Career Paths Within the Game

#1

Hey guys,

I am a 16 yr. old sophomore who is just starting to think about my future.
I really would like to find a career within the game. Some ideas that come to mind:

Athletic Trainer- Help train a college baseball team or even high school.
Sports Medicine- Team Doc.
Coach- I’d love to be a pitching coach. Pitching is my passion when it comes to baseball, and helping kids with it would be great one day.

Whatever I do when I graduate highschool, I just wanna stick around Baseball and stay on the field. Even if I can’t play college ball, maybe I can coach or train it one day in the future?

What can I do to make any of these careers a reality?

Thanks!

#2

Well keep in mind there is all sorts of media…print, video, radio…internet involved and you also have stuff within what they call “the front office”, they need I.T. support, they need accountants, they need office managers, they need people who negotiate with vendors…wow I’m starting to think I might want a career shift :smiley: Facilities maintenance (Not just 'Grounds Crew") and then you have the hated ump…all sorts of things that can go along there…you have marketing and promotions…(In some minor league parks this can be the most fun a human being can have and still get paid…Turner Field in Atlanta is ONE HUGE COMMERCIAL). My suggestion is that if you have a team in your area, see if you can intern, or even be a batboy (One of our Seniors is a batboy for our local L.A. Dodger affiliate and is making super contacts and gets to live his dream of being on the field with pros)…It’s a whole industry so getting in as a young man can end up being a really great life. Did I mention the whole arena of scouting? As you can see baseball as an industry has many many jobs/career paths. Then you have college ranks that are just a different scale but much of the same. If you make it and remember all the good advice…old jd wants box seats…don’t matter what ball park :smiley:

#3

A Pitching Coach you say? Well, here’s my suggestion for a career path as a Pitching Coach with competitive baseball, NOT your local town’s Park and Recreation kiddie’s league.

  • Enroll in a college near by that has a Physical Education program and obtain your undergraduate degree. At the same time, play for that college’s ball club in the rotation. Offer to assist that club’s coaching staff in any way possible like with general administration matters, NCAA or other governing body’s rules administration, and the like. Start your professional library of the how-what-n-why’s based on your observations and your own experiences. Coaching others while having “been there” has no substitutes.
    And while you’re in college and your learning from the experience of others, take note of the “rock-n-the-hard-spot” that your coaches have to deal with daily, like – budgetary restraints and limitations, health related issues that spring up out of no where from the players who you’d least expect it from, notices for the dean of students that your star players aren’t cutting it grades wise, kids that leave your team right in the middle of the season because of problems back home, law suits for the stupidest things, internal administration politics from other coaches and sports programs demanding more of the sports $$ and resource allocations, labor strikes by bus drivers, stadium workers, local police,and campus security.
    A never ending shortage of parking spaces, stolen equipment, equipment providers that go out of business – with your money, and on it goes.
    I would also suggest taking special note of how to USE people. How to recruit one player with no real intention of playing the kid … he’s just USED to light a fire under the kid that you really want. After tryouts – one kid gets a pat on the back and a hardy welcome … and the other gets a thanks kid … but no thanks. Then there’s the recruiting game itself which can go from the extremely selfish to the down right decent human beings. You’ll also have a book load of experiences and situations that you’ll be able to make a movie about later in life. As a recruiter you’ll be welcomed with open arms at one house , while wondering how the heck your going to outrun a Brahma Bull at the next house. Then – without fail, you’ll get this kids father that swears the kid can throw 100 mile per hour… and says here … let’m show ya! … He then proceeds to toss you something that resembles a pot holder and tells his kid to go ahead and let you have it!

  • As you work within the college environment you’ll no doubt make contacts outside the academic world by volunteering to assist high school, Legion, and other youth baseball programs. There you’ll get a great amount of exposure of the constant money raising issues, parents bucking for their kids time in the sun, coaches with their trophy cases neatly arranged for that next tournament accolade at season’s end, and the assortment of organizations that are a combination of sponsor and bar fly collaborative.
    Now why would all this be important to you if you have pro ball aspirations? Well, get use to it – this is the general public. These are the people that will occupy the majority of your time while your climbing the ladder.

  • Perhaps college is not your thing. Perhaps you’ll start by helping out some local church league, or maybe get a job as an intern with a club that can get you not only experience, but also CONTACTS. Ahhh, there’s a words for you….CONTACTS. I honestly don’t believe I can say this any plainer than this… in the world of baseball employment, it’s all about WHO you know. So, it only goes to figure that the more people that you make CONTACT with, the better off your going to be. Does this matter even if you’re a great pitching coach – yep! Pitching coaches are not a guiding light of a clubs rotation – at the highly competitive level… as much as we’d like to be. A ton of what we have to work with comes from the decision process made by others. “Deal with it”, is a favorite expression.

  •       Living accommodations are an eye-opener for first year coaches at any PLAYING level. Sometimes, it’s a single room over a garage, or a motel room that shared with another coach, and still others are offered the joy of using the owners Winnebago for the season.

