http://blog.case.edu/amm63/ My Thoughts on the Discourse en-us Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:47:02 EST Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:47:02 EST angelo.mirando@case.edu angelo.mirando@case.edu http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Movable Type v3.121 http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/management_in_sports_18_gms General Managers of sports teams have a huge responsibility because they control who they sign for the team. Most GM's... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/management_in_sports_18_gms MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:47:02 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/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... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/management_in_sports_post_17_owners MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 24 Apr 2006 22:33:34 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/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... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/management_in_sports_post_16_players_life MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 24 Apr 2006 11:17:30 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/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... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/24/management_in_sports_15_managing_recruits MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Mon, 24 Apr 2006 11:03:47 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/23/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... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/23/management_in_sports_post_14_relationships MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:56:50 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/23/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... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/04/23/management_in_sports_post_13_nutrition MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:32:54 EST 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.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_12_intercultural_relations When a coach is recruiting a player he/she has to take a different approach to recruiting players from different backrounds.... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_12_intercultural_relations case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 19:03:19 EST When a coach is recruiting a player he/she has to take a different approach to recruiting players from different backrounds. For example when a Catholic kid comes in to take a tour on a Friday and its lent they have to make sure when they bring in food to not have any meat. They have to make ajustments for each potential student athlete. Certain kids who have substandard grades to get in to Case have to be set up with an admissions counsler to give them an extra edge in getting in. Ofcourse not all of them get in but this does help. Kids from different cultures also stay with players from their backround. If an African American student athlete is staying over he will stay with another African American player or someone who has alot of African American friends. Our coaches do this so as to make the future athlete feel as comfortable as possible on their visit. This will also give us another added edge. These are just an example of what our coaches do to make sure the athletes coming in feel like home.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_12_intercultural_relations When a coach is recruiting a player he/she has to take a different approach to recruiting players from different backrounds.... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_12_intercultural_relations MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 19:03:19 EST When a coach is recruiting a player he/she has to take a different approach to recruiting players from different backrounds. For example when a Catholic kid comes in to take a tour on a Friday and its lent they have to make sure when they bring in food to not have any meat. They have to make ajustments for each potential student athlete. Certain kids who have substandard grades to get in to Case have to be set up with an admissions counsler to give them an extra edge in getting in. Ofcourse not all of them get in but this does help. Kids from different cultures also stay with players from their backround. If an African American student athlete is staying over he will stay with another African American player or someone who has alot of African American friends. Our coaches do this so as to make the future athlete feel as comfortable as possible on their visit. This will also give us another added edge. These are just an example of what our coaches do to make sure the athletes coming in feel like home.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_11_innovation Football is always innovating and redifining itself. When football first started it was a game where the football was never... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_11_innovation MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 18:02:53 EST Football is always innovating and redifining itself. When football first started it was a game where the football was never thrown in the air. It was always handed off to a running back, three yards and a cloud of dust is what they called it. Then Walter Camp brought in the forward pass which revolutionized the game. Now defenses had to defend against the pass and this is where different coverages started to pop up. The shotgun formation was formed in the 50's (the inventor just died several years ago) and it was popularized by the Dallas Cowboys. Now offenses are going to a spread formation. The spread consists of a quarterback in the shotgun position with four or five wide outs running various complex routes. Urban Meyer (an Ashtabula graduate) made it very popular at Bowling Green, Utah, and now Florida. Every year someone has a new formation, new defense, new blocking scheme that helps to make football a constantly changing sport. These innovations make football such a great sport.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_10_safety As a football coach you have to make sure that your team is safe. Purchasing the right equipment is a... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_10_safety MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 17:42:26 EST As a football coach you have to make sure that your team is safe. Purchasing the right equipment is a crititcal aspect of safety as are many other things that a coach can control. During training camp you are trying to get your team into the best running shape possible so during the game they are not tired. But when you run your team to much they start developing over use injuries. This past year we had seven guys pull their hamstrings because of all the running that we were doing. Our training staff had to tell our coaches to cut down on our running and our coaches finally did. This is one instance where our coaches thought they were helping us but actually hurting us. Our safety was being put in harms way.