Working with Athletes: What I like to look for

What’s up everyone!

I hope you all enjoyed the last post, and to our Reapers superfans (I’m sure there’s a few of you :P) we are back in action this weekend against The Answers! I’m going to try to keep this format consistent with two posts per week - Wednesday will talk about the Reapers game from the past weekend, and the Friday post will be the normal ABSG or sports related post. This week I’m going to be discussing what I like to look for when it comes to athlete management, and the qualities I desire in prospective clients.

The Truth shall set you Free

I think with any form of a client-representative relationship, there needs to be a strong form of mutual understanding. This requires both parties to be completely and 100% honest with each other from the beginning of the relationship, even in that stage where you’re trying to pitch yourself. When I’m meeting a new client to take on, I always end my pitch with something along the lines of “I’m not going to make you any promises on getting you to club A or B, or getting you an opportunity here or there, but what I can guarantee you is my work rate.” I find that this is a good way to weed out any athlete who is looking for a quick solution and would expect you to “work some magic”, when that is just not realistic.

Now, obviously there are professionals in the industry who are experienced and well connected enough where they could “work some magic” right away, depending on the ability of the athlete of course. But the point is to work within your own parameters and abilities, and not over promise, especially when someone else’s career is in your hands. I’m always upfront from jump with would-be clients, and ensure we are both on the same page with what they can expect from me both presently, and in the future.

Self-Awareness and Accountability

What I really like to see in an athlete is some kind of acknowledgement or understanding of where they are currently, and where they want to end up. I don’t care how skilled you are, what accolades you’ve gathered over your career, if you can’t tell me what you want, then I can’t help you. I find that client-representative relationships can be very symbiotic in nature, and can only really flourish if both parties really commit to not only each other, but themselves.

If an athlete thinks they are better than what they are and only wants their agent to go for certain levels, that could make the agent appear as if they aren’t knowledgeable of the market they are trying to work in. On the flip side however, there are plenty of agents who are unaware of their client’s actual abilities, and will waste their own time and sour their client’s reputation by marketing them to clubs well above their own abilities. This lack of self-awareness hurts both parties and can severely damage the careers of both the client and the representative.

Holding yourself accountable is also extremely important for any athlete and representative when working in this kind of relationship. It is crucial for the athlete to do all they can do in order to stay ready for when an opportunity arises. This includes the bare minimums of paying attention to your personal nutrition, showing up to training on time, doing extra sessions, getting another job to help with travel or living expenses (if your situation requires it), among numerous other things. Additionally, an agent needs to ensure they are up to speed with current legislation, club needs in the market their working within, and should always be building and strengthening their network. If you hold each other accountable, then your relationship should flourish, I have no problem asking more of the athletes I work with, as they should have no problem asking more of me if they see fit to do so.

Communication is key!

All of these aspects are important to be, but if I had to pick one as standing out then it would be communicating with each other. This is because I believe they all fall under having effective, open communication and ensuring that line is always there. If I feel like the athlete isn’t doing something right or could be doing more, I need to know I can communicate my thoughts to them and they’ll be receptive. What they choose to do with that is up to them, but I need to know I can do that. I want the same for the athlete too, they should feel comfortable enough to know that they can come to me with any problem, question, complaint, praise, anything!

I try my best to make sure they feel comfortable talking to me, so I make a point of messaging the athletes I work with on a consistent basis. It might not be every day, but every other day or a few times a week, especially after matches. I hope that by doing this they feel like they have an open line to me whenever they need to talk about something, which can be sport related or not.

What I’m trying to do better…

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that every athlete I’ve worked with has been perfect, because no one is perfect. Everyone is different and the fact of the matter is that not everyone is going to get along in the same way with everyone. I wouldn’t go as far as saying I’ve butted heads with athletes, but I will be honest and say that those relationships could have been better, because they lacked what I talked about in the sections above. I’ve never lied about my abilities or knowledge of a market to any athlete, but perhaps lines of communication could’ve been more effective, or perhaps I could’ve turned down an athlete or two due to their own expectations for their immediate careers, or even what they expected of me initially.

What I’m working on now is trying to be a better screener of athletes before I engage with them further about representing them. I want to understand exactly what it is they want from their sport, in most cases that being football. I’m not a miracle worker and I make sure they know that before anything is signed, and therefore no one gets their hopes up. I like to ensure that they know it is a two-way street, and that they have to continue to train and work hard so they are ready for opportunities when they are presented to them. I think it is crucial as well for a representative to let the client know how things are coming in general with the work they’re doing. I think this goes a long way in ensuring that the client knows there is work going on behind the scenes, and their representative is being proactive in their work.

All in all, an athlete-agent relationship is no different from working with a lawyer, or architect, or consultant, etc. Both parties are going to want to work with someone they get a good vibe from, there is someone out there for everyone.

I hope you enjoyed this one, I’m looking forward to talking more about the inner workings of ABSG!

Until next week, enjoy your weekend and wish us and the Reapers luck! I’ll try to livestream if I can find a good vantage point!

Check you later!

Jason