Kevin Forbes
Registered User
This has been brought up a few times (aka we should really have a sticky), but here goes:
First off, I would suggest not specializing at the start. That includes that Sports Management WorldWide course. I would advise taking that as supplemental to your regular education, not in any way replacing education. From what I've heard, the basis of the course linked in this thread is that it teaches you how to use Rinknet. Which is a skill, but certainly not the be all and end all. However, it might be worthwhile to explore simply based on the connections that the company claims to have.
Some degrees are fairly obvious depending on what part of the operation you want to work in:
Marketing ->Marketing
PR and Communications ->Public Relations
Trainer ->Kinesiology
Management ->Business, Business Admin, Law (specifically contract law, sports law)
Player Representation ->Law (specifically contract law, sports law), Business
At the beginning of this journey (and if you're just entering university, you're definitely at the beginning), you don't want to get too specialized too soon, focusing on tailoring yourself toward one particular job or not being able to find employment later on if your dream doesn't pan out.
Also look at Sport Management and Recreation Management courses
Scouting is a popular one because who doesn't want to get paid for watching hockey. It doesn't fit with the idea of a university education, but I would recommend making sure your knowledge of the game is top notch. Take a few coaching courses, things like that.
You're in class for maybe eight hours a day, so the major thing you can do, if you really want to pursue this path is figure out how to best use the other sixteen hours to put you closer to your goal. This advice is the same for any job, but its that extra work, be it extracurricular activities, extra courses on the side or what have you, that will help you in the long run.
The key thing to keep in mind is that the Hockey world is a very small one. The most recent example I remember hearing was that Ron Wilson was introduced to Brian Burke in college by Lou Lamoriello. A lot of it is about who you know and being in the right place at the right time. You'll probably have to start small, maybe not even full-time, maybe not even paid, before you can work your way up to actually make a living.
Finally, here's a crapload of links to these discussions before. Read them. All of them. There's a lot of tidbits of good information.
Sports Management World Wide School:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=222102
Working in Hockey/Sports:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=471798
Gare Joyce's Book on Scouting and the world of Hockey:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=458751
Scouting and Becoming a Scout:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=364679
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=363308
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=347681
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=253740
The Hockey News also has this great little feature this year called A Scout's Life: http://www.thehockeynews.com/listings/164-A-Scouts-Life.html
Video Scouting:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=511582
First off, I would suggest not specializing at the start. That includes that Sports Management WorldWide course. I would advise taking that as supplemental to your regular education, not in any way replacing education. From what I've heard, the basis of the course linked in this thread is that it teaches you how to use Rinknet. Which is a skill, but certainly not the be all and end all. However, it might be worthwhile to explore simply based on the connections that the company claims to have.
Some degrees are fairly obvious depending on what part of the operation you want to work in:
Marketing ->Marketing
PR and Communications ->Public Relations
Trainer ->Kinesiology
Management ->Business, Business Admin, Law (specifically contract law, sports law)
Player Representation ->Law (specifically contract law, sports law), Business
At the beginning of this journey (and if you're just entering university, you're definitely at the beginning), you don't want to get too specialized too soon, focusing on tailoring yourself toward one particular job or not being able to find employment later on if your dream doesn't pan out.
Also look at Sport Management and Recreation Management courses
Scouting is a popular one because who doesn't want to get paid for watching hockey. It doesn't fit with the idea of a university education, but I would recommend making sure your knowledge of the game is top notch. Take a few coaching courses, things like that.
You're in class for maybe eight hours a day, so the major thing you can do, if you really want to pursue this path is figure out how to best use the other sixteen hours to put you closer to your goal. This advice is the same for any job, but its that extra work, be it extracurricular activities, extra courses on the side or what have you, that will help you in the long run.
The key thing to keep in mind is that the Hockey world is a very small one. The most recent example I remember hearing was that Ron Wilson was introduced to Brian Burke in college by Lou Lamoriello. A lot of it is about who you know and being in the right place at the right time. You'll probably have to start small, maybe not even full-time, maybe not even paid, before you can work your way up to actually make a living.
Finally, here's a crapload of links to these discussions before. Read them. All of them. There's a lot of tidbits of good information.
Sports Management World Wide School:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=222102
Working in Hockey/Sports:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=471798
Gare Joyce's Book on Scouting and the world of Hockey:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=458751
Scouting and Becoming a Scout:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=364679
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=363308
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=347681
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=253740
The Hockey News also has this great little feature this year called A Scout's Life: http://www.thehockeynews.com/listings/164-A-Scouts-Life.html
Video Scouting:
http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=511582