You found someone working in the sports industry whose career interests you. You opened a message, introduced yourself, and asked for a few minutes of their time.
Then you read it again.
Too long? Too basic? What if they think you should already know the answer?
If that sounds familiar, you may be trying to solve two problems at once: learning how to enter the sports industry and avoiding the embarrassment of looking unprepared.
The second problem can keep the first one stuck.
I understand that hesitation because I recently had to face my own version of it.
I admitted that I was not asking for as much help as I needed. I also had not engaged in two meaningful conversations I needed to have.
I am in my 26th year in college athletics. Experience has given me plenty to share. It has not made me immune to putting off a conversation.
That is an uncomfortable admission for someone who encourages students and emerging professionals to build relationships and take action. It also means the advice applies to me.
You can know your next step and still avoid taking it.
So what do you do when another round of preparation becomes another reason to wait?
Start by naming what you are avoiding.
Maybe you want advice about getting experience, but you are worried someone will notice how little experience you have. Maybe you want feedback on your résumé, but you would rather keep editing it than hear what needs work.
You do not need to shame yourself for that. You do need to recognize when it is making your decisions.
A search for “how to network in sports when you have no experience” can help you find useful guidance. But eventually, you have to give someone a chance to know you.
That does not require a perfect introduction. It requires a respectful, specific request.
Here is a sample you can adapt:
Hi [Name], I am a [year/major] student interested in [specific area of sports]. I saw your work on [specific project or role] and would like to learn how you got started. Would you have 15 minutes in the next two weeks for a conversation? I would especially appreciate your advice on one skill I should practice this semester. Thank you for considering it.
Before sending it, do the homework that makes the request useful. Learn what the person does. Check whether they have already answered your question in a public post or interview. Make sure you can explain why you chose to contact them.
Then send it.
They may decline. They may not respond. Respect their time and boundaries. A request gives someone a choice; it does not create an obligation.
But leaving the message in drafts guarantees they never get that choice.
The cost of waiting is easy to miss because nothing dramatic happens. Another week passes. You still have the same question. You reach the next application without the feedback you hoped to get first.
That is a cost you can do something about this week.
Picture a different Tuesday afternoon. You finish class, send one thoughtful message, and put a reminder on your calendar. A classmate knows you committed to sending it and checks in with you.
You do not have a job offer. You have completed a step you were avoiding. If a conversation follows, you arrive with questions and leave with one skill to practice. You can then show the person what you did with their advice.
That is how a conversation can become useful work.
It is also the kind of follow-through I am building The GetSET Program to support.
The program is being developed as a six-week hybrid experience to help students and emerging professionals turn advice into action as they prepare for opportunities in the sports industry.
Its three pillars give that work a structure:
- Strategic: Choose a direction and identify the next step. For this week, that might mean selecting one role to learn about and one person to contact.
- Engaged: Prepare, reach out, listen, and follow through. After a conversation, put one piece of advice to work.
- Teamwork: Make your commitment visible to someone who will check on you, and do the same for them. Accountability goes both ways.
Planned student work includes a 30-day action plan, a goal and people map, résumé and LinkedIn updates, informational interviews, and a portfolio that shows what a student can do.
Those pieces should connect. A conversation helps you identify a skill. You practice it. The work becomes something you can show. Your next conversation has more substance because you acted on the last one.
The program's value will need to be demonstrated through that work and follow-through. That is a standard I need to hold myself to as I build it.
For now, you can start with one commitment:
Before next Tuesday, send one thoughtful career message you have been putting off.
Choose someone you have a clear reason to contact. Ask a focused question. Tell an accountability partner when you will send it.
If the message needs more research, do the research. Give that work a deadline, too.
I have conversations of my own to start. This is a commitment I need to keep alongside you.
What career conversation are you putting off, and when will you start it? Share the action and your deadline in the comments. Keep names and private details to yourself.
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