Soccer Passion Essay

I didn’t know what to expect when starting this project, but coming out, I have to say my excitement to work in the sports industry is through the roof. Right when we started our SPM class, we were given the idea that it was okay not to know what we wanted to do. Honestly, that frightened me. I’m the kind of person who needs to be driven in a certain direction, or I tend to drift off; and not fully apply myself. I think I have a better understanding of what facit I truly want to get involved in, in this industry. The areas of the industry that I found myself most intrigued by were agency and development. It drew to me how both involved building relationships with your clients; friendships even. I’ve always been a people person, so talking to people and making people comfortable is really up my alley. I decided I wanted to interview someone involved in development and someone involved in a sports agency. I know it’s just extra work considering I was supposed to focus on one topic here. But I see this assignment as a way to look into what I want to do. I was lucky enough to be able to interview two very impactful people each in their departments. The first person I interviewed was a man named Brian Smith; his position is the Assistant Athletic Director of Development at UCLA. He works with the Wooden Athletic Fund, which raises money to put towards the athletic programs at the college. It was a great interview, but I’ll get into that later on. I have to say my next interview had to be my favorite, if not one of my favorite conversations I’ve had with anyone yet. The interview was with a guy by the name of Daren Flitcroft. He is the Director of Global Soccer at Wasserman Media Group. Wasserman is one of the biggest sports agencies out there, and it was an honor to be able to speak to the director of global soccer when soccer is my biggest sporting passion. I look forward to sharing what I’ve gained through my extensive research.

I’d like to start by talking about each segment I am interested in, starting with development. This area wasn’t something I looked into until more recently. I was always so focused on more independence in the industry, but never really thought about helping develop a program. I know the development of a professional team has to do with raising funds from fans/supporters and putting them into projects that may go over budget. I like this concept. I like how a position in development may require a salesman’s skill set, but mixes in creative and even some financial aspects to the role. What interests me most is collegiate athletic funds. Donations are the biggest factor in how much fund money there is to use. In 2015 alone, colleges raised 1.2 Billion dollars for sports; some single schools brought in tens of millions of dollars just from loyal donors. This gives these school’s athletic funds so much more flexibility with usage. These schools need this money to be able to run collegiate programs with high esteem. You start to see new and improved facilities, more scholarships, better gear, better players recruited, etc. This donation money brings excitement not only to the development teams at these schools, but the athletes and students. College athletics have way more limits on what can be done compared to pro organizations; Athletes can’t be paid, budget money is shared with academic needs and interests, etc. These funds are very important to collegiate athletic programs. They can cover the costs of scholarships, academic services, life skills development, and even recruiting. Being able to use creativity to host fundraising events, bring in more season ticket holders, or even just get supporters to donate generous amounts to the fund are all things I feel I can do. I’d love to mix my creative workflow with my personable skills.

Next, I’m gonna talk about Agency. This has always appealed to me because of the independence given to this position. Yes, you’ll be working with an agency, but being an agent means having your clients, and marketing yourself. Being able to represent an athlete, and help them succeed is something I want to do. One agent I look up to is Jorge Mendes. He represents some of the biggest names in global soccer: Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Diego Costa, and the list goes on. He represents a total of 122 athletes. His commissions come out to be $118 million. It takes time to make that much and sign such elite athletes, but the idea that I could work with soccer players(my favorite sport is soccer), help these athletes start a career, and market myself while making a living is something I want to do. Honestly, it’s about the excitement of new opportunities overall. An example is the rise of professional Esports. It has sent sports agencies into a frenzy to try and sign the biggest players of this new type of sport, and offer them large and complex contracts. According to “Sports Agent Blog”, there has been conversation on the Esports system, and its potential need to be licensed by a central body, like FIFA. Many agree there should be an organized system, but with so many games and leagues all across the world, it just sounds impossible to others. Agents probably like the ability to have a more personal agreement with players, but finding them is the first step. This all sounds inspiring to me because I feel I have always been good at negotiation and representation, which are two huge factors of being an agent. You are legally representing your clients, and making sure they are pleased with any deals made. You also won’t find clients unless you are good at making connections, which is something I find myself doing on a daily. I like the fact that an agent will make a percentage off of endorsement contracts, while also earning a commission based on what the represented player makes. All these factors make me so excited by the idea of being an agent; I could make a name for myself in international soccer, without having to be an athlete.

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Briefly, I was interested in sponsorship as well. After Adam Harter came in to speak with our class, I got so inspired by his words. Being the VP of Pepsi is a big deal. At first, my idea was to try and work for a specific team, but Mr. Harter gave me the inspiration to look outside of sports, and for a company that sponsors teams or events. The thing I loved about Mr. Harter’s talk the most was his excitement about creativity; a space where he can use his imagination. It’s so cool to know a company driven by pop culture, was able to mix sports and entertainment(The Super Bowl Halftime Show). No company is a bigger sponsor than Pepsi, and I got excited to look into companies that I could help grow to something potentially big. Although all this excitement, I realized that I wanted to start with something that involved a more personal relationship with athletes, and or fans/regular people. Working for an endorsing company would mean working through them. Maybe I’d consider it in the future but for now, I see most of my excitement in agency and development.

