The Work in Sports Podcast - Insider Advice for Sports Careers

Hey, everybody, it’s Brian...I have to admit, I never really considered getting my Masters because I thought it would be restrictive on my career. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but really, I didn’t want to stop my job to get my Masters.But the world has changed, Master’s programs are more flexible than ever, and they can really vault your career forward. Check out Georgetown for example. It used to be if you wanted a Master’s from Georgetown you were relocating to Washington DC… but now, Georgetown offers a part-time Master's in Sports Industry Management that is ideal for working professionals, offering flexible options to take classes online, on-campus, or through a combination of both—so you don't have to interrupt your career to earn your degree. The program prepares you to excel in the global sports industry by learning the communication, business, and leadership strategies that will position you for success.To learn more about the program, visit scs.georgetown.edu/workinsportsAlright, let’s start the countdown…Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast. I have to apologize for no episodes last week -- I failed all of you! I was at the National Sports Forum in Atlanta last week and wow what an event. I’m not a huge conference-goer -- but this was pretty cool. Lots of learning opportunities, I booked a ton of new podcast guests and got out of my comfort zone and networked. I know right, kind of crazy, I actually went up and talked to people. A lot. And I didn’t die. Who knew!One other note I thought of and wanted to share before we get into this week's fan question -- there were about 1,000 people at this conference. That’s a big number, right? There was a huge hall with all 1,000 people packed in to hear Arthur Blank owner of the Falcons and Atlanta United, speak. I looked around and thought -- wow, this is a lot of people hanging on his every word! And then it dawned on me. Every week, twice a week, we get about 2,000 of you listening to every episode. Two of those conference halls, packed with all of you, our listeners. And it made me feel extremely grateful. So thank you. Thank you for listening, and sharing and trying to learn and improve yourselves. I’ll tell you what, I guarantee I’ve learned as much from all of you, and all of our guests, as you have from me. Alright, enough sappy stuff, on to today’s question which comes in from Spencer:Hi Brian -- I will be graduating in May with a degree in marketing. I have also been a 4-year student-athlete which has consumed most of my time meaning I do not have much internship experience (8 months). Some of the positions I have applied to respond saying the lack of experience is an issue. Is there anything you recommend for a student-athlete with a 3.7 cumulative GPA in their job search in collegiate/professional sports? Thank you!This is a question I get a lot - and it is a good one - so let’s dig into it because I have a lot of thoughts on the subject and even if you aren’t a student-athlete they will help you. Student-athletes lack the time to complete internships. But so do people that have to support themselves through college, so this scenario isn’t limited to those who play. Let's dig into it.. (for a more detailed explanation listen in to the podcast episode!)1: Your job search starts with Networking2: lean into your special skills -- tell your story* Leadership* Time management* Coachability* Competitiveness* Teamwork* Ability to handle pressure* Maturity* Dependability* Time management3: Play the 8mile game in your cover letter. The cover letter is your weapon of choice. 4: Consider starting in sales.5: Find the right culture. I hope that helps Spencer -- remember to lean into your unique skills and...

Sports entrepreneur and Co-Founder of WorkInSports.com, John Mellor, joins host Brian Clapp on the Work In Sports podcastHey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…I guess it’s time for a little history talk... But not too far back, we’re not talking Roman gladiators or Mesopotamia. We’re talking about 22 years ago, when the internet was the most fertile ground in the world. 1998 ish -- everyone was on the hunt for their dot com get rich quick idea. Internet companies were formulating daily, popping up all over the place and establishing a new culture and expectation for workers. My wife worked for a few different dot com startups in this time and their culture was much different than the buttoned-up, role defined, performance review world I lived in at CNN/Sports Illustrated. They had the stereotypical ping pong table in the lobby - a slide going from the 2nd floor down to the first, they had pods of working desks and at random times someone would play the theme song to the family feud and they’d all drop whatever they were working on and rush to compete against each other in an online version of the game. They’d play half-life throughout the day and have food catered in. The culture and work environment was awesome -- unfortunately, the product of most of these companies was speculative at best. INvestors wanted to throw money at these companies, despite their lack of financial fundamentals or even a product worth getting behind. BUt again. The investor flocked because they all told themselves this is a new world, we have to adjust our way of evaluating these companies… and the money is really green coming out of these wins. The venture capitalists wanted their lottery ticket, they all wanted to get in on the action and get in early on the next big thing. So now you have these really young companies, led by young visionaries without much business experience being handed tons and tons of money to make their idea grow.In this era, this concept of money and growth translated into advertising and branding. So many dot com companies went crazy trying to get their name out there. One of my wives companies...true story...hired a guy who was considered a bit of a viral youtuber back then, to hand out company-branded velvet pouches with $5 in coins in them at Times Square. Just randomly giving out $5 to people and thinking - oh yeah, this will have a return on investment. Sure sure sure.21 different dot-com ads were run in Super Bowl 34 in January 2000. These ads amounted to nearly 20 percent of the 61 spots available,[1] and $44 million in advertising.Let’s run through some of those companies and see how things played out for them…* E1040.com* Epidemic.com* Lastminutetravel.com* Lifeminders.com* OnMoney.com* Netpliance.com* Ourbeginning.comWe could go on. Perspective -- OurBeginning.com's revenue jumped 350% in Q1 of 2000, but its $5 million in advertising costs were still ten times what its customers spent.[8] Short-term gains were not enough to recoup advertising losses, and Pets.com, Computer.com, and Epidemic.com, among many others, would fold before the end of the year.Why is this important? -- well, a couple of reasons. 1 don’t forget the fundamentals - in everything you do it’s important not to get swept up in the hype and wishing, it’s important to stay focused and rely on what is proven and works.

