The first article of a 3-part series about the relationships, experiences, and skills you need to thrive in sports analytics
Have you ever dreamed of working in sports analytics? Whether you’re currently in the industry, have prior experience, or are preparing for a future role, this series provides actionable strategies to help you land your dream job. Drawing from my journey in full-time roles in sports analytics as well as from industry leading experts’ insights, this article outlines the key steps you can take to launch a successful career in this competitive field.
About Me
Hello! I’m Josh Goldberg, a data analytics specialist with 7+ years of experience in analytics, strategy, dashboarding, and reporting primarily within sports, entertainment, and healthcare. Throughout my career, I’ve leveraged tools like SQL, Tableau, and Python to optimize product performance, drive customer engagement, and boost revenue. I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to world-class organizations including the The Walt Disney Company, Fanatics, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Staten Island Yankees among others, through using data to generate and deliver meaningful insights and actionable results.
Preparation Strategies
Over the next three weeks, I’ll be sharing a three-part guide that breaks down the core pillars of building a successful career in sports analytics:
- Cultivating Professional Relationships (this week)
- Gaining Industry Knowledge and Relevant Experiences (coming next week)
- Building Your Skillset (coming the following week)
Each installment will take a deeper dive into one of these essential areas, combining industry insights with practical examples to help you navigate your path more confidently.
Why Relationships Matter in Sports Analytics
Let’s start with the most important (and often most overlooked) piece: relationships. In a small, interconnected field like sports analytics, who you know – and how you connect – can be just as important as what you know.
Why is this important? In a close-knit industry like sports, where only 131 major professional teams exist across the five major U.S. leagues (Major League Baseball (MLB), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), and Major League Soccer), relationships are paramount. However, the opportunity pool expands when you include the 120+ Minor League Baseball teams, NBA G League and American Hockey League affiliates, numerous college athletics programs, sports tech startups, media companies, and brands working in fan engagement and sponsorship. Still, compared to many other industries, the sports world remains relatively small, which makes networking all the more essential. Effective relationship-building helps establish trust, demonstrates your value, and opens doors to roles that often aren’t publicly listed.
Focus on quality over quantity in your connections. What’s the best way to cultivate relationships?
- Reach out on LinkedIn: Personalize your messages to highlight mutual interests or offer insights.
- Attend industry events: Meetups like the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference are invaluable for networking and learning.
- Find and be a mentor: Mentorships foster growth and long-term connections.
- Conduct informational interviews: These can provide insights into non-published roles and support you in building rapport with professionals.
- Stay in touch consistently: Relationships aren’t just built – they’re maintained. Follow up with contacts periodically by sharing relevant articles, celebrating their wins (like promotions or recent work), or just checking in. A simple, thoughtful message every few months goes a long way toward staying top of mind.
As Russell Scibetti, VP of Strategy & Business Intelligence at the New York Football Giants mentions,
“The sports business analytics community is a tight knit group that really emphasizes supporting and learning from one another. This means that building quality relationships is very important, and by quality, I mean connections where you take a ‘give first’ approach – sharing insights, making introductions, offering to help, and finding ways to create value for someone else. Those relationships will open doors for you going forward.”
When reaching out for the first time, try to be specific, relevant, and respectful of their time. Tailor your message to show that you’ve done your homework and that you’re reaching out for a meaningful exchange, not just a favor. A thoughtful message can spark a conversation that turns into an ongoing professional relationship.
Here’s an example of an effective outreach message for LinkedIn. If you’re sending this note through another platform (i.e. email, make sure to include your last name).
Hi [Name], I recently read about your team’s innovative ticketing model and was impressed by its potential impact. I have an idea for an additional variable that could drive greater revenue. Would you be open to a brief conversation to exchange insights? Looking forward to hearing back from you. Thank you, Josh
Building Trust and Meaningful Connections
The key to successful networking, like at work, is adding value. Share relevant articles, propose ideas, and stay engaged with your contacts. In doing so, your reach-outs will have a higher degree of success than if you enter asking for a job (which is a strong turn-off, although many people do this). By the way, one great sports analytics event I’d recommend attending is the aforementioned Sloan Conference, held annually in Boston since 2006. The networking opportunities there are extensive, and the analytics research shared is always cutting-edge. Check out my 2/2024 article about the event if you’re interested in learning more.
Another key benefit of developing professional relationships is that, over time, your new colleagues will gain a sense of who you are. By initially establishing trust, your contacts will be more open to learning about your experiences and desired career path.
Building trust can help create an informal “hidden job network” where industry leaders may think to contact you about roles they come across which may be of interest to you. And, as your relationship progresses, you may feel more comfortable asking your contacts for potential referrals to roles you’re interested in applying to, which can position you as a leading candidate for those positions.
As Armaan Ahluwalia, currently Head of Strategy at Super-Sub (previously Head of Strategic Commercial Solutions at Alpine Formula One Team) notes,
“When hiring for roles, I often think back to those relationships I’ve created over the years and think about who might be a good fit. People want to work with people they trust, like and think differently to build a diverse team. Building great relationships where people are interested in your growth and success are the ones worth working towards.”
In order to maximize interactions with these individuals, you will ideally establish a level of rapport quickly, and part of doing that is being able to quickly impart a sense of trust. While building trust isn’t a formulaic process, some strategies that generally work well include:
- Active Listening & Mirroring – Pay close attention to what your new contact is saying when you’re talking, and show genuine interest. Nod, paraphrase, and ask follow-up questions to show you’re engaged. Mirroring their tone, pace, and body language (subtly) can also create a sense of connection. Remember that most of our communication actually occurs non-verbally.
- Find Common Ground – Look for shared interests, experiences, or even mutual acquaintances. People feel more comfortable when they recognize similarities, so bringing up a commonality – whether it’s a favorite sports team, a mutual connection, or a shared professional interest – can help to engender a sense of familiarity, which, by extension, works towards establishing trust.
While it may seem obvious, once you’ve established that trust, people tend to be more open to sharing information, whether about the industry, their roles and/or themselves.
Once you’ve built trust and created strong relationships across the sports world, the natural next step is to understand the landscape you’re entering.
I’ll cover all that and more in Part 2 next week – where we’ll dive into what kinds of sports organizations exist, what roles they offer, and how your prior experiences (whether in sports or otherwise) can set you up for success. See you then!
To learn more about Joshua, and continue on with this series, check out the full article on LinkedIn.
