Article Written by Nicole Eugenio
Edited by Tighe O’Sullivan
Branding is often associated with promotions and advertisements of products, companies, sports teams, leagues, etc. This does not address the individual promotion of the individual athlete, which is as important now than ever before. Now is the perfect time for athletes to establish themselves to have new collaborations within the community.
It starts with how a person brands himself and determining how to stand out. The next step is re-evaluating the things to improve on and remastering more of your strengths. This is the key to being successful and thriving especially during these tough times of uncertainty.
Beach soccer has been one of the fastest-growing sports today. Organizations and players should keep working on their brands and keep strategizing to further grow the sport.
These are some steps we can do:
- Seek for help. The easiest way to get other people to help you is to give your help as well. Create a list of the people you think who would benefit from what you are doing and ask for their support. Think about how you can benefit them and take action on it.
- Stay connected to the people you want to do business with. Keep reaching out and deepening your connections with your network.
- Dedicate time to make it happen. You gotta put your plans into action and strive for a lasting mark.
- Learn new skills. This is the perfect opportunity to hone these skills especially the ones that will be beneficial to you after the quarantine.
This has already been seen with several within our community. For example, the Toilet Paper Juggling Challenge was a great way to connect to many within the community. As one player challenged another it made for a great distraction during these difficult times. It also allowed players from all around the world to get a great laugh and see people they may not have noticed otherwise. This and other creative ways can not only show skills, but also your character, which in many cases is as important to good team chemistry. If you have it and show it, then more teams would be willing to take a chance on accepting you rather than staged bike kicks, or other pieces that don’t show who you truly are.
Skills are important for a team, but it’s not the most important piece to building a winning team. You could learn through dedication and practice how to do a perfect bike kick and film a dozen times to get the best version, but that doesn’t let anyone know whether you understand the game. Through other means of promotion and collaboration within the sport, you have the chance to show your intelligence, and even if you are open, coachable, or even humble in your achievements.
Thayer Lavielle, an executive at Wasserman said “What we [at The Collective] have noticed is that athletes are really taking advantage of the time at home during this pandemic as an opportunity to put themselves out there—to establish and grow their brands.”. As sports remain to be put on hold, all sports business, leagues, and players should be thinking about how to maintain brand equity and awareness, keep creating content, and the optimism, that this too shall pass. We will all get our sports back eventually.
The key is to have the vision to where you want to be in the sport and finding those who you trust and are reliable to uphold the vision you see for each other to arrive where you hope. Being authentic about your intentions and follow-through is paramount. If you keep these in mind you will not only move the sport forward but yourselves as well as someone who has had a greater macro impact on the greater whole.
The key to successfully bringing your personal brand forward for yourself and the sport is collaboration, taking your strengths, and working with others to highlight each other. If this collaborative evaluation is accurate you will reap the benefits. So, find those you can work with and bring your creative thoughts to reality helping not only yourself but the sport of beach soccer.
More from who spoke to USF Masters in Sports Management:
Thayer Lavielle, Forbes Article: “How Covid 19 Can Be an Opportunity Not a Loss for Women’s Sports” by Cecilia Townes