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast.Before we get into today’s episode - one quick announcement for all of you sports connected folks out there. This weekend, starting Sunday and running through Tuesday, I will be at the Nationa Sports Forum in Atlanta, which is a pretty huge sportsbiz event.This is my first time. My boss the CEO of WorkInSports.com will be with me, and he fully expects me to be yucking it up with everyone. Now, let me be really honest… I love talking to people. I do. But I don’t like to initiate conversation.Someone comes up and talks to me, I’ll chat them up as long as they want. But I am terrible, literally terrible at going up and starting a conversation with anyone.I bring this up for two reasons. 1: If you or your company are going to be at National Sports Forum, please come talk to me. Come hang out.  2: I bring up my own flaws all the time to be as transparent as possible and let you know, when I host this show, nothing comes from a high perch. I may be the one talking the most, and I may have a lot of perspectives to share, but i am not without massive weaknesses and things I need to work on too. Please don’t ever think, when I give advice, that it comes from a place of superiority. It comes from a place of love. Ok, that felt a little weird to say, but there is truth in it, I wouldn’t be putting so much effort into this podcast if I didn’t care about all of you listening. I have made friends through this show I wouldn’t have known otherwise, and that has great meaning. So please know we are in this together.Last thing on National Sports Forum -- I’m going to be conducting mini-interviews with people at the event… I’m going to grab people, ask them 2-3 questions about their career and how they got started... and sprinkle these into episodes throughout the year. So again, if you are there, or if you know someone going, tell them to stop by out booth and say Hi. Make me look good in front of the CEO.Ok, on to the content you are here for!Today’s question comes from Ben in Chicago.“Hey Brian, are the Kansas City Chiefs in Missouri or Kansas? I heard there is some confusion amongst high-ranking US Officials”I can confirm Ben, the Kansas City Chiefs are most definitely in Missouri. I have personally alerted the proper authorities.Question #2 comes from Jennifer“Hey Brian, you spoke in my college class last week and I really appreciate the energy and enthusiasm you brought to the classroom. I was too shy to ask any questions but I wanted to see if you could elaborate on a point you made about how someone can stand out during an internship?”Of course Jennifer -- thank you for asking and thanks to your professor for inviting me into your classroom -- I spoke in 5 different college classes last week and it was a blast. I have to tell you I have massive respect for college professors after doing a lot of these sessions. I got for about an hour, 45 minutes of me, then 15 minutes of question time from the audience… and it is exhausting. I don’t know how the professors do it day after day. Much respect!Ok, onto your internship strategy. It’s early spring semester so many of you are gearing up for spring internships and possibly summer ones so this is the chance to get your head on straight. The three things to remember for your internship:* Be curious* Be competitive* Be coachableToday's Sponsor:Temple University’s School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management. 

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning with WorkinSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…It’s funny, I’ve spent my entire career creating sports content. When you create, someone else is the focus… the athlete, the interview subject, the school, the team -- your focus is away from you. That’s the way it's supposed to be, and that is the way I was taught. Coming up at CNN all of our reporters and anchors were true journalists who knew the story was never about them, it was always about their subject. You’ll see this difference when you watch your local network sports -- they so often inject themselves into the stories. Watch me play a game of horse with Chris Paul, coming up at 11. Check me out trying to throw a discus with gold medal winner Christoph Harding coming up at 6!This always drove me nuts.  The story is never about you. That’s my personal belief and the one I’ve held near and dear as I was News Director at Fox Sports Northwest. When my anchor asked one night, can we do a live poll on tonights show asking what the fans think of my new haircut -- and yes, this did happen -- I had to initiate emergency deep breathing techniques before calmly saying, “I don’t think that is in the best interest of the audience.”The reason I bring this up is because I ask so many of my guests to step out of their comfort zone and become the focus when they are so often trained to think otherwise. When I speak to agents like Leigh Steinberg… he’s polished, he’s used to being in front of the microphone and talking about himself. But when I grab Celia Bouza from ESPN, or Brian Killingsworth CMO of the Vegas Golden Knights, or Tiara Brown Manager of Social Responsibility for the Charlotte Hornets… they aren’t used to this questioning and this focus...which is why I appreciate their honesty and insight so much.Today’s guest is much like me. Stacy Keleher is the Director of Production for the Philadelphia Eagles -- she’s paid to create, analyze and critique content…it is literally her job to think “not good enough...not up to our standards...we need to do better” so when the spotlight is on her, it’s a little different.But, Stacy is a pro’s pro...so she nailed it. Prior to coming to the Eagles, she spent 6 years with Ohio State Athletics as the Big Ten production Manager -- meaning she hired a ton of student interns and volunteers to help run their event production. She knows a lot about resumes, cover letters, interviewing… and the incredible life of working in sports television production. Here she is … Philadelphia Eagles Director of Production -- Stacy Kelleher   Questions for Stacy Kelleher, Philadelphia Eagles Director of Production1: Before we get into all of your background in sports production, your role at Ohio State and now with the Eagles… I stumbled upon an article you wrote on cover letters a few years ago, and found myself saying “Yes!...Yes!..Yes!” A whole lot… so let's start with that, you’ve reviewed a lot of resumes over your career …why is the cover letter so important, and why do so many young inexperienced people mess this up?2: I loved one line you had in there about hiring being exciting, but also grueling… when I was the news director at Fox Sports Northwest, I had the same experience. You’d start out so pumped to get someone new in your building…but by the 25th resume, or phone call it would be rewind repeat over and over again.I’ve always felt people need to inject a little more personality into their cover letter, tell me a story about them outside the resume, a time they overcame an issue or handled an objection…something to excite me – do you agree or do you like it a little more buttoned-up and professional?3: Alright I’m sure the subject of cover letters and resumes will come up again… but let’s get into you a bit – you went to a really small school Wheeling Jesuit University… but you’ve...

