“Sports Management- The Thrills and Chills”- a panel discussion for future heroes

“There is divine beauty in learning…. To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at my birth. Others have been here before me, and I walk in their footsteps.” ―Elie Wiesel

Struggles and challenges are something that you face right from the time you kick-start your journey in the corporate world. Sports Management is one such field which is driven by passion. It is challenging yet immensely satisfying. International Institute of Sports Management, the pioneer in the field of professional Sports Management education is preparing industry ready professionals for a decade.

For the students of IISM, it is important to have an insight of the daily grind of the industry. That is why IISM invited four of its alumni as panelists to share their practical knowledge in the panel discussion, ‘Sports Management- The Thrills and Chills’ so that the students gain knowledge from real-life experiences of the on-field professionals.

The esteemed panelists- Tanvi Shevade (Manager- Operations, Probability Sports), Hardik Jariwala (Co-founder & CEO, SportWise India), Akshata Shete (Director & Head Coach, BPCA Rhythemic Club) and Kartik Desai (Head- Athlete Management, SportWise India). Though each panelist began their journey by taking a step against their family’s wishes, the results have been worth celebrating.

Each one of them had the courage to break stereotypes and make a mark of their own. They are doing extremely well in the field for which IISM is proud of. The panel discussion moderated by Mr. Devendra Prabhudesai, Head- Corporate Relations at IISM, discussed the panelists’ journey, about the industry and some important piece of advice.

Hardik was preparing for CA while he heard about Sports Management. He decided to leave it and make his passion, a profession. Sharing his experience in the industry, Hardik says, “once you’re in it, then you’re IN IT!” you cannot run away from it. He states that one must work very hard without expecting to manage team India or MS Dhoni right from the inception.

One has to make its own mark to reach to that position. “You shouldn’t keep a narrow mindset or shouldn’t run after money while stepping into the business. No matter how much you sweat, the fruit will always be sweet in the end “, says Hardik.

He has established himself as a celebrity athlete manager who looks after the social media activities of great sportsperson like Padma Shri Deepa Malik. He believes that this competitive field has a lot of opportunities to offer. It is still growing and has untapped sectors which can bring out a lot of business.

‘Sports has no career!’ Akshata had already broken this myth by establishing her own academy after pursuing Sports Management from IISM. She says IISM gave her a lot of confidence in doing what she had never thought of doing.

That is where she learnt to handle all sorts of crowd. While motivating everyone, she stated that one need not have a sports background to pursue a career in Sports Management. A passion for sports and the willingness to give something back to the field is something that is a must to get into this field.

Kartik went on to pursue Sports Management after completing engineering. He stated that he had to work day and night in the early phase of his career with limited pay. His team and he had to adjust within a small budget to execute professional football matches.

Kartik expressed that IISM has helped him a lot to make him industry ready. All that he learnt at IISM definitely helped him overcome difficulties. He started networking with experienced people through LinkedIn while in the institute which helped him a lot in his career. He suggests every student to explore the opportunities offered by the field.

Tanvi took a spontaneous decision of pursuing Sports Management because she had a deep affinity towards sports being a national level basketball player. She felt that being a sportsperson, it’d be easier for her to understand the industry and its demands. She went on to say that though she loves challenges, the industry gave her reality checks every day.

Tanvi says that the field that looks glamorous throws challenges at you, which if accomplished, will take you to glory. One must accept each task assigned to them without hesitating. “One must be focused and shall not get affected due to mind clashes. Do your bit and have patience as you won’t get quick results here! In the end, one day you’ll look back and smile looking at your achievements.”

We want IISM students to be self-reliant and unbeatable while they prevail in the industry. This is why such interactions are essential where they acquire knowledge. With such enlightenment by our alumni panelists, we hope that our students prepare themselves to face pitfalls and develop a ‘never giving up’ frame of mind.