Athlete Management: Defining, Managing, and Future Operations

This report delves into the multifaceted field of athlete management, beginning with a definition of the term and its core components. It explores the historical context of athlete management, tracing its evolution from ancient times to the modern era, highlighting the increasing significance of athlete management due to the globalization of sports and the influx of substantial financial resources. The report meticulously outlines the various stakeholders involved in athlete management, including sports agents, coaches, medical staff, and sports organizations, emphasizing their collective role in supporting athlete development. Furthermore, it discusses the current state of athlete management, examining the financial implications and the influence of media and sponsorships. The report also analyzes the crucial role of managers, coaches, and mentors in shaping athletes' careers, providing real-world examples such as Zinedine Zidane, Massimiliano Allegri, and Pep Guardiola, and their impact on the sport. Finally, it provides insights into the future operations for the development of the sports industry worldwide.

Running head: ATHLETE MANAGEMENT
ATHLETE MANAGEMENT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Introduction
This happened during the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup in the year 1986. The goal
scored by Diego Maradona on behalf of Argentina had
provided the Argentinian team with a winning lead of
1-0 goals against the opponent team of England. The
goal was scored with the stroke of the hand of
Maradona which did not have a penalty imposed by the
referee of the match. In just an interval of four minutes
from the goal, the ace footballer scored another goal
dribbling all his way past almost the entire team of England and thus led the entire team of
Argentina to the victory in the 1986 FIFA World Cup (Genschow, Rigoni and Brass 2019). This
goal later came to be known as the “Goal of the century”.
The Beijing Olympics of 2008 also proved to be an interesting event in races. The event
was reigned by Usain Bolt. The sprinter has dominated
the 100-meter and the 200-meter race events. The sprinter
completed the 100-meter race in 9.69seconds and 200-
meter race in 19.30 seconds. This performance by Bolt
was followed by another stellar performance in the 2102
Olympics. The sprinter broke his earlier records and created new records when he completed the
100-meter race in 9.58 seconds and the 200-meter race in 19.19 seconds (Hernández-Gómez,
Gómez and Couder-Castañeda 2018). This placed Bolt as one of the fastest sprinters in the
world.

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The various events like the ones mentioned above are often termed to be the iconic
milestones in the realm of sports. The sportsmen who have been setting these benchmarks are
considered to be iconic and real-life role models for their fans who have been based all over the
world. These athletes are considered to be the role models who help certain kids to make an
attempt to follow their footsteps to achieve the desired goals in life. The children are majorly
influenced by the attitude of the sportsperson both on-field and off-field (Hasaan et al. 2018).
The various activities that are undertaken by the sportspeople tend to influence the children into
following their footsteps. The following paper attempts a discussion on the background factors
that have been active in dealing with the athlete management and the role of the managers
dealing with the sportsmen. The paper further discusses the issues related to the future operations
for the development of the sports industry of the world.
Definition of Athlete Management
The term “athlete” is used to refer to a person who is skilled or trained in the realm of
exercises or sports. The athletes are generally observed to have a great amount of physical
agility, stamina or strength (Peachey et al. 2015). The term “management” on the other hand
refers to the activities that are undertaken by the supervisors who have been entrusted with the
charge of proper conduction of any activity. In lieu of the afore-mentioned information, the term
“athlete management” might be concluded to refer to the activity or the skill to conduct the
several everyday life activities of the athlete in a proper manner (Taylor, Doherty and McGraw
2015). The major factors that needs to be managed and maintained refer to those that are related
to the training of the athlete, the increase and the maintenance of the stamina of the person. The
management of the athletes further takes into consideration the factors that are related to the
development and maintenance of the mental factors that affect the performance of the concerned

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athlete (Russell et al. 2017). The mental factors in turn include the education level of the athlete,
the temperament demonstrated by the athlete as well as the ways in which the athlete presents
himself or herself on the given field.
The main aim of the athlete management is the preparation of the athletes for their
upcoming lives in a manner that is helpful for the development of their mentality as well as
physicality. The athletes are generally observed to face huge issues in the matters that are related
to their physical as well as mental health. The discipline of athlete management further involves
the maintenance of the public image of the athlete. This includes the matters like the discussion
on the development of the public image of the athlete (Wachsmuth, Jowett and Harwood 2018).
The activities include but are not specified to dealing with the issues of public dealing, image
maintenance, professional development and the discussion on the contracts that are signed by the
athletes.
Figure 1: Stakeholders in Athlete Management
Source: Created by Author
Government Body
Media
Sponsors
Club/Staff

