Unit 7 Final Assignment Paper and Powerpoint

CAPSTONE PROJECT 2

Personal Reflection on My Masters of Sports Administration Academic Journey: From Bachelor's to Master’s Degree

TraeVon Clavo

Belhaven University

MSA 670

11/21/2020

Dr. Woods

I have realized that sports administration is a highly demanding but lucrative field, contrary to popular opinion. In my reflection on my ''Masters of Sports Administration Academic Journey: From Bachelor's to Master's Degree'', I will describe my academic journey in the field, the past, the present, and the future.

Until now, I have come to understand that a degree, either Bachelor’s or Master’s, is ideal for people who want to combine their passion and enthusiasm for sports and business skills. If successful in achieving optimal combination and landing or creating a lucrative career role or position, one is sure to enjoy a successful career. In general, the sports administration degree imparts to students concepts and skills related to marketing, finance, management and administration, and law and ethical issues related to the sports industry. The classes and topics are designed to help learners understand the sports organization's business side while using the latest technologies and trends. The outcomes are that students can develop and broaden their skillsets in sports and its administrative issues and also acquire essential competencies related to attentiveness to details, communication, problem-solving, and critical thinking, to name but a few. The skills are not in vain. Graduates at every level need them for a successful career and in every situation, like negotiating a multibillion-dollar deal for a team or player that they represent or a sponsorship contract for a local event.

How did I get here? It usually is tough to find a definitive solution to the question. However, the shortest answer is that I got here due to many years of hard work, focus, diligence, adaptability, and trust in God's guidance. I developed an interest in sports and sports administration in high school. As a popular and excellent basketball player in high school, I was made the captain for our school-team in the final year. My primary role was to coordinate all the team's activities. After high school, I would go on to play street basketball, and ultimately, join a local but popular basketball team. Since then, I have never looked back on my love for sports. Thus, I managed to secure admission to pursue a bachelor's degree in Sports Administration. Many people think that sports administration is about practicing and playing. However, it requires significant mental input. The bachelor's degree lays the theoretical foundation in sports law, sports history, communication, finance, sports facility management, event management, sports marketing, ethical and legal issues in sports administration, etc. I must admit that I had a successful academic journey in college.

The Master's degree entails specializing in and advancing one's knowledge in a particular field. During the Master's program, I have learned a lot, especially in research and sports ethics related to athletes' use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). I have established that sports administrators engage in many research activities when handling both sports and business issues related to the industry. Though I still play basketball, I was also lucky to land a coaching job at an upcoming community basketball team. For the past two years that I have been holding the position, I have started noticing some positive developments. The team-members' cohesion and drive have improved, and we have significantly attracted and retained many sponsors and fans who have continued to support us.

I have a great passion for playing and coaching basketball. However, armed with my Sports Administration degrees, I know that I can comfortably work as an event organizer, sports academician and researcher, sports manager, etc. I understand that to be successful in the sports industry, I must be passionate about sports and business (Balan, 2020). My future goal is to help my team achieve its goal of being a successful team. Also look forward to raising a pool of young, competitive, highly-talented, and professional basketball players who would be able to dominate and live a mark in the basketball world for years to come. Fortunately, through the Master’s degree, I have learned how to push for more innovation in the world of physical fitness, support athletes, revolutionize the athletics program, and lead the team to the path to victory.

Reference Balan, R. S. (2020, August 20). Why Study a Sports Management Degree in 2020 (and Careers to Choose after Graduation). Retrieved November 20, 2020, from Studyportals: https://www.mastersportal.com/articles/2724/why-study-a-sports-management-degree-in-2020.html