Sports sector is currently one of the major employers across the globe as it provides job opportunities to millions of players or athletes and managers or administrators. Many sports are currently popular, and a significant number of people turn out to watch sports like football, netball, and baseballs. However, like any other businesses, managing a sports organization requires the use of techniques and strategies that can enhance the competitive advantage. Sports managers or administrators are required to engage in planning, coordination, and welfare and relationship management to help the team succeed in achieving the set goals and objectives. Therefore, I interviewed Kara Barton, NBC Sports Sponsorship Account Manager, to gain more information and knowledge about sports management, including some of the challenges that are faced by sports managers.
One thing that came out clearly during the interview was that sports management or profession requires a lot of passion. Kara Barton was passionate about sports when he was still young, and he was determined to enter the sports profession. To succeed as a sports manager, a person must be able to understand various aspects of sports. Importantly, it is essential for a person to have a clear understanding of the environment under which sports organizations operate ( Hoye et al ., 2008) . It is also critical for a sports profession to understand rule and regulations that guide a given sports activities. However, an in-depth understanding of sporting activities can only be achieved when a person is passionate about sports and is ready to learn all its aspects. At the same time, passion is necessary for sports management as it helps in withstanding some of the challenges that a person may encounter when managing a sports organization. Thus, passion is essential in sports profession, and both athletes and managers or administrators should be passionate (B. Kara, personal communication, December 2, 2018) . As in the case of Kara Barton, many people who are passionate about sports have turned their passion into a fulfilling and enjoyable career.
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Communication and interpersonal skills are important in sports, especially for those in management positions like Kara Barton. Barton explained that building a relationship and employing effective communication skills are some of the main factors that determine the success of a sports manager. Sports administrators like Barton oversee almost all aspects of the sports organization and events. For instance, they are monitoring and coordinating activities, make and implement the budget for the organization, and work closely with suppliers. A lot of administrative activities involve communication (B. Kara, personal communication, December 2, 2018) . Therefore, to succeed in the career, I always believe that a person must have effective communication skills. Sports professionals like Kara Barton should be able to clearly express the needs of their departments while making their intended message known to the receiver of information. Effective communication is even more critical when dealing with technical issues like budget or financial matters ( Kumar, 2017) . I think that many athletes and coaches do not understand the technical concepts of accounting and they may not be interested in them, even though they demand effective and transparent financial information. As a result, precise and clear communication is important to reduce misunderstanding while gaining the trust of stakeholders in an organization. Hence, as explained by Barton in the interview, sports managers or administrators should have effective communication skills to succeed in the sports profession.
Apart from effective communication, interpersonal skills are necessary for sports profession. Barton stated that his job involves frequent interaction with people from various departments, including stakeholder like Wells Fargo. At the same time, sometimes negotiating deals with various stakeholders, making effective interpersonal skills inevitable in the sports profession. Based on the information from the interview, I concur with Barton that sports managers interact with people from various social and professional backgrounds, including athletes, coaches, suppliers, and medical experts. Effective interpersonal skills can help sports managers and administrators to have a fruitful and beneficial interaction with other stakeholders ( Pitts & Pedersen, 2005) . Importantly, they should be ready to speak in public and comfortably interact with all types of people. People skills are necessary for sports management or administration because it is a career that is characterized by frequent interpersonal interaction.
Effective communication and interpersonal skills are important because they enhance teamwork and team building skills that are required in any form of sports. Teamwork requires a lot of motivation and high level of cooperation that can easily be achieved through clear communication and people skills ( Kumar, 2017) . Although the work of sports managers may be administrative, they are, in many cases, required to brief players and coaches about the progress of the team. Therefore, teamwork and teambuilding skills are required in sports management. The success of any sports organization requires teamwork. Also, organizations skills are essential in sports management (B. Kara, personal communication, December 2, 2018) . Barton is forced to multi-task, coordinate, and arrange for various activities. He opined that coordination is one of the most challenging tasks in sports management, especially when many stakeholders are involved. However, for people like Barton require sound organizational skills to effectively coordinate and multi-task to achieve the set goals and objectives. Any management or administrative work requires organizational skills to succeed.
