Kelsey Smith: Your Ticket into the Sports Industry – Work in Sports Podcast e102 - a podcast by Brian Clapp - Work in Sports

Getting into the sports industry by learning the revenue creation side of the business - that's our topic today with Kelsey Smith, Tampa Bay Lightning Account Executive.Hi everybody I’m Brian Clapp, Director of Content for WorkinSports.com and this is the Work in Sports podcast…When do you get started? How do you figure out what you want to do?These are some of the most common questions I get each and every week from fans – what is surprising to most is that they are intertwined.You figure out what you want in your sports career by getting started doing something.So ask yourself what is available? Is there an athletic department at your college or university? Likely there is, so get involved – try media relations, communication, sales, sports information, ticket sales, operations, recruiting, fundraising.What about a minor league baseball team, or basketball team – is there a golf event nearby? Road race?By getting involved as early and often as you can, you figure out what you like and what you don’t like.Say you worked in sports information at your college and figured out…nope not for me! That doesn’t mean it was a waste of time, quite the opposite, it means it was time well spent.. because what if you spent your entire college career planning for  ajob in sports information, then got a job and hated it.Now what? You’re out of school not like you can change course with ease!The earlier you get started the better suited you are to figure out your logical path. Don’t get crazy about exactly what, where or how --- just get in there and start doing!I’ve known too many people that waited and waited and waited…and then the moment passed them by.To further clarify this point – this week I’m bringing on friend of the podcast Kelsey Smith – Kelsey is in her second year as a Master’s student at University of South Florida and already has 10 legitmate experiences on her resume, including the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Lightning.And you know what… she’s changed career objectives over that time, because by doing the job she learned what she didn’t like which is just as valuable as what she did.Listen in and learn from this high riser in the sports industry – here’s Kelsey Smith!Questions for Aspiring MiLB General Manager Kelsey Smith1: The first thing I notice about you Kelsey, is that you have a clear vision for who you want to be – the very first words on your LinkedIn profile say “Future Minor League Baseball General Manager” – how important has it been for you to have clarity in your goals?A: When and how did you figure out who you wanted to be?B: Since you know where you want to end up, has it made your decisions on subjects like  – where to intern, what courses to take – has it made those choices easier?2: You completed your undergrad at Miami Ohio from 2013-2017 – and right away in 2013 you began interning in the Athletic Department – what was that experience like as a freshman new to college but thrusting yourself into your career.3: After that you worked for the Hamilton Joes collegiate summer league baseball team in their communication department, then as a sports information director for the Miami of Ohio swimming and diving team, then for Penn FC in media relations – all during your undergrad – you were hella focused.These are varied roles, how important was it for you to get exposure to many different things in the industry in order to figure out what you really wanted?4: All this on your resume by the time you finished your undergrad – but instead of joining the workforce, you went for your Master’s – why?5: You and I have spoken before about Master’s programs and I feel many programs don’t do a good job preparing people for the real world – they don’t provide real experience, or hands on application of the classroom...

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