My STEP signature project was interning with the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Communications department. My main activities consisted of the following: designing all gameday press materials (lineups, game notes, media information), gathering players’ quotes after practices and games, writing press releases for the organization, and fulfilling media credential requests. I was responsible for ensuring the press box was set up for games and handing out game stats from our officials as they became available.
I became more aware of the dedication it takes to work in the sports industry. I was surprised to find out how many hours the communications department has to dedicate from their lives to work their jobs. They often don’t have days off and are the first to arrive and last to leave. I didn’t know that they also travel for every game and how little the pay in sports is, even if you have a master’s degree, etc.
The sports industry is complexto break into without connections, and you must love it to cope with how little free time you have outside of the profession. Sometimes, my supervisors would have landed from a game at 3 am and had to return to the office by 9 am the same day. It is a demanding job field, which has changed what leagues I may want to work for depending on the pay and the hours.
My senior coordinator has a master’s degree in sports management yet makes incredibly little from how much she travels, how many hours she spends with the team each week, etc. I have had to be at games from 9 am to 12 am before and back in the office at 9 am the next day. If the team is playing, we’re there every day.
I’ve spoken to several departments, as I’ve had the opportunity to shadow different people in the organization, and many of them do not have the same demands as the communications department. This week, we are on a two-week away-stint, and my supervisor is away from his family for the entirety of the two weeks. They fly in the day of a game, fly out the night after the game, and repeat it each day/week.
It has affected my outlook on
working in the NHL. While I love hockey, and I have grown up playing and watching the sport, it is by far the most demanding to work for of all sports leagues. I have had difficult conversations with myself and those around me about whether I want to dedicate all my time to my job, especially with how little the pay is, and I have yet to decide. I would not have known this or had the stark reality revealed to me if I had not been able to intern with an NHL team.
It is incredibly significant as I graduate in May. I have already started applying to post-grad jobs, and while I have been applying with NHL teams, I’ve also applied
for jobs outside of the league as I know I want and need to make more money than they will likely provide. Before this internship, I was entirely devoted to the NHL, but I’ve realized that while I love the sport, other leagues (such as the NFL and MLB) pay significantly more and are less demanding.
I would love to accept a job in other leagues, something I did not believe in before this internship. However, having the opportunity to do this STEP project made me realize that I love sports, and as a woman in the sports field, I know it isn’t easy. I have dealt with sexism during my time with the league, which is, unfortunately, something many of my female colleagues have had to deal with. It, however, makes me want to succeed more in the industry and show people that women deserve to be in sports.