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The management of the various activities of the athletes leads to the involvement of a
number of stakeholders (Andersen, Houlihan and Ronglan 2015). The following diagram tends
to demonstrate the major stakeholders who have been involved in the management of the
activities that are undertaken by the athletes.
The discipline of athlete management is known to have been dealing with the distribution
of the tasks that tend to distract the given athlete from performing in the game. The external
factors are majorly distributed among a number of stakeholders. The primary stakeholder in this
case refers to the sports agents (Borgers et al. 2018). The other people who have been involved
in the proper and effective sports management refer to the coaches, the teams that are related to
the medical factors and the sport sciences, sports organizations, the educational officers. The
members of the society enlisted above might be termed together as a group of people who have
been appointed to ease the development of the mental and physical strengths of the given athlete
(Ruoranen et al. 2016). The athlete is observed to have a choice in the people who have been
involved in the matters that are mandatory for the athletes to take proper care in terms of the
development of the mental and the physical factors that have been affecting the concerned
person.
Present Scenario
The concept of the athlete management has undergone a great shift in terms of the areas
that are covered within the given activity. The majority of these issues can be traced back to the
origin of the activities that are related to the sports. The origin of the development of the sports
and the athletes referred to the training and the development of the athletes in order to transform
them into soldiers in times of the needs of the concerned country. The need for the proper
management of the athletes arose from the need to train the athletes in a proper manner (Filo,

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Lock and Karg 2015). The majority of the issues that were faced by the sports person had been
on the rise due to the inclusion of the various techniques to help the sport activities reach
millions of viewers all over the world. This had resulted from the new viewership that has arisen
among the people all over the world. Schulenkorf, Sherry and Rowe (2016) state that the
introduction of the greater number of viewers of sport has led to the increase in the number of
stakeholders within the discipline of sports management as well due to the increased number of
activities within the discipline.
The people of the modern times are known to view sports management as one of the
major disciplines that helps to fetch a handsome amount of remuneration. There is a great
amount of money that is involved in the activities of the management of the sports. One such
incident had taken place in the year 2015. The English Premier League was reported to have sold
the broadcasting rights and had distributed the money among the 20 participant teams for the
upcoming 3 years. The amount of money that was distributed among the participant teams were
11 Billion pounds (Stansen and Chambers 2019). The huge sum of money that was distributed
among the participant teams would help them maintain a proper environment for the
stakeholders in this case. These stakeholders are inclusive of the existing players of the team, the
proper maintenance of the stadium for the viewers, the increase in the incentives that are
officered to the concerned management. The money can also be used for the recruitment and the
development of the younger talent who would like to join the team following the footsteps of
their role models.
Role of the Managers
The realm of sports has been marked with the presence of certain people who have set the
benchmark for the management of the sportsperson with their own innovative styles. These

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people are known to have contributed majorly to the realm of the sports and helped in setting
new benchmarks in the given area of sports. The major contribution towards the performance of
the athletes are found to have been implemented by the coaches and the mentors of the athletes.
The coaches of the athletes often play a major role in the development of the career of the
concerned sportsperson (Molan, Matthews and Arnold 2016). The main aim of the athlete
managers is the preparation of the athletes for their upcoming lives in a manner that is helpful for
the development of their mentality as well as physicality. The athletes are generally observed to
face huge issues in the matters that are related to their physical as well as mental health. The
managers are also involved in the maintenance of the public image of the athlete. This includes
the matters like the discussion on the development of the public image of the athlete (Cotterill
and Fransen 2016). The activities include but are not specified to dealing with the issues of
public dealing, image maintenance, professional development and the discussion on the contracts
that are signed by the athletes.
The coaches and the mentors of the
concerned athletes play a huge role in the
matters that are related to the development of
the players as well as the team as a whole. One
such example may be cited in the case of
Zinedine Zidane, the present coach of the football club of Real Madrid. The athlete is known to
have been involved with this club for a long duration of time and is observed to have been
training and inspiring the present players of the club so that they might set a benchmark for
themselves in the world of football. The footballer was known for being an elite playmaker
(Fransen et al. 2018). The elegance that is demonstrated by the player on the field, the vision,