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_9_leadership Leadership involves several important and distinct, yet interrelated, constructs, including influence, intention, personal responsibility, shared purpose or vision, followers, and... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_9_leadership MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 15:12:25 EST Leadership involves several important and distinct, yet interrelated, constructs, including influence, intention, personal responsibility, shared purpose or vision, followers, and change. (Tucker Ch 11). Playing quarterback involves all of these characteristics. As a quarterback you have to be the first one on the field and the last one off. Showing your teammates that you will sacrifice your personal time to be the best you can be. When you mess up you have to take responsibility for your mistake, not blaming anyone but yourself. The teams visions should be embraced by the QB. In taking this vision onto the field will give a good influence to your teammates that you are a team player. The quarterback is the leader of the team and needs to act like it, act like the CEO of the team. If the team respects you then they will follow you into battle.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_8_developing_professionally In chapter four of Tucker they talk about how to develop your career. The career that I am pursuing is... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_8_developing_professionally MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 14:41:49 EST In chapter four of Tucker they talk about how to develop your career. The career that I am pursuing is coaching. To become a coach you have to work your way up starting as a Graduate assistant who is basically a slave to the head coach. But the G.A. spot is one where you can make a lot of different contacts that will help you get a full time job when your two years as a G.A. is up. Being a G.A. is very demanding and your schedule is very busy, going from class, to the football field to breaking down film at all hours of the night. You have to be as professional as possible because this professionalism will show your bosses (head coach and all the assistants) that you are serious about being a coach. A coaches life consists of jumping from job to job to not only learn from different coaches but to advancing your career. You might start at a small Div. 1 school then gradually build yourself to a full time assistant who has a small role (wide receivers coach) to an assistant with more responsibility (offensive cordinator). Then you might get a chance as a head coach. This whole process can take more then a decade.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_7_motivation In a response to a comment about motivation our coaches attempted to motivate the team about the new training program... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/03/30/management_in_sports_post_7_motivation MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Thu, 30 Mar 2006 14:34:13 EST In a response to a comment about motivation our coaches attempted to motivate the team about the new training program but were not successful. They brought the team together and told us about how strong this new program would get us. They never gave us examples of people who use this program or showed us gains that people made on it. Our team did not believe in this program because they did not see results that other people had. I'm guessing that if the coaches really believed in the program and had to do it all over again they would have showed the players how much someone increased their bench/squat/clean off of this program. In not doing this some of the team put forth a less then adequate effort.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/02/28/management_in_sports_post_6_life_experience When I decided to transfer from Valparaiso University to Case I knew there were going to be some things that... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/02/28/management_in_sports_post_6_life_experience MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:28:03 EST When I decided to transfer from Valparaiso University to Case I knew there were going to be some things that were much different then before. Different isn't all that bad but in some respects it might not be the best for you in the long run. At Valpo everything with the football program was very strict and disciplined. If you were told to be some where at two o'clock, you were there at one fifty-five. At Case it's not like that, we'll have practice at three thirty and people would show up five, ten minutes late and sometimes more. The coaches don't say a word and people get used to it and it translates in life as well. At Valpo we had morning running and you had to be there at five forty-five in the a.m. If you weren't then you gave the whole team extra sprints at the end. You were a team, a family and thats how your job should be when we all get older. At Case we'll do one thing together as a team and that is run on Friday afternoon. We are required to lift but that is only throughout the day but at Valpo you had set times with your teammates where you were pushing each other. If I had to do it all over again would I transfer, yes, but just because the education is superior here. The football is more relaxed and that aspect is not helping me out down the road in life.

]]> http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/02/28/management_in_sports_post_5_inseason Managing an athletic team is alot of hard work and the head coach has to be very organized. When I... http://blog.case.edu/amm63/2006/02/28/management_in_sports_post_5_inseason MGMT250 case cwru Case Western Case Western Reserve University Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:19:45 EST Managing an athletic team is alot of hard work and the head coach has to be very organized. When I was at Valparaiso University and played football for them everything we did was organized. If we were one second late we had to get up early in the morning and run. After camp was finished everyone started taking classes and we had to give our position coaches our class schedule. So I gave the quarterbacks coach my class schedule and several days later I received another schedule. This schedule included practice times, meeting times, and lifting times. He cordinated it so all the quarterbacks were at the same place at the same time. This not only built position unity but made if very efficient for our coaches to work on a game plan each week and give us new things that we were doing. When we would go on road trips to play opponents our schedule was set weeks in advance. We knew where we were eating, sleeping, lights out, bus stops, etc. In life I believe that you have to be very organized so not only your work gets done faster but you will have more time to play and have fun. My father always told me to work first then play. If you are organized then you can achieve this.

]]>