As the saying goes, father time is undefeated. We all at some point reach the end of our playing days, either due to age, injury or a lack of elite skill.

When that time comes, it can be hard to reconcile the reality of your new existence. Transitioning to a new focus can be a challenge when you’ve only known one way your whole life: train, compete, win.

Over my 50 years in the sports industry people have always flooded me with questions regarding their career aspirations.

Maybe it’s my background having been an athletic director, coach, professor, sports agent and entrepreneur…or maybe it’s my warm personality.

Let’s go with the latter.

It is my sincere pleasure to announce Tim Mead, Los Angeles Angels VP of Communication has joined the SMWW faculty and will begin mentoring our Sports Media and Communication online course starting October 22^nd.

How do you identify a leader?

Many attach the term to the loudest person in a room, the one who shouts and hollers and commands attention.

Others pinpoint the person with the boldest personality and believe they are the leader, the near gravitational pull of their persona bringing people closer and closer.

For 35 years Jim Steiner was one of the sports world’s premier agents, and for a slice in time I worked side-by-side with him. He was my mentor, a businessman I admired and someone I learned a great deal from.

Every year our Baseball Career Conference during the Winter Meetings is one of the highlights of our conference calendar. All the movers and shakers from Major and Minor League Baseball are in the area - scouts, administrators, GM's and more - it's an incredibly exciting place to be!

For years I've been talking about the main way to break into the sports industry: sales.

It’s true, the vast majority of jobs in sports, whether it is in professional, collegiate or the minor leagues, is in sales. To go one step further, sales jobs are prominent at sports networks, sports websites, sports agencies, sports marketing firms…you name it, sales are the straw that stirs the sports business drink.

For nearly 50 years I've been advising students on career strategies to enter the $750-billion sports industry.

When they’ve asked me how I got started, I just tell my story.

During his playing days, Chris Zorich was an elite nose tackle at Notre Dame and for the Chicago Bears - hand in the dirt, behemoths all around him, a violent collision waiting to happen every few seconds.

In this environment the massive defensive lineman thrived.

Every year 20 top flight rugby teams from England, France, Ireland, Wales Italy and Scotland compete in the European Rugby Champions Cup.

Inclusion in this event is a major honor, signifying your team has placed at the top of the table for your respective league. It is truly a best of the best competition.