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports Podcast…We’ve had a pretty crazy month, doubling up our podcast guest and really trying to crush January - but we’re going to start getting back into our regular routine this week. Monday’s will be a fan question, a shorter episode in the 1-15 minute range and Wednesday’s will be our longer-form interview with an industry expert. This week is going to be Philadelphia Eagles Director of Production Stacy Kelleher -- Stacy worked for a long time at Ohio State, and just came to the Eagles a year ago -- really great interview, make sure to check that out Wednesday -- Stacy has some really great insight into cover letters and what she likes to see in them.Before we get into our Monday fan question  --   Real Talk for a second. Kobe Bryant, his 13-year old daughter and 7 others died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California yesterday. And if you are listening to this episode 6 months from now, you’ll likely remember where you were when you heard this news. We all know it’s tragic. We all hope the family can find peace in this awful time, and we all have memories of Kobe from afar. But I would ask all of you, to listen more than you speak in times like these. Listen to those who knew him, competed against him, knew his family, spent time with his daughter. That is how you can respect his legacy, by listening to those who knew the real man off-screen.  This is not the time for your hot take.  Or to go live and discuss the hashtag mamba mentality. Or to share the 7 tips you learned from watching Kobe play ball. The thousands of people that are doing this right now will tell you it’s a tribute, a way to honor those who have passed, but it’s not. It’s people leveraging a tragedy to help build their brand… and to me, that is gross. I did this once, so I’m speaking not from a view of perfection, but rather one of reflection. I wrote a story after ESPN anchor Stuart Scott passed from cancer, giving a behind the scenes on how the sports media handles death. It was a really good article, lots of insight, a viewpoint not many see...and I kind of hated myself after I published it. Just listen. This sort of thing doesn’t have to be about you.Alright, let’s transition have a different conversation, one that will help you advance in your sports career. Because that is the point of all this. Johnathan from California -- “Hi Brian -- you recently spoke in my college classroom and I have to tell you when we have guest speakers, most of the time everyone tunes out. But, after the class, we were all talking about the info you shared. My question is a simple one -- as part of our college curriculum we have to do a lot of presentations in front of the class - I was wondering if you may be able to give some tips to those of us who are in this situation and public speaking isn’t our norm.”Hey Johnathan -- I picked your question for many reasons -- one, it is a topic we haven’t talked about before, and two, you said such nice things about me!In all seriousness, public speaking and presenting, is a huge part of the sports industry, not just in your college classroom. If you work in sales, you’ll present concepts and ideas to businesses and groups. If you work in marketing you’ll present to athletes, executive staff and other shareholders. Even if you work in scouting, you’ll present to the director of scouting advocating for a player. No matter your role you will present in front of the group during your career - and the more confident and charismatic you can be in these environments the better.#1 Tip -- Identify your audience. What is their reason for being here? When I am speaking to a college class,

What training and career development look like when done correctly. Celia Bouza, Director, ESPN Next joins host Brian Clapp on the Work in Sports podcast. Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning with WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…Let’s talk about retention. In the business world -- retention is a big deal as it relates to customers and employees.Let’s take our business for a second, WorkinSports.com. We provide a premium service, we have over 24,000 active sports jobs and internships all in one place, we match your skills to job openings, we connect you with sports employers, we have career training -- we do all kinds of cool things to help you develop in the industry.Once someone decides to be a member of our site, it makes sense for us to work to retain them. It is easier to keep a current customer than create a new one from scratch.Businesses focus heavily on retention through elite customer service, increased value, exclusive offers and more. Think about it in terms of a sports team… if you have a premium suite sold to a business in town… which do you think is more beneficial to the business, getting them to renew for another year...or having to go n 20 sales trips to different businesses, make pitches, presentations and negotiate deals to get someone else in there?Retention matters. But retention isn’t just for customers - it’s also for the employees.   There is nothing worse as a manager of people than having one of your best employees leave for another opportunity.   When I started at Fox Sports Northwest back in the day, I was coming cross country from Atlanta, inheriting a staff, that the GM had told me during the interview process that had very low morale. Most didn’t feel good about working there. When I came in I made it my mission to figure out why, figure out who could be the pillars of the staff, and figure out how to fix the overall problem.After identifying a complete stud in the building and elevating him to a higher role -- 6 months later he left. And it crushed me.  James Rafferty, I’m still mad at you.This is when it became very clear to me, that doing everything you can to keep your best people is the absolute best way to operate. You’ll never be at 100%, people leave for reasons you can’t control, James and his wife who was also an incredible performer in our newsroom, left for Montana to go back home… I couldn’t control that. But you can sure as hell try.  So how do you influence retention? There are many ways because everyone has a different trigger for what is important to them.  * Culture - Do people enjoy working here? Do they like the environment, do they have a smile on their face at work?* Accountability and process -- if you have an efficient system and hold people accountable to their performance, people are more likely to feel satisfied. * Training - teach them how to be a stellar performer, show them what you want and set them up for success.* Career Paths - let them see their future, what could be out there for them at your organization.These are all methods to retain staff, and great organizations do all this and more -- because the people are what matter most.  One of the organizations doing more than most is ESPN - the worldwide leader in debate shows. I kid, I kid. I love ESPN - however… that was my Stephen A Smith impression - solid work, right?Back on track - the ESPN Next program is a big part of  ESPN’s retention plan -- it’s the company's premier leadership development program, bringing in the best of the best for around the globe and training them to be even better.The Director of the ESPN Next program is today’s guest Celia Bouza...buckle up, we’re getting into this. Watch the Work In Sports Podcast with Celia Bouza, Director,ESPN Next:. Questions for ESPN Next Director, Celia Bouza1: A someone who broke into the sports media as a produc...