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technique and the control over the ball has been known to have inspired a large number of people
all over the world. The coach is known to have steered Real Madrid into victory in three
consecutive times at the UEFA Champions League.
The mentorship of Massimiliano Allegri is
also commendable in the realm of football. The
coach had formerly been a player who was traded
among various football clubs in Italy. The coach
now bears responsibility for the football team of
Serie A club Juventus. The coach is observed to bag a quadruple consecutive victory in the
domestic doubles that were played within the years 2105 and 2018. The coach has also earned
the title of being the only one who has achieved the benchmark among all the players in the top
five European leagues.
Last, but not the least, the contribution of Pep Guardiola towards the game of football is
remarkable beyond all measures. The former
player is known for the being one of the best
players who had been playing for the team of
Barcelona for the majority of his career. The
coach has also played for other football clubs
in Spain. The coach is known to have been
presently working with the famous football team of Manchester city. The coach is well known
for his abilities and the fact that he had been coaching a number of different teams all through his
career (Kelly 2017). The major factor that distinguishes Guardiola from the other contemporary

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coaches is his achievement as the coach who led to the maximum number of the league wins in
the Premier League, the Bundesliga and the La Liga.
The above examples assist in clarifying the major roles that are played by the coaches
and the mentors who have been dealing with the sportspeople. The examples further demonstrate
the need for the proper and capable coaches and mentors who have been dealing with the players
at the various clubs and teams all over the world.
Conceptual Framework
Figure 2: Conceptual Framework Model
Source: Created by Author
The stream of athlete management has acquired a position that is vital to the development
of sports within the country as well as the international market at large. These can be understood
in a proper manner with the help of the above model. The model as suggested by the diagram
Components
ConsequencesAntecedents

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attempts an explanation on the ways in which the antecedents of the concerned athletes along
with their management is converted into the developmental consequences for the concerned
athlete (Ryan 2018). The process also identifies the stakeholders and discusses the role that is
played by the concerned stakeholders.
 Antecedents
Figure 3: Antecedents
Source: Created by Author
The primary step of the model refers to the involvement of the antecedents. This activity
is observed to deal with the talent identification of the concerned person and the
development of the concerned individual in the initial stages. This step also considered
the involvement and the influence of the stakeholders on the game play followed by the
concerned player.
 Identification of talent
Antecedents
Media
Social Agents
Teams/Sport
Talent
Identification

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The identification of talent is known to have been a multi-faceted job in these
days. The majority of the talent identification takes place through the activities of
scouting. The scout helps in identifying the abilities of the concerned athlete. The
major factor that is considered by the management during the inclusion of the
concerned talent in the team is the intuition that is provided by the scout who has
been capable of identifying the proper spark within the given athlete (Wachsmuth,
Jowett and Harwood 2018).
 Media involvement
The involvement of the media plays a huge role in determining the development
as well as the management of the concerned athlete.
 Social Media – The technological issues that have been present in sports
tend to help the management to have a better knowledge of the public
opinion on the player.
 Mass Media – The mass media like the press, the news channels have also
been demonstrating the athlete’s development and progress in the given
field of sports that is being highlighted.
 Social Agents – The social agents tend to help in boosting the morale of
the athlete thereby affecting the stability of the mental conditions of the
athlete. The major social agents are enlisted below.
Friends and Family – The friends and the family of the
sportsperson play a huge role in the demonstration as well as the
maintenance of the public image of the concerned athlete (Retar,

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Pišot and Kolar 2016). The athlete receives a huge amount of
support from the social factors that are met by their kith and kin.
Community – The athlete also receives a major motivation in terms
of the issues that have been presented by the people of the
community. The involvement of the community is one of the major
targets of the athlete managers since the community helps in the
development of the connection between the players and their
followers.
 Sports or Teams
The concerned sport and the team of the athlete are known to be a major
motivation for the athlete in general. The proper functioning of the team helps in
motivating the athletes in general.
 Components