What could be more exciting than a career in the sport and recreation industry? Filled with action and activity, you can be sure every day will be different! While only a few talented athletes will make it into professional teams, there’s more to the sporting industry than just playing the game. Why not see if the young sports lover in your life is interested in incredible behind-the-scenes efforts that go into their favourite sporting events, such as their local footy competition or Commonwealth Games?  

There are plenty of other opportunities out there for your child to have a career in sports and athletics that best suit their skills, attributes, and abilities. Here are a few out-of-the box ideas you can read with your teen to get a career conversation started today.

Sport Event Management

Event management is a fast-paced and dynamic career that will have you planning, preparing and producing sporting events that will keep on-the-ground spectators and TV audiences engaged. The role involves overseeing all aspects of scheduling, budgeting, marketing, emergency planning and funding. Australia’s reputation for sporting excellence puts us on the world stage for sporting events, like the upcoming 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, so there are always plenty of exciting opportunities available! 

To proceed in this career, you will likely need a bachelor’s degree in sports management or athletic administration. You’re someone who is detail-oriented, dependable, extroverted, has good problem-solving skills and strong leadership traits. To get started, why not participate in running community events by volunteering through your local sports club. 

Sports Journalist

Media is vital to the coverage of sport as entertainment so if you are interested in a sports writing or broadcasting career, sports journalism could be for you! The role of broadcasting sport is also to increase public exposure, marketing opportunities, brand awareness and sponsorship. Your day-to-day tasks would be to write about amateur and professional sports by interviewing coaches and players, providing match summaries and reporting game statistics. Your work would then be published in newspapers and magazines, on websites, and aired on TV and radio stations. If writing isn’t your thing, other related careers include being a producer or sports photographer. 

This is a great career if you’re a strong writer or confident speaker, and your favourite subject at school is probably English! You love researching, investigating different angles and have great critical thinking skills. Sports journalism is a very competitive field so why not start building your portfolio now by writing for your school newsletter or sending in an article to TAS to be featured in our monthly email!

Physical Education Teacher

We’ve all got our favourite teachers and subjects, but we can guess one of yours is PE, right? As a teacher, your role is to motivate and inspire young people to live healthy lives by teaching them basic techniques and skills associated with team games and individual sports. This is achieved through planning and delivering lessons, arranging competitive matches and assessing students in line with the requirements of the curriculum. Your lessons will help students develop their physical fitness, ensure their personal wellbeing and encourage social interaction.

To become a teacher, you will need to complete a bachelor’s degree in education and then a postgraduate course in physical education. You also have the opportunity throughout your career to gain coaching accreditations to coach school teams. This career is great for someone who is enthusiastic, patient, has good communication skills and enjoys participating in sport. You could even return to teach at the TAS school your graduated from! Many alumni love giving back to their school community by teaching or coaching. 

Sports & Exercise Psychologist

You might not realise it,  but psychology plays a big part in a sporting career as much of your performance is related to your mental resilience and state of mind. You might have even noticed this about yourself when you’ve been out on the field! As a sports or exercise psychologist you may work as a trainer, consultant or therapist with professional athletes, adults, and children. This is an exciting and challenging career where you can branch off to specialise in two areas:

  • Exercise Psychology – This focuses on the theoretical and practical elements of human movement, anatomy, and biology. You’ll likely specialise in movement for rehabilitation to help people recover from injuries and provide exercises for wellbeing.
  • Sports Psychology – This focuses on concentration, mental preparation and mental health, anxiety and stress management, team building, leadership, and communication. 

This role would suit someone who is patient, understanding, excellent at listening and has great communication skills. You’ll need to gain a qualification as a registered psychologist to get started but a degree in this field is sure to open many doors.  

Selecting a career path is a big decision and often influenced by many things such as your interests, family and culture. Be brave, follow your passion and seek the advice of others by speaking to people who work in a role you might be interested in. Ask your careers advisor at school what an average day in different careers looks like, attend careers expos and think about what your recent achievements have been such as writing a story that was published or winning awards through your sports clubs.