Wondering how to become a scout in professional sports? Listen in as Sam Ray, San Diego Padres Manager of Amateur Scouting shares his insight on the Work In Sports podcast!Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning with WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…Why does everyone love the draft? The NBA draft and NFL draft are must-see events --  even the NHL and MLB drafts have grown in popularity.We spend weeks reading mock drafts, player profiles, analysis segments...we break down 40 times, standing long jumps, and vertical leaps. We watch combine skills on display, hunt back through game tape, create our own theories for why player y is better than player x.Why?  Hope. Hope is the wellspring from which all other positive emotions emerge. Hope is potential for a brighter future, a path out you can see and aspire to. Think about your life and the role hope plays. If done correctly, hope is tied into a plan. Hope by itself is just a wish… saying I hope to win the lottery, is kind of a wish and a dream… but if you hope for a promotion and you put in the work, you strengthen your weaknesses, you improve your attitude, you produce great results, now that is hope with a plan attached to it...that’s powerful.So why is the draft so interesting? Because we as fans have hope for our team’s improvement, and we believe they have a plan to execute it. Trying to align ourselves with their vision is the fun part. So let’s take a step back here -- if your team is terrible, and you don’t trust the front office decision-makers, and you don’t believe in the team direction...are you that into the draft? Likely not, because you know it’ll just lead to despair. But if you like the team direction and you have some excitement around them - there is nothing like studying up, learning all the players, hypothesizing what decision they’ll make and then watching it all unfold. Take the Miami Dolphins as an example in the NFL -- showed some promise at the end fo the season, lots of draft picks, new front office decision-makers -- if I’m a Dolphins fan I’m reading mock drafts studying players… this is fun!Ok, so we get the hope thing as a fan. We understand why everyday people like you and I love the draft.Now let’s flip this around to the decision-makers.  They live in a perpetual cycle of hope as well. An MLB area scout will watch high school game after high school game, hoping to find a gem. Hoping to see something that stands out to them, Hoping to have a report they can bring back to their superior to point out a player that could turn into something great.They labor all year long watching and watching -- training their eyes and ears to notice things others can’t. They put in this effort because of the potential payout for the team… this extra trip, this tournament, this event...could be the one with that guy.That’s an exciting life! Especially for those who played! While it isn’t a requirement for a scout to be a former high-level player -- imagine the draw if you were? You grew up playing and loving a game, and now you can put that knowledge to work helping develop the next wave of the team.The life of a scout is fascinating - it’s much more than you see in the movies - which is why I’ve been so excited to have on today’s guest San Diego Padres Manager of Amateur Scouting Sam Ray …Here’s Sam…Questions for Sam Ray, San Diego Padres Manager of Amateur Scouting1: Finally! A Scout has agreed to come on the show – I have spoken with team executives, top agents, athletic directors… but you are my first scout!  So thank you, Sam, for coming on and sharing a little of your world with us…I want to get into everything that goes into scouting and how you got to this point in your career with the Padres… but I have to ask first… economics major? How does this fit into the plan of working in baseball?2: Ok,

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…I spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about perspective. We all grow up in different conditions, different families, different stresses, and challenges...and it is this foundational time of our lives, our youth, that gives us our first dose of perspective. Growing up in, I guess I would say, lower-middle-class home in Massachusetts...pretty rural, parents divorced, predominantly white neighborhood, gives me a totally different experience than some rich kid in Beverly Hills, or some poor kid anywhere in America. Or some kid who grew up with abusive parents, or someone who was a victim of crime early in life. We may see the same things through very different lenses because of our foundational perspectives. What we see and experience alters the way we move forward through life.But perspectives are a fluid thing, they change as we go through life and expose ourselves to different people, cultures and situations. Living in a rough area of Atlanta for a few years changed the rural kid in me. I saw different things, and they challenged me to think differently. They challenged me to open my mind up to the struggle of others. To understand that not all kids played sports on the weekend and ate orange slices on the sidelines. That some kids struggled to get by, period.  Working with different types of people in a corporate culture like CNN exposed me to different faiths, backgrounds, upbringings, educations… and overall different perspectives. I wonder, again this is where I probably spend an inordinate amount of time contemplating things like perspective… but I wonder, how much our perspectives alter our career choices, or who we are in the workplace. Your perspective and the upbringing you endured, steers you. I was asked recently how many people who work in sports, played sports in college or high school. I have no data, other than the anecdotal story of my life working in sports for the last 20 some odd years… but I’d say around 15% played in college and 90% played at least in high school. It is that perspective, that gave us love. The competition, the teamwork, the grind, the community, the coachability -- you thrive on it all. If I hadn’t grown up playing every sport available… I probably wouldn’t have worked in this industry.  Sports gets into your bloodstream. Not just playing, but being around it. The smell of a gym makes me think back to my youthful perspective. Hearing a certain song on the radio, makes me think of the drive to a game, or post-championship celebration.It’s no wonder today’s guest circled back to sports. Tim Duncan was a division 1 basketball player at Memphis State, teammates with Penny Hardaway and a 2-time participant in the NCAA tournament. He was one of the elite competitors in the game, making it beyond those of us with only high school memories. For those of you who are confused… Yes, there are at least two people in the world named Tim Duncan who played high-level basketball...but this is not that Tim Duncan. For our Tim Duncan, after graduating and starting a successful career in marketing, the sports world beckoned. And because his perspective was on the court, and in the stands and at the arena…  the jump back in was natural.Over the last decade-plus he’s made a name for himself in college athletes, and just last year was named Athletic Director of the University of New Orleans. It is my honor to have him on the show this week… here’s Tim Duncan…Questions for Tim Duncan, University of New Orleans Athletic Director 1: You have had many stops in your career in college athletics to get to this point of being Athletic Director at the University of New Orleans…but before we get into your role at UNO and your journey to it… I want to go back to the beginning a bit.

