Archives for the Month of April 2006 on Angelo Mirando's Online Journal
Management in Sports 18 GM's
General Managers of sports teams have a huge responsibility because they control who they sign for the team. Most GM's are not football coaches but business men who have worked there way through the ranks in the organization. All most all have gone to law school and alot have graduated from top business schools around the country. These people have a rare combination of business sense and a sports sense. They must evaluate talent and stay up on changes in league rules and most importantly salary cap rules. In football there is a strict salary cap (can only spend X amount of dollars on a team) but there are ways around it. For example if you sign a player to a five year deal worth twenty-five million dollars, you can have him earn four million dollars for the first three years and the last two the athlete would make twelve million. This means that the first three years you can spend more money on other players that may be on the edge of retirement or you only sign them to a three year deal.
There are a bunch of different ways to work the salary cap and these GM's must know every way. They manage the team and that places a huge responsibility on their shoulders. Also most GM's are older but lately (especially in baseball) they are getting younger. Two years ago the Boston Red Sox hired a 29 year GM who the next year won the World Series. This past year at the age of 31 he ended up quitting because he was so burned out. It is a tough job just like being a top executive for a company.
Management in Sports Post 17 Owners
Owning a professional sports team is a very profitable business as some of these teams are worth over one billion dollars. Being the owner of a team is just like being a CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Once a person takes over a sports team they must start hiring employees to run this company as smooth as possible. They need (to name a few) accountants to take care of all the finances, lawyers to make sure everything they're doing is legal, and marketing people to get the franchise name out there. There are a huge number of employees that work for a sports team, from coaches to cleaning crew to general managers. The upper level employees must hire people below them and so on. There is a story that Al Davis, the majority owner of the Oakland Raiders, knows every single one of his employees names. That is hundreds of people.
A sports team is just like a major company with board members, presidents and owners. They all have to work as one to have the company run smoothly.
Management in Sports Post 16 Players life
Being a professional athlete is a difficult road to travel. Training is year round and the mental aspects of the game is also a year round event. When a player is done with his work most want to blow off steam like the rest of the world. But some of the things a player does can have a negative effect on him and his team. Making good decisions is a big part of being a professional athlete. He can not go out and party as hard as alot of other people because if he is seen out drinking and getting crazy he will be inked as a bad apple. Fines, suspensions, and getting kicked off the team can all be used for punishment of these athletes. If a player in the NFL gets arrested for a DUI he will be fined thousands of dollars from the league.
Professionals are under a high level of pressure to be role models to younger kids. In the case of Kobe Bryant where he supposedly raped a women he lost all of his endorsment deals. After he was given a not guilty verdict his image was still not one that companies wanted to use to promote their products. But after two years he received a contract from Nike to be their spokesman. He lost millions of dollars those two years because of what someone said about him. This is what I mean when athletes are under a high amount of pressure to be perfect. They have to manage their own lives so they can earn more money and be role models to kids.
Management in Sports 15 Managing Recruits
A football coach has to have good relations with his players and especially at the Division one level he must recruit the best possible players available. When he is recruiting a player he should not lie to them nor deceive them. At the University of Notre Dame Head Coach Charlie Weis signed two very good quarterbacks this past year. This past Saturday he received a verbal committment from the number one player in the nation, a junior and a quarterback. This kids name is Jimmy Clausen. Jimmy is touted as the best player in this past decade. He is supposed to be the next starting quarterback for ND when he shows up to campus. But what about the other two quarterbacks that will be freshman this year? Will they be automatically pasted over for this kid or will they be given a fair shot as the starter? My guess is they will be given a fair shot but Jimmy is clearly the favorite. In this situation Coach Weis will have to be honest to the other quarterbacks and give them their chance. He needs to be clear with them so they don't get frustrated and transfer.
A head coach is like the CEO of the football team so he must manage people. He needs everyone on his team striving for the same goal and this means keeping everyone as positive as possible. These type of situations happen all over the country where the next big thing shows up to campus and everyone has automatically inked him the starter. Head coaches must control these new players so they don't get too cocky and piss off the players who have put in their time. Do the best players play, almost always but being honest to the other players is key.
Management in Sports Post 14 Relationships
Being part of a team is something special, whether it's within a company or a sports team. People have to generate good relationships with the members of their team. In football everyone has to be on the same page to have that chemistry that wins games. Off the field relationships must prosper to have that chemistry on the field. This includes team functions that all teams put together. Team functions usually take place during training camp. These include going to Indians games, camp retreats, and BBQ's. We did these three things during our camp but some felt that the freshman did not connect with the upper classmen and this hurt us on the field. An idea that I have is to have a big brother type system during camp. I would assign an upper classmen to a freshman and dudring camp they must do everything together. This includes eatting, rooming, and hanging out together. For example if there is a house that houses upper classmen then those freshman are supposed to be there hanging out with them. In the business world new employees have mentors so why not do the same thing with a football team. It would help out chemistry and produce better results on the field.
Management in Sports Post 13 Nutrition
Nutrition is an often over looked aspect of training. But it is something that you need to manage correctly to perform, look, and feel your best. Your body responds to what you put into it so you must fuel yourself with healthy food and at the right times. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day because your body has been shut down for seven plus hours. If you don't eat breakfast then your body will be using your muscles as its fuel. What this means for an athlete? You will lose muscle mass. At breakfast you should eat your heart out. As much food as want but it should be mostly carbohydrates because this will give you energy throughout the rest of the day. After breakfast you should eat every two to three hoours. These meals should be comprised of healthy fats and alot of protein. As you progress throughout the day your carbohydrate intake should decrease and your protein consumption should increase. This will keep your body fat percentage low. As an athlete you should consume a pre and post workout formula. This does not have to be a supplement but this does make it much easier. Your pre-workout formula should be very high in protein to increase your testosterone. This will help to increase your muscle mass. A post-workout formula should be high in carbohydrates and proteins. After training your body is "sucking" in everything it can so you want to refuel it. Managing your bodies body mass is key to becoming the best athlete you can be. It takes alot of dedication to eat right but the results will be worthwhile.