Besides, according to Barton, sports management requires a high level of analytical skills and creativity. The work of people like Barton is to search for a competitive advantage for the team while ensuring the smooth running of the organization (B. Kara, personal communication, December 2, 2018) . However, any organization can achieve a competitive advantage without engaging in analytical thinking and be creative. Sports managers should be able to understand and analyze data and information that they receive on a daily basis ( Araújo, Mesquita & Hastie, 2014) . Analytical thinking can help sports organizations to address some of the most challenging issues that they face and come up with new ideas to improve the operations ( Kumar, 2017) . Besides, finding a way in which a sports organization can stand out among its rivals require a high level of creativity. Creativity is import in sports organizations because it helps in achieving sustainability in high-pressure areas like sports. Analytical thinking and creativity are required in sports management because they determine the success of any organization significantly.
Sports management does not require a person to be the only major on a given professional field. On the contrary, a person should have knowledge and skills in diverse areas such as financial management, marketing, and sponsorship. Having diverse skills is essential in sports management because managers are sometimes forced to work or make deals with people from various professional fields ( Pitts & Pedersen, 2005) . Thus, I agree that people venturing in the sports profession should be ready to gain knowledge and skills in various academic areas. A sports manager may encounter a lot of challenge when he is forced to negotiate a deal in the area he has no sufficient knowledge in, particularly when it involves some technical aspects.
Sports management also demands a lot of time because it involves a lot of activities. Barton, for instance, is forced to work long hours in a single day. Sometimes he is forced to spend about ten hours in an office. Therefore, the job may be straining, and it may be associated with a lot of fatigue. Moreover, it may affect family relationship when a person is forced to spend many hours in an office. Barton stated that working long hours at night limits the time he spends with his children. Working for long hours a day may be challenging for people with families, as in the case of Barton ( Ruseski et al ., 2011) . However, determination and passion may help a persona to overcome the challenges like long working hours that are associated with sports management. However, despite the long working hours, Barton still described the corporate culture in the profession as the low-pressure environment. Nonetheless, this depends on the nature of the jobs. For instance, the corporate culture can be defined as the low-pressure environment for freelancers and not full-time employees.
In conclusion, sports management is one of the most challenging yet fulfilling professions, particularly when a person has the right knowledge, skills, and capabilities. Passion, effective interpersonal and communication skills, analytical thinking, and organizations skills are important in sports management. At the same time, young people who are interested in the profession must be ready to face challenges such as long working hours. At the same time, they should be ready to embrace stiff competition in the job marketed because of the high number of qualified experts. Generally, sports management is a good and fulfilling profession, particularly when a person is passionate about sports and is ready to learn and adapt.
References
Araújo, R., Mesquita, I., & Hastie, P. A. (2014). Review of the status of learning in research on sports education: Future research and practice. Journal of Sports Science & Medicine , 13 (4), 846-858.
Kumar, S. (2017). Soft skills for sports management. International Journal of Physical Education, Sports, and Health , 4 (3), 152153.
Pitts, B., & Pedersen, P. M. (2005). Examining the body of knowledge in sports management: A content analysis of the Journal of Sports Management. The SMART Journal , 2 (1), 33-52.
Ruseski, J. E., Humphreys, B. R., Hallmann, K., & Breuer, C. (2011). Family structure, time constraints, and sports participation. European Review of Aging and Physical Activity , 8 (2), 57-66.
Hoye, R., Smith, A., Nicholson, M., Steward, B., & Westerbeek, H. (2008). Sports management . Retrieved From https://eclass.uoa.gr/modules/document/file.php/PHED398/Sport%20Management%20Readings/Sport%20Management%20Principles%20and%20Applications%204th%20Edition%20%5BDr.Soc%5D.pdf
