Pro Sports--How To Get A Baseball or Hockey Career After Playing For Years

By Mark Grove

99 percent of all athletes will never make it to the pros. That's just the way it is,and if you want to stay in the sport of your choice you'll have to make a few changes. Too many want their kids to be pro baseball, and hockey players.

I'll focus on baseball and hockey because I understand those more.If you played college baseball or Junior hockey in Canada,or even played minor baseball or hockey even,think about what you would like to do when you're in your early 20'or early 30's while still involved in sports.

If you played college or junior hockey,try to get into one of the minor pro leagues and get your way paid while you think about what you want to do.If you really want to be a part of minor pro,college or junior hockey try your hand at being a scout.

Learn from the people who are already doing that and see what's involved in that job. Basically, scouting the best players who can fill your teams roster.You'll go from town to town watching players evaluating and analyzing what they do as players.

Example:Scoring ability,passing,playing making. Defensive skills,toughness and how a player interacts with other players, and even the crowd.

Even if you don't get paid at first, ask the team you play with and go around with the scouts to learn the trade. Scouts and player development people are the most important part of what happens when a player becomes part of a team and is either a good fit,will take some time to develop, or be a disaster.

Keep playing college,junior or minor pro sports and keep your eyes on other careers in sports such as being a minor pro baseball or hockey coach,minor pro coach or manager.

Most people don't want to be a general manager, and I wouldn't recommend it. Keep playing amateur sports or minor pro and learn all you can about scouting, coaching, and managing a minor pro team.

If you don't play sports but are a rabid fan and study it like a hawk, keep working a regular job and even write about sports by setting up a blog or site. Even consider coaching amateur baseball or hockey as well.

If people tell you you need to have played pro sports to coach or scout minor pro,that's bull-shit! Most great coaches in MLB or the NHL were mediocre players in the bigs,or never played in the bigs,or were just average or good minor pro players.

These people were students of the game. The best pros are not great coaches for the most part. A few are good. Take Wayne Gretzky,one of the greatest players ever in the NHL,is a mediocre coach at best.

Doug Gilmour who was the player development guy for the Toronto Maple Leafs did squat to develop a great team. Sorry guys that's just the way it is.

If you played Junior hockey in Southern Canada at the Junior D,C,B,A or Major Junior level learn to scout from the people who do it everyday. Just think of it,Don Cherry the great coach of the Boston Bruins and the Rochester Americans
goes out to minor hockey arenas with his son Tim Cherry scouting players weekly.

Tim Cherry is one of the biggies of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL)in it's Central Scouting Bureau.He loves his job and learns everyday.

If you live in the US and played college or minor pro baseball do the same thing and learn all you can,to be a scout,coach or manager. Maybe I'm simplifying it all,but if you work your butt off even if you never played,played amateur baseball or hockey. Or played college or minor pro hockey or baseball,staying in the sport you love is worth it if you work at it.

That guy who never played but loved your sport and became a better hockey or baseball scout,because he studied it. Then did all he could even at no pay will get hired even before a great player.

Email me with what you think about this sports piece.

Peace and success to all in sports.

Mark G