As a high school sports star, you may be fortunate enough to find yourself in a position to work toward a career as a professional athlete. You’ve got the right combination of knowledge, natural physical gifts, and work ethic to be considered one of the top prospects in the country. That’s great…but it carries a…
Jennifer Smith
Author Archive | Jennifer Smith
Retired Athletes and Addiction
Retirement is a huge life transition for a professional athlete. The majority of retired athletes have been competitors all their lives — it’s what they know. It’s what they do. featuGiven the uncertainty and emotions that can come with retirement, it isn’t surprising to find that a number of pro athletes battle addiction once they’re…
What’s Fueling Economic Growth In Sports Business?
America is a uniquely sports-enthused nation. The entire industry — participation, television viewing, and sports attendance — has an estimated worth in the range of $70 billion per year. About 40 million people in the US will play at least one game of softball each year; far more will take aim at a basketball rim….
How Software Influences Your Success In A Sports Career
Working in the world of sports is a complicated proposition. To begin with, you can’t do it just for the love of the game. Yes, it helps to be passionate about the sports you work with, but the nuts and bolts of what you do day in and day out is actually more important. You’ll…
“Take Me Out To The Ball Game” Becoming Big Business
Three decades ago a friend of mine took his girlfriend on a scenic tour of what you would call the “Rust Belt” – cities that were once powerhouse industrial towns in the east-central part of the country. Only their tour of Cleveland, Detroit, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia was not about steel mills or any other…
What An Endorsement Means for the World’s Biggest Sports Apparel Brands
In a big marketing move for the NBA, Nike will officially provide uniforms for the entire league beginning in the 2017–18 season. The brand announced it would be replacing Adidas, and plans to provide jerseys, warm-up clothing, and shooting shirts to NBA players. The real “slam-dunk” is that Nike’s brand will actually be printed on…
Small Business Ideas to Compete Against the Big Dogs
When it comes to sports gear, you would be justified in thinking there are only a few brands where you can shop. The truth is there are hundreds, if not thousands of smaller sports gear companies out there. Moreover, many of them use small business ideas to directly compete with the larger brands and succeed! Competing against…
Computer Security In Pro Sports: The Unseen Player
Computer security is an inescapable topic these days. Frequent hacks of employers, retailers, and healthcare institutions have put millions of us in the line of fire for identity theft. Like any other business, professional sports teams face these same hazards. They must safeguard social security numbers and other personal data for employees and vendors, but…
Why NFL Teams’ Business is Our Business
Are you ready for some football? Well maybe not yet, but attending NFL games and rooting for your local or favorite NFL teams occupies most of the fall. Fans across the country gather on Sundays to watch and hope their team is victorious. Football is a way of life for many major cities and smaller communities….
Why There Are No Weird Sports
Weird sports – they’re everywhere, and played by everyone. The things people do in the name of sports would curl your toes. No, really: one of those sports is toe wrestling. That didn’t quite make it into the Olympics, but it was not for lack of trying. When you think about it, there really is no such…
Pain Killers, Athletes and Addiction
Ability is everything on the field, court, ice and pitch. If you can’t perform to the best of your physical abilities, someone will be ready to take your place. Your coaches and managers, who should be considered as mentors and borderline parental figures, won’t hesitate to replace you if your body is no longer able…
Discovering Your Career in Sports Medicine
Sports medicine is a great career for people who love to work with athletes, improve their performance, help them recover from an injury and prevent future injuries. The career path is ripe with future opportunity as well. This skill set is in demand by everyone from professional athletes to high school and college students to…