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of content and engaged learning with workinsports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…August 16th 1954Sports Illustrated the magazine launches. In their first issue their most high profile article is titled “The Golden Age is Now”“FOR WORLD-WIDE INTEREST, FOR WIDESPREAD PARTICIPATION, FOR SHATTERED RECORDS, FOR THRILLING TRIUMPHS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT, THIS IS THE GREATEST SPORTS ERA IN HISTORY”The imagery with the article is of a golfer, head down putting, but the photography isn’t strong enough to tell if it is someone famous. There is a gallery, maybe 30 people, and there is a man in a pink suit is standing just off the green but separate from the crowd...likely the Jim Nantz of the time. I’m not a huge nostalgia guy, but I found myself drawn to the article. I needed to know why they claimed this was the golden era -- what stood out to them in this time to say “the time for sports is now!”Reading further there were some interesting data points shared -- not exactly Wins Above Replacement type data...but interesting for perspective sake. Get this… in their argument for it being the golden era of sports they cite:Tens of thousands of pin boys are kept leaping by 20 million bowlers and, quite properly, the 60,000 bowling alleys around the country include one in the basement of the White House. The favorite outdoor sport is fishing. Last year 17,652,478 citizens took out fishing licenses and eight million more fished where licenses either were not needed (along the coasts) or were not likely to be asked for. Hunting licenses totaled 14,832,779.Three million Americans go skiing every winter, A half-million own sailboats, There are five million golfers There is softball to be played (the Amateur Softball Association of America claims a million players) and basketball is a year-round sport and topic No. 1 in thousands of U.S. towns. There are horseshoes to be pitched in a million back yards and croquet balls to be tapped by belligerent believers who insist that it is the only worth-while game in the world.Isn’t this amazing?70 years ago the sports world was afire with horseshoes and bowling! No wonder your grandparents are scared to death of twitter, their golden era was spent fishing. It’s not exactly groundbreaking to share that the world has changed. It’s not exactly revolutionary to say social media, streaming, a dedicated sports channel for just about everything, famous athletes being accessible and sharing their own story -- has changed our relationship with sports. But the job of keeping up with all of this sure has changed.  Bob Ryan the quintessential sports writer, formerly of the Boston Globe and one of my personal idols, tells how when he covered the Celtics in the 1970’s he was embedded with the team, went out for drinks with them, knew their wives...and had to maybe write 3-5 stories a week. Now, content is different, the audience’s appetite is insatiable. There is social, there are broadcast hits, there is constant analysis and debate, there are writing demands… and then, there is everything around the corner... Are we developing virtual reality? Do we need to make content specific for Alexa? Should we launch a podcast? Everything needs a strategy and vision - or in this content world - there is chaos. There is no reactionary process -- everything has to be proactive. Which makes the job done by today’s guest all the more impressive. Sloane Kelley is the United States Tennis Associations Managing Director of Content and Creative Services … and prior to that she was the VP of Content with the PGA Tour. She knows how to stand out in today’s golden era of sports, which is a little different than the one in the 50’s. Here’s Sloane Kelley… Questions for Sloane Kelley,

