Career in Sports

Introduction::

UNESCO has defined Sports as “Any physical activity which has the character of play and which involves struggle with oneself or with others, or a confrontation with natural elements”. They also added that “if this activity involves competition, it must then be performed in a spirit of sportsmanship. There can be no true sports without the idea of fair play”. Rules are the most important part of sports which are formed to establish quality and increase competition in every sport. Participation in sports is a great way of staying active and improves our mental and physical health too. Sports offer an enjoyable and exciting environment where you learn to handle both failure and success. Learning how to cope with the success and failure can improve your mental health. Some sports such as hunting, fishing, running, swimming, originated from the rhythms and work requirements of primitive everyday life whereas some, such as riding, shooting, throwing the javelin, or archery originated from early military practices. Still others like boxing, wrestling and jumping arose from challenges and hostilities that accompanied human interaction. Sports refer to the activities in which the physical capacities or abilities of the competitor primarily determines the outcome i.e. winning or losing but its not right in the case of mind sports such as card and board games and motor sports where equipment quality is a major factor.

REQUIREMENTS OF MODERN SPORTS

Specialist equipment – latest or technologically advanced equipment is used to gain significant advantages over other competitors in sports.

Technical and Motor skills – here, the technical and motor skills of sportspersons are improved by the coaches who have in-depth knowledge in motor skill learning and biomechanical analysis in sports ranging from gymnastics to football.

Tactical Innovations – weaknesses of the opposing team is found out through videotaping and notational analysis.

Sports Psychology – ranges from stress handling and motivation to acceptance of defeat and injury.

Sports Nutrition and Biochemistry – its very important with techniques such as carbohydrate loading for muscle glycogen boosting and importance of maintaining fluid balance is recognized.

Sports Medicine – used to treat or even prevent injury.

Team Selection – is of major importance and demands a broad range of managerial, organizational and personal skills.

Physical fitness – usually sportspersons require high level of physical fitness.

SOME COMMON SPORTS

Tennis
Football
Rugby
Cricket
Chess
Archery
Boxing
Martial arts
Racing
Athletics
Shooting
Swimming
Wrestling
Hockey
Billiards
Basketball
Volleyball
Cycling

Nature of Work:

The various options available in sports as a full time career:

Coaching

This option has now assumed a greater significance with more and more schools and parents realising the importance of physical activity. Many parents prefer educational institutions that offer their children a wholesome curriculum covering activities like swimming, horse riding and yoga etc. As more and more Indian sportspersons gain fame and recognition in the international scene, many a parent is willing to let his ward have a chance at proving his mettle in sports. Educational institutions are expected to provide opportunities for students to determine where their aptitude lies. Therefore job openings in this area have increased manifold. This can be a rewarding and satisfying job for a person who enjoys outdoor activities and mingling with youngsters.
Besides educational institutions, many private clubs employ coaches for teaching groups of youngsters. These may be special vacation batches or even regular evening batches. Upcoming sportspersons sometimes employ personal coaches to enhance and optimise their performance. In this situation, it is the responsibility of a coach to chalk out numerous training programmes that will help keep the trainee in perfect mental and physical shape. One star prodigy can help shoot the coach also into limelight.

Sportspersons

Once a person decides to take up playing a particular sport or athletic activity as a profession, then the training for it takes precedence over everything else. A strict training regimen under the expert guidance of a coach, coupled with a wholesome and nutritious diet programme (again under expert guidance) needs to be followed. The country encourages and supports those who excel in their fields and bring the country’s name into limelight in international sports meets. Actual performance on field may be short-lived, but a successful stint opens many other avenues for a sportsperson who retires from active sports due to age. Positions in state level and national level sports organisations are often offered to sportspersons after they retire from active sports.

Private sector

The increasing awareness about physical fitness and the popularity enjoyed by many games has led to the mushrooming of sports clubs all over the country. From simple ones that offer coaching to ones that are fully equipped to cater to the elites and upper classes. Such clubs are privately owned and the owners prefer persons with exposure in relevant sporting fields to operate sports and leisure clubs. Such jobs carry many administrative responsibilities alongside.. Persons working in such places need to have excellent interpersonal skills, as they will need to interact with many people who come to use the facilities offered by the club, with various sportspersons to be appointed as instructors, equipment suppliers and so on.

Consultants (sports medicine)

The current awareness about health and fitness has created a need for experts who can advise individuals about their health needs and suggest a personalised fitness programme taking into account lifestyle, time constraints and other relevant factors. Such professionals may be employed in an advisory capacity by leading health clubs. Hospitals and rehabilitation centres also utilise the services of such specialists to provide sound advice on the best course of action for patients who need structured physical activity. Such specialists also attend to the maladies of the sportspersons during action e.g. sprains, muscle pulls, torn ligaments, fractures etc. Physiotherapists are also required in the field of sports to provide continuous and sustained treatment to the injured individuals.

Manufacturing sports equipment

Innovation and experience is an excellent combination and works well in many areas including that of sports equipment manufacture. This is a very specialised field and has new products aimed at enhancing the innate abilities of sportspersons and enabling them to do their best. Big sporting events like the Olympics/Asian/Commonwealth games regularly showcase such innovative equipment, of which many go on to become standard equipment. Sports goods and equipment has an increasing market. So specialists are engaged to help in market research and development.

Eligibilty:

Training in sports can be had under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India, if a trainee fulfills the minimum requirements where aptitude and talents are concerned. The minimum educational qualification is a 10+2 pass. Deserving students are offered financial assistance in the form of scholarships and training in special institutions at the government’s cost. There are many state level and national level associations and councils set up for the purpose of finding and nurturing sporting talent in the country.

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