If you love to watch sports but aren't very good at playing them, you can still have a rewarding career in the industry. After all, athletes and sports venues have plenty of needs that extend beyond the field.
So here are just a few ideas for sports-related careers that require no athletic ability whatsoever.
Sport Recruiter
Do you have a natural eye for spotting up-and-coming talent in your favorite sport? Then, you could have a future as a recruiter or scout. While having playing experience can help develop scouting talents, it isn't necessary.
A kinesiology degree can help you understand human form and function to assess playing ability. Non-athlete scouts may also find some coaching experience helpful since it provides insight into the other side of the player/team equation.
Facilities Manager
Sports stadiums and venues require a lot of maintenance. All of those repairs and updates take someone who is not only handy but also very organized.
You will need to arrange for work to be performed when the facility is not used while ensuring everything — from the bathrooms to the online charging system — is up and running come game time.
Athletic Director
If you prefer to take on an administrative role, you might be interested in working as an athletic director.
These positions are available at both the high school and college levels, and your role will vary depending on the level and size of the school's athletic program.
A few of the most common responsibilities of an athletic director include:
- Developing an appropriate budget for the sports program and teams
- Scheduling games
- Ordering equipment and supplies
- Arranging for stadium maintenance, repairs, and concessions if there is not a full-time facilities director
- Choosing uniforms and ensuring there are enough for each team
- Public relations and community outreach on behalf of the school's sports programs
- Managing coaching staff
Event Coordinator
Even small sporting events require a lot of planning, so a career as an event planner is an excellent way for non-athletes to spend time around their favorite sport.
In this role, you will work with various venue staff and vendors, teams, and the media to bring all the details together for awesome events.
Sports Official
Do you know all the rules by heart, even if you can't execute them flawlessly? Then you may be a perfect candidate for a referee or umpire position.
Sports officials are integral to pretty much every sport that is played. A career as a referee does not usually require formal education, but you will need to know all of the rules and be ready to enforce them.
Depending on your chosen sport, officials can be either active (baseball or hockey, for example) or relatively sedentary (such as tennis or boxing).
Either way, they must always be alert and impartial. You cannot have favorites when it comes to officiating since it can skew the calls you make.
Statistical Analyst
Analysts perform a vital role for sports teams. They take large amounts of data and parse it down to information that coaches, players, and recruiters can use.
You may want to begin by learning more about Cloud Migration. This aids in decision-making processes and helps teams stay on top of trends in their performance.
Sports Medicine
A career in sports medicine could be the perfect fit for science-minded sports enthusiasts. Some examples include athletic trainers, physical therapists, orthopedics, surgeons, physicians, and sports psychologists.
These jobs often require extensive education, but they are a great way to combine a love of medicine and biomechanics, helping people, and sports into a rewarding career path.
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Even if you have little to no natural athletic ability, you can still find a fulfilling sports-related career.
For example, jobs in event or facilities management or a career as an athletic director or event coordinator make excellent use of administrative skills.
Those more interested in the specifics of games may find coaching, recruiting, or officiating more rewarding. At the same time, the most science- and math-oriented sports fans could thrive in sports medicine or statistical analyst roles.