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast.When I was growing up in the Boston area, I used to get a kick out of the regional ads with the local sports stars.Dwight Evans would be reading an ad for the local Chevy dealer and it would be hilariously terrible. You can picture these guys showing up, never reading the script, and then trying to read a cue card being held by some poor intern above the camera.The local sports star would have their eyes clearly above the camera, they’d be reading at a very poor level and there would be some terrible dad joke at the end."Hello everyone… I am… Red Sox right fielder...Dwight Evans, and you should head down to Bob’s chevrolet in Chicopee and check on the deals they’ve got for  a brand new 1985 Chevy ...Blazer. We’ve got all different shades of Red...like my sox."And then they’d smile some toothy grin and still not be looking at the camera. You knew this was like the 20th take and finally, the producer just said “Oh F it, that’s good enough, it’s a wrap”These cracked me up… and I wish they still happened as often as they used to when I was 10. We’d literally imitate them in gym class, a bunch of 5th-grade kids making fun of our local idols for reading with less aptitude and personality than we did.This was a big deal for the athletes back in the day… they made really good money back then, but nothing like what they do today. Salaries have far outpaced inflation, so the borderline Hall of Fame players don’t need to peddle the local furniture store for a free couch and 5k. It was a lot of work, which more often than not resulted in a crappy advertisement that likely didn’t help the business or the player’s brand.Things have changed. Thankfully for the better, although I really miss those old ads. So how have things changed -- well, social is a huge part of it. Today’s athletes grew up with it, are comfortable on the platforms, have their own brands, and can share their own voice directly to their followers.Plus, we have more and more brands telling themselves -- wait, I make a vegan snack bar, and I’m sure there is an athlete out there who is vegan… maybe we should partner up?This idea of hyper-targeting in alignment with a specific athlete makes all the sense in the world because they’ll speak to the product with more enthusiasm and expertise, than just some rando talking about a chevy blazer in red, when they drive a Porsche.This extra targeting, this emphasis on social, this idea to connect brands and athletes  -- sparked something deep within today’s guest.Ishveen Anand is the founder and CEO of OpenSponsorship,  a platform that has created a smarter, simpler approach to sponsorship marketing. Allowing brands to connect with 5000+ athletes, engage with their target audience, increase ROI and generate great content.She was also named Forbes 30 under 30 in 2015, and to INC top 100 female founders list in 2019 -- she’s as impressive as they come, so without further ado… here’s Ishveen Anand, straight from her office in New York City...you’ll understand why I mentioned that in a few minutes when you hear fire alarms and police sirens in the background…Questions for Ishveen Anand, CEO and Founder OpenSponsorship1: I’m really excited to speak with you about your organization OpenSponsorship…but first I want to understand you and your motivation a little better.You attended Oxford, graduate with a degree in economics and management, and your career skyrockets, in fact, you’re a CEO within about 5 years of graduating.And then, you launch OpenSponsorship.What was your mindset during this time -- did you always have this goal of “someday ...

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…Watching the Super Bowl one year I looked down at my hands and noticed I was shaking a bit. Here I was on my couch, watching someone else perform...and I was nervous? Anxious? Stress hormones we’re flooding my body, speeding up my heart rate and breathing, while increasing my blood pressure. Again, from my couch. I stopped and laughed for a second thinking, how in the hell do these athletes do it?How does Tom Brady, or Lebron James, or  Daniel Hudson perform to their best with everyone watching and everything on the line? History. Fame. Teammates. Fans. All in one moment. Again, I remind you, my hands were shaking on my couch with none of this at stake. You may think elite athletes are a special breed, but that isn’t it. They may have special skills, but that doesn’t necessarily correlate to a special mentality. Take Ernie Els for example. 4-time major winner on the PGA tour was three feet away from making par on the first hole of the masters in 2016. 3-feet. He missed. And then proceeded to miss 5 more times. A quintuple bogey on the first hole from three feet away. Anna Kournikova - remember her? Photogenic Russian tennis star. Lost the ability to serve. 17 double faults in one set during a match. Look up Steve Sax, Rick Ankiel, Mackey Sasser, Chuck Knoblauch and you’ll find more elite athletes with incredible physical skills, who were unable to master the mental side of performance.Physical skills are just one part of the equation - what separates the good from the great and the greatest ...is the mental component.But these athletes don’t go it alone.  They don’t will themselves to be mentally tougher or stronger or more resilient. They have help. Mental Skills coaches are changing the way organizations consider their athletes. For a long time, it was a focus on physical strength, nutrition and repeated game-conditions practice to reach maximum output. But over the last decade, a greater emphasis has been placed on the mental side, conditioning the athletes with how to think, prepare, execute and frame their mind. Mental skills training now works in conjunction with strength and conditioning to make the athletes unlock their full potential. This to me is absolutely fascinating, unlocking the power of the mind to help the elite skills come through more consistently.  This is why I couldn’t be more excited to have Hannah Huesman, Philadelphia Phillies Mental Skills Coach and incredible social media follow, on the show… here’s Hannah:Questions for Hannah Huesman, Philadelphia Phillies Mental Skills Coach1: I’m so excited about this conversation because it is a totally new direction for our podcast – I’ve wanted to delve into the mindset as it applies to athletes, but also for job seekers, for a long time so I’m thankful to you for coming on.But before we get into you work with the Phillies organization, let’s go back a bit so we can understand how you got here. You were a division 1 athlete – playing both basketball and softball at UT-Chattanooga – so clearly you had a love of sports. Why did you decide you wanted sports to be more than just a hobby and you wanted it to be your career?2: I’ve always felt being a student-athlete is a huge advantage because of the life skills you get exposed to – time management, leadership, responsibility, teamwork – how did being a student-athlete help you in your life at large, but in your career especially?3: You studied kinesiology and exercise science as an underg...

