Talent management: What does it mean for the athlete?

I am often asked what managing an athlete involves and what it is that Sports Communication Australia does for our clients. And the answer is not an easy one. We do lots of different things for different sets of circumstances. There is no textbook description for what athlete management is – for some it’s purely contract negotiation, for others it’s sponsorship sales and revenue raising, publicity planning and management, high performance management or even simply diary keeping. For most it’s a combination of all of the above. Most of all though, it’s about looking after the welfare of the athlete in a way that enables them to perform at their best for the maximum period of time available in their careers. Here’s five things that having a manager means for an elite athlete:

They have someone with whom to develop a brand and marketing strategy that can be implemented for financial gain.

Who is the athlete and what do they stand for? What is their story? Why would someone want to ‘interrupt’ their busy lives to support the athlete, whether that be through emotional or financial support, if there is no ‘connection’ to them and their story? A good manager will help you create that brand story and update it as the athlete’s career progresses.

A good manager will help an athlete create a personal brand that should align with endorsements

They have someone to covet, engage and manage sponsorship that in turn allows the athlete to prioritise their focus on elite performance.

If there’s no money in the bank, paying rent, funding the masses of food and supplements required to fuel the body, car and petrol costs and every other day-to-day expense that we all deal with becomes a challenge that can effect performance. If an athlete has to work a regular job in times when they’d be best served training or even recovering they are not aiding performance. Just thinking about financial pressures can hinder peak performance.

They have someone to manage media requests for them and offer media training.

Not all publicity is good publicity! And having a PR plan – and the network to implement it - is more than half the battle. Understanding how to ‘sell’ your brand to the media and when to pitch what, is a challenge that all too many athletes and management companies struggle with.

Media proficiency is a vital part of an athlete’s armoury. Being a good media performer not only does wonders for an athlete’s brand and marketability but it can reduce the stress around competition or crisis situations if an athlete knows they can handle the heat. Like most things in life, improving your ability in front of the media takes practice. An athlete manager can help school the athlete in this area.

Media proficiency is a vital part of an athlete’s armoury

They have someone to assist in engaging and utilising specialised professional services.

Like the rest of us, an elite athlete requires the assistance of professionals in the accounting, financial planning, banking and legal sectors from time to time. The pure nature of an athlete’s career means the consistency and level of their income stream while they compete is not normal and whilst a run of the mill accountant or lawyer can probably do a fair job of managing the athlete’s best interests, a professional with direct experience with athletes or entertainers can benefit the athlete greatly. Knowing how to best utilise any money they may make during the course

of their careers can help an athlete enormously later in life. A manager can guide them through this process.

A manager can help an athlete with professional services and field the myriad of requests for their time

They have someone to manage day-to-day enquiries and requests from supporters, sponsors, stakeholders and other groups that offer the potential for distraction.

As an athlete’s profile and resume grows, usually so too do the myriad of outside commitments and expectations on the athlete to ‘please everyone’. A manager is able to sift through the enquiries and requests for the athlete’s time and prioritise in a manner that best balances high performance, the promotion of the athlete’s brand and time.

The Sports Communication Australia way

At Sports Communication Australia we focus on nurturing a close personal relationship with our athletes that is based more on personal well-being and development than pure dollars and cents. We believe, if the athlete has everything in their off-field life firing, then with the right application, the desired level of performance will eventuate and the commercial opportunities will follow.

More info……

For more information about athlete and talent management, or to contact

Sports Communication Australia, email dave@sportscomm.com.au or call

+61 403 777 026.