Now I’d like to get into my interviews, starting with Brian Smith. I went right in asking about what a normal day at his job looks like. He told me every day is about driving revenue. UCLA has 8,500 donors to their fund, which means increasing the support of high-end donors and bringing in new donors as well. He also told me that being a part of development is about being out of the office and meeting people. The whole purpose is to engage these people at a deeper level with UCLA athletics. What I was wondering was how he even got into development. He went on to tell me this whole story about how he started at Cal for school, but would work Berkeley Alumni summer camps; he was the AD there. He made a friendship with a senior associate AD and ended up with an internship at UCLA because of that connection. The way he started was doing tons of different segments in the industry; he was involved in marketing, event management, facility management, etc. Just this internship gave him so much experience. He was hired full-time the next year. 5 years later he chose to move into development because he wanted a more external experience. This story motivated me; it showed me the drive and inspiration you need when starting small, and you can go big if you keep working hard. What also sparked my curiosity was why he chose collegiate athletics over a boomer youth population or a more selective pro route. He simply told me it was because he wanted to be a teacher or a coach; someone people could look up to, or trust and rely on. That mindset perfectly molded into how he handles relationships with fans and supporters now. He also mentioned setbacks to me. UCLA was just involved in the big bribing scandal that went on. The men’s soccer coach there was indicted because of this. He told me you had to be able to deal with crisis management. It’s hard to keep developing if papers and news are out to make the school look bad. The reality is, that you’ll lose supporters, but you have to listen to their complaints and understand their choices because ultimately you are doing your job partly for them. This interview gave me a very prideful attitude about the idea of building so many strong relationships and learning how to deal with tons of different scenarios, good or bad.

Now I’d love to talk about my interview with Daren Flitcroft. I feel like some would be intimidated to speak to someone as important to an agency as Daren is. I just told myself to keep my level of confidence, and not to overthink. One of the first things he told me was how he was impressed by my inviting tone and confident voice. I didn’t expect that, but wow did my confidence go through the ceiling. I felt the need to ask what his position was for the sake of the interview, but I already knew his role; to represent pro soccer players. He talked about how every day is different, whether it’s calling parents or players to recruit, talking to coaches and GMs about players they may want or don’t want, etc. You have to be used to getting something different every day and working with it. What was most crucial to me was knowing how he got himself into his position. He played a high level of soccer growing up and was a player at UCLA. The whole reason he started looking into agency was because his teammates wanted him to represent them. After all, they felt he was very sharp and decisive. Rather than be intimidated by the expectations of agencies, he made tons of cold calls looking for any opportunity he could get. His teammates were already represented by Wasserman. If you live in LA, let alone the world, and you are an athlete looking to go to a higher level in almost any sport, you know what Wasserman is. His teammates got him an interview at Wasserman, and that’s where it started. He was an intern there through college, and then he went full-time once graduated. Networking was crucial for him, and he networked well. Because of my interest, I wanted to know what he looked for in an intern or employee. “You have to bring value to the table right away,” he said. Whether that’s connections you already have, or having previous playing experience at high levels, it’s all important. Wasserman just hired someone who played in the MLS for 11 years and even played for the USMNT. His advantage was that he was willing to start at the bottom and build his way up. He gave me advice to be proactive here at college; to go to every Syracuse game, build relationships with the athletes; and even provide insight if the opportunity is presented. The one thing that scared me was how Daren said you lose out on more than you win. But it’s about having thick skin, and the drive to keep working hard until you get where you want to be. I asked him a couple more personal questions about what excites him most about soccer, and about potential talent he’s looking at. I felt I shared similarities in terms of how we viewed soccer, or should I say football. It’s not just a sport or a business but it’s something our lives truly revolve around.

All of this information and insight I’ve been given have truly made me excited for my future. Being able to interview people with such high positions in their segment of the industry makes me so grateful. At this moment in time, I am leaning towards agency. The idea of it gives me more drive and excitement than ever before, to be honest. I think I want to be a soccer agent. I know I have traits that make it easy for me to work with people, and I’m not afraid to step out of my comfort zone. I now know how hard I have to work to position myself in a place where I can build a strong clientele. I know my relationships with athletes here will now also become insight for agencies. I played academy soccer, the highest level of club soccer there is. I’ve played with Stanford commits, UCLA commits, etc. I already have a network that I only really started looking at. For the sake of keeping my head high, and staying driven like Daren told me, I’m going to say that I will become a soccer agent, as long as I work hard for it; it all starts now.