When The Job's A Game: Athletes, Coaches, Sports Officials and Related Workers

This was a periodical from SIRS Knowledge Source that I found for my bibliography during the first semester. I thought it would be a good idea to look through some of those, so that I had a variety of posts; not just posts about mentor meetings or what I was doing with Kim. This is what it was about.

First of all, it gave an inside look at how all of the different people involved with sports work together. That, I thought, was a really nice touch. It showed how everybody has a major part.

Athlete
During the section specifically about athletes, it talked about how they not only play the game for spectators, but they spend hours and hours under the supervision of coaches and other sports officials while they practice. "To succeed, professional athletes need to understand the rules and strategies of their sport, be in exceptional physical condition, use excellent form and technique, and compete fairly. "

Coaches
Coaches train the athletes by having them perform drills routinely. They improve skills, techniques, conditioning and they strengthen weaknesses. They advise the athletes so that they play to their potential. One of the most important functions of a coach that is often overlooked is the fact that they motivate the athletes to play well. Coaches also instruct their athletes during a game to get the to play the way they need to, or run a certain play, etc.

Sports Officials
This group includes Referees, Umpires and other sports officials. These are the people who control the game. They make sure everything is played according to the rules. They make calls for scoring, outs, just about everything. They promote fair, safe play, and encourage sportsmanship.

Athletic Trainers
They specialize in the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of athletic injuries. There are many injuries in the professional sports scene, so they have been necessary there for quite some time. There are still quite a few in college, so many colleges have their own team. More and more high schools have been employing Athletic Trainers to help with student athletes. They help athletes avoid being hurt by teaching them how to condition correctly. Trainers design and monitor strength, cardiovascular and training programs for athletes. Athletic Trainers also select equipment, maintain athletic training areas, stock supplies and keep records.

Scouts
The scouts are there as intelligence agents for the team. They go around looking not only at younger players making their way up, they also look in on other teams to see what they are doing. This helps the team get a better feel for what to expect when they play other teams.

For everybody involved with a job in sports, the hours are very irregular. Some teams have 4-7 month seasons, so many people work part time, and nights and weekends. A trainer for instance will work with the team, not only during the season, but will work with the athletes during the off season so that they stay in shape and continue doing a proper exercise program. During the season, they work with the team, and they travel with the team, so they work many nights and weekends.
Travel is a big part of the job. Half of the games in a professional sport are away from home. In extreme cases, like baseball, that's 81 games away from home. That is a long time, there are stretches where people won't be home for 2-3 weeks at a time, multiple times during the season. It is a big commitment to be involved with a job that is in the sports field.


Kasper, Henry. "When The Job's A Game: Athletes, Coaches, Sports Officials and Related Workers." SIRS Knowledge Source. Gale, Spring 2001. Web. 29 Jan. 2010.