Hey, everybody, I’m Brian Clapp, VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…Welcome to 2020 people!!December has been an awesome month, but I’ve missed all of you. Letting you behind the curtain a bit, December is one of the slowest months for the podcast, and for our business at large… but January is the biggest month of the year for us as a company.Makes sense right? People setting new goals for themselves, striving for something better in their life, so they go to our job board looking to find that job they’ve always dreamed of and start anew. They gravitate towards our podcast to set the stage for all they want out of themselves in the coming year...I love this time of year!But before we get to 2020 -- I love December from a family perspective, my kids have been home from school for the last 2 weeks and we all hung out together which was awesome. I have a 7th, 6th and 2nd grader, so you can imagine Christmas and the holiday season is a pretty big deal.From a business perspective, December is huge for us -- we spend the month planning and organizing our approach to the coming year. We set company goals, discuss new features and brainstorm concepts for the podcast and more. This is always an exciting time because I’m someone that likes to push forward, I’m never really content. I don’t have any major announcements today since our ideas to better our product aren’t completed yet… but let me tell you, it’s going to be awesome. As for the podcast. Yes, there are new ideas in the works thatI’m excited about… but one thing I can tell you is that I have a goal to double up in January. Normally I do about 4 interviews a month and release them every Monday. Well, I want to kick off January like a boss… so I’m going 8 this month, starting with Philadelphia Phillies Mental Skills Coach Hannah Huesman on Monday. I can’t even tell you how pumped I am about this interview.  Hannah is awesome. Like straight up, blow me away awesome. I think she may be one of our best and I hope to have her on more in the future. Also coming up this month -- Sloane Kelley USTA Managing Director of Content and Creative ServicesCelia Bousa Director of ESPN Next which is their leadership development programIshveen Anand, CEO of Open Sponsorship, a tech platform bringing athletes and brands togetherSam Ray, San Diego Padres Manager of Amateur ScoutingTimothy Duncan, University of New Orleans Athletic DirectorAnd then two more that aren’t fully confirmed yet so I can’t say… but are fingers crossed, awesome. But all that excitement is for another day..today on a rare Friday episode of the Work In Sports podcast, I have a topic I’d like to cover. I saw Frozen 2 with my kids over the break, which strangely enough has inspired this conversation… Let it goYes I know that’s from the first Frozen movie, but seeing frozen 2 reminded me of it, and Frozen 2 was kind of OK, so less inspiring to say the least. What I mean is, I want to talk about the things you can’t control (i.e. let it go) That is my last reference to the movie. In my 20s I was a control freak, but it was all a mirage. In my 30s I became disillusioned with the people around me, and I let it control me. In my 40s I realized the only thing I can control is myself and my reactions to the things around me. I choose how to feel and how to respond, but I don’t choose how others behave. I’ll explain this through the comments of one of our posters on the Work In Sports podcast private group on Facebook. They will remain nameless, and I am surely not here to shame them, rather I hope to enlighten a bit. They are frustrated, they’ve been on the full-time job search for a while and in the meantime they’ve been working part-time and seasonal jobs. Everytime this person posts, they voice their frustration with all the co-workers around them.They are always on their phones,

It’s one of the hottest topics in all of sports; Diversity and Inclusion. In this episode of the Work in Sports podcast host Brian Clapp welcomes Vincent Pierson, Minor League Baseball Director of Diversity and Inclusion for an insightful conversation on equality in our industry. Hi everybody, I’m Brian Clapp Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…People tune into sports as an escape. Their day to day lives hold stress – bills to pay, meetings to attend, promotions to fight for, sickness, relationships – all stressful endeavors.Sports, either playing or watching, in theory, is a release, a chance to tune out the external stressors and enjoy an art form not on canvas with oils and acrylics, but on the turf with muscles and mind power.My career has embodied this to a tee. I thought about working in hard news, but the constant stress of politics and death and fires and traffic and tragedy and peril – was too much for me. Sports was light. A passion play that I could engage my mind into the strategy, but stay loose and separate from the constant constriction of life.But this is a naïve viewpoint because sports isn’t separate from society, quite the opposite. Sports is a microcosm for society, mirroring the way it operates and often dealing with large-scale issues before they become large scale. Call sports a precursor to global events, almost a trial society where issues are played out int real-time, then graduated to the society at large.The sports world is complete with societies conflicts, assets, and defects.Our escape world is not bereft of greed, corruption, inequality or entitlement. Our personal utopia isn’t all upside, it’s flawed and broken just like the rest of the world.In sports, we deal with real-life issues like Ray Rice and Kareem Hunt’s issues with abuse, Tonya Harding conspiring to assault a competitor, Pete Rose gambling.  We deal with people ruined by drugs or alcohol like Roy Tarpley, Josh Gordon, Mickey Mantle, and Lance ArmstrongWe talk about social justice issues in the context of Colin Kaepernick, but the use of sports as a platform for social justice started decades ago.Why does sports act as a microcosm of our world? Because it is the ultimate meritocracy.Elite athletes are put into the position to thrive based purely on their skills and ability, not their color or gender.  If they stink they get cut, if they thrive and achieve and lead they get signed to massive contracts.When you have a meritocracy it almost forces diversity, because different people in different sports succeed in different ways. There is *some* balance.Alas, not all is rosy. The workplace in sports is just like the workplace in every other business in the world – there are struggles to enforce diversity and inclusion. Teams have had massive problems with these tenets. Google stories on the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks and your jaw could drop – they are far from the only two.This issue is hot. It’s important, and it deserves constant conversation and more importantly action. There are leaders in the field of Diversity and Inclusion as it relates to sports, none more impressive than today’s guest – Vincent Pierson, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for all of Minor League Baseball.  Let’s get to it – here’s Vincent Pierson.Questions for Vincent Pierson, Minor League Baseball Director of Diversity of Inclusion1: Before we get into the larger and extremely important issue of diversity and inclusion in sports, let’s talk a little about you. For undergrad you attended Virginia State, graduating in 2011 – at this point did you have the intention to work in sports or was that something that developed over your college experience?2: You have a Masters from Central Florida – how much did getting that extra ...

Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning at WorkInSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast. Last week I was in Phoenix for or business summit. The whole team at Work In Sports gets together -- we talk business, set strategy for the coming year, brainstorm ideas and features, crack a few beers eat some bad food -- it’s a great time. Oh, and I almost forgot -- we set goals. I’ve never been a big goal setter. Guess I never chose to look too far into the future, I always liked to be where I am and stay present in the moment. Which now that it say it out loud sure sounds like I’m a tree-hugging hippie...which in some ways I guess I am. But as I age… and since I have a birthday this week, this whole aging thing is smacking me right in the face… as i age, I do tend to look to the future more, I do tend to set goals and have expectations… and you know what? It feels pretty darn good each year when you hit them, or surpass them.Two years ago, I had a goal to launch a podcast for our brand. Check that box. I also had a goal for 1 million downloads. Haven’t checked that box.Last year I had a goal to create an online curriculum sharing the knowledge no one teaches you in college about getting hired in sports. Check that box. Welcome to the Work In Sports Academy. So I’m a goals guy now. And I kind of like it. I can still be where I am, still, feel present in the moment, but now I try to see where I’m going to be standing and how cool it looks -- just a little bit more.It’s incredibly motivating not just to have a goal, but to visualize what it will look and feel like when you hit it. I don’t know about you, but the visualization I have of what I will look like and feel like when I hit my goals is pretty awesome -- I’m super handsome, have a great tan, the sun is shining but I’m not sweating, my bosses are patting me on the back, my wife is laughing at my jokes… and my kids just look at me with such admiration.And.. daydream complete. Any way this dovetails brilliantly into today’s question from Kevin in Washington state. Kevin Asks… Hey Brian -- I’ve never heard you talk much about goal setting and its importance in advancing in your career and life. Can you provide any tips for setting goals that help drive you forward in your career?”Yes, Kevin. I can. My goal is to answer this question for you. But, with a caveat. There are hundreds of goal setting articles out there that will tell you how to set goals, SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-based. I could sit here and go through that kind of stuff… but someone else has spent decades writing this acronym and all the details of every term… you’d be better off listening to their podcast.  What I’d rather do is give you tips that can help you make your goals as logical as possible. 1. Write goals that align with your values.You’ll have bosses in life that want your goals to be all about the business and how you are driving it forward… but that’s uninspiring. And at the same time, if you only set goals that are personal in nature than a huge percentage of your life, which is spent at work, is a rudderless disarray of moments with no true directionYou need to make goals that fit your personal and professional life, that would give you joy and a sense of accomplishment in each...and the best way to do that is staying true to your values and what motivates you. Your goals need to be about you -- but remember a big part of you is your work life, so don’t forget to incorporate what motivates you there as well.2: Set Goals You Can Control.Saying you are going to get a job you love this year is not a goal you can control. You can’t control someone else deciding to hire you. You might as well be setting a goal saying “I’m going to get a girlfriend this year!” to which I would ask… does she have a choice in the matter because you sound a litt...

Mailynh Vu, Cleveland Indians Director of Talent Acquisition shares incredible insight into getting hired in the sports industry during this episode of the Work In Sports podcastAlright -- let’s start the countdown…Hey everybody, I’m Brian Clapp VP of Content and Engaged Learning for WorkInSports.com and this is the Work In Sports podcast…It’s that time of year.I don’t know about you but there is a rhythm to my work and life year. There are certain things, events or opportunities I try to focus on during different months or seasons. January is, without sounding too cheesy or cliche, it is a month of rebirth. Setting the stage for the new year and starting to accomplish the goals I have set for myself. But you can’t start accomplishing goals if you don’t set them -- so for me, December is for planning and strategizing.Yes, it is also the month for over-indulgence and lots of parties, but primarily it is a month I focus on planning.Planning takes different forms for different people -- I’m building out our content strategy, developing new ideas, resources, and budgets, deciding if I want an intern or two this year and a whole bunch of other things.But for you -- planning for the coming year make take on a completely different format, in fact, I suggest that it should. Most of you should be focused on how to make yourself the best possible candidate for jobs in the sports industry in 2020. Period. And to start off this season of planning, I’m going to do you a real solid. In 2019, we had a bevy of incredible guests, but one rose above the rest when it came to planning for your sports career. Mailynh Vu, Cleveland Indians Director of Talent Acquisition opened up her world to us - sharing insight into phone interviews, resume building, interviewing tips, hiring trends, mistakes people make that drive her crazy and so much more. If you listened to this episode last January when it debuted -- I don’t care - listen again. And if you are new to this episode, get out your pen and pencil… this is Master’s level stuff and you should be taking notes and building out your action plan for 2020. Here’s my good friend Mailynh Vu -- Download this episode of the Work In Sports podcast to learn more about how to get hired in the sports industry from Mailynh Vu, Cleveland Indians Director of Talent AcquisitionToday's Sponsors:If you’ve ever thought about a career in sports, check out the masters in SPORTS ADMINISTRATION program at NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY. You’ll learn essential skills from EXPERIENCED faculty with connections to COLLEGE, PROFESSIONAL, and AMATEUR athletics. You can choose a specialization in sports analytics and get in on a growing field. Earn your NORTHWESTERN master’s degree online or in convenient evening classes.Find out more at SPS.NORTHWESTERN.EDU/SPORTSAnd the Work In Sports podcast is brought to you by the Work In Sports academy -- our suite of four online courses designed to get you hired in sports. Let’s say you are about to enter your job search -- well our online course on interviewing would be great for you. In need of help refining your resume, cover letter, and personal brand - yeah we have a course for that too.Frustrated that you don't know anyone in the industry and your connections are limited -- well we can help you there.Our courses cover all the main tools the sports job seeker needs. Experience, networking, resume cover letters, social media branding, interviewing skills. And you can bundle them all into one super-discounted price -- check out our WorkInSports academy courses at Workinsports.com/academy