  • Ok, let’s get down to some real interesting stuff … like money. You know those $$$$$$$$$$ contracts that you’re always hearing about in pro ball – well, forget it. If you start out as a pitching coach with any degree of accomplishment in this game your probably going to start around $2,000 to $8,000. That’s for a season that probably starts in March and runs through June … meals and accommodations included. ( due want fries with that?) For summer camps and other leagues, this is where your “who ya know” comes in real handy. Some of these jobs go for about $1,500 to $6,000 for the summer – July through August.
    And again – meals and accommodations are usually included ( ketchup with those fries?)

  • Now there are professional associations to belong to, dues must be paid, award dinners to attend, Alumni meetings to go to, hands to shake, promises made to “take a look at a great kid”, and networking when your out of work … which can go on for months at a time like clockwork.

  • Employment can transit in nature… from one community, state or even sections of the country. You’ll probably arrange an entire life around the phrase …”follow the sun.”.

And then somewhere along the line… things just seem to settle down and your coaching, scouting, private lessons, and fly fishing.

Best wishes on your career path(s)

Coach B.

ps
I did not mention coaching in MLB, or employment there. I am not qualified to suggest information along those lines.

#4

If you follow any of my posts you’ll find I like to be brief… The perfect counterbalance to Coach B.'s uniquely informative but verbose reply…

My man…the sports agent is where it’s at!!!

Go get a good law degree…mix in important contacts and boom!!! No more cash flow problems.

Or if you’re the outdoor type…get a degree in turf grass management and start taking care of somebody’s ballpark. The grass don’t talk back.

Dino

#5

Wow… That was a LOT to take in. :stuck_out_tongue:
But I do really appreciate the help from everyone!

I think my three favorite choices are:
+Pitching Coach (i dont care how much it doesn’t pay, I still love pitching more than anything else and really would enjoy passing on what I learn the next few years if I get the chance to play college ball.) Thanks Coach B for all the info on this career!
+Scout (I never thought of this one until jdfromfla said it. thanks!)
+Strength and Conditioning Coach/Trainer.

Does anyone know much about how to become a scout?

Thanks again! :slight_smile: [/b]

#6

On becoming a scout…

Almost exclusively for ex-players who have contacts…

No money in it if you are a bird dog scout…part timer.

And it is harder than you think…

Really…don’t forget about the sports agent thing :phone:

#7

Lots of starving artists out there…get a job with lots-o-cash. My idea was while young get in ground floor with an organization…You living in Deltona…gees man you have minor league clubs in Daytona, and Orlando and spring traing facilities all around you. You got Stetson in Deland…UCF in Orlando…lots of opportunity.

#8

DINO –
If you follow any of my posts you’ll find I like to be brief… The perfect counterbalance to Coach B.'s uniquely informative but verbose reply…

Balanced … not hardly… opinionated based on the lack of experience … yes.

I suggest to anyone who is considering the pitching coach route:
— go there, be there, live there before responding to someone’s request to “what’s it like”. Being brief as DINO is suggesting … in this line of work as a pitching coach,… does no one justice what’s so ever.

If anyone is sincerely interested in giving a youngster any advice on career choice(s), know what your talking about first - rather than being a standard bearer for brevity sake.

Coach B.

#9

My sincere apologies to Coach B. for the obvious offense he took from my post. I trust SP1B will get his share of BAD advice along the way…I didn’t mean to add to that…

Follow your heart and you’ll find yourself in the right place.

Warning: this posting is brief, opinionated and probably based on a lack of experience.

#10

Here are some names of some of the finest Pitching Coaches that I know of in Florida - professionally speaking. I don’t know these gentlemen personally.

If you have an honest desire to pursue a career as a Pitching Coach, write a letter and explain your career goals … as a pitching coach, then ask about the best path way in their opinion of achieving that goal. But, don’t be surprised if some of these responses begins with… “well, I didn’t start off being a pitching coach…” Also, the time that it may take for their response may take a while … being that their at the start of their season.

I sincerely wish you the best in your career search.

Coach B.

University of Tampa
Mark Johnson
Pitching Coach

University of Miami
JD Arteago
Pitching Coach

University of Southern Florida
Lazer Collazo
Pitching Coach

Florida State University
Mike Martin
Skipper

University of Central Florida
Craig Cozart
Pitching Coach/Associate Head Coach/ Recruiter

Florida Atlantic University
Tony Fossas
Pitching Coach

Eckerd College
Bill Mathews
Skipper

Stetson University
Garrett Quinn
Pitching Coach/Recruiter

Write Coach Quinn first, he’s known to us up here in New England as
one of the good-guys.

#11

Sports [Management] Accounting is what I’m looking into…

#12

“Sports [Management] Accounting is what I’m looking into…”

Nice…lots-o-money to count :dance:

#13

A recent college graduate goes for a job interview with the owner of baseball franchise, and is asked only two questions.

Franchise owner’s first question:
What is the basic accounting equation?

Recent accounting grad’s answer:
Assest = Liabilities & Owners Equity

Franchise owner’s response:
Excellent!

Franchise owner’s second question:
How much is 2 + 2 ?

Recent accounting grad’s answer:
What do you want it to be?

Franchise owner’s response:
YOUR HIRED!