, for example, is going to be extremely competitive because every other teenager who likes sport but doesn't want to go to university is going to apply. And that's a lot of teenagers.

It might be that once free of school, he finds some new motivation though, of course. Sorry, I honestly don't mean to be negative but sport is just...a really tough industry.

Have a look at the Loughborough University website (sport renowned) or maybe Stirling to see what jobs they are advertising.

It could be anything from nutrition to psychology to oxygen uptake/use. Rehabilitation, physio, drug testing/ dope testing.

Maybe not necessarily of interest but how a woman's menstrual cycle affects performance is a big area of research at the moment.

Areas such as event management for the big events, recruiting sponsors, volunteer management, agents for big sport stars.

Any field but just in sport so HR, finance, legal, marketing and PR, advertising, sales. TV sound/camera for the big events.

Ask his coaches what opportunities are available locally to enhance his CV. I'm thinking Park Run volunteer, mascot at home games, waiter for sports hospitality, news reporter, pitch line painter, the person who rakes the sand in the long jump.

I'm sure the London Marathon etc are crying out for volunteer staff. He needs to make contacts.