Football season has officially kicked off and the players are getting back on the gridiron. So why watch the game on TV when you can be part of all the outdoor action? Get on the offensive line with one of these exciting Sports Careers .
Athletic training
Athletic trainers specialize in the prevention, assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries. Athletic trainers are often the first heath care providers on the scene, and are responsible for recognizing, evaluating, and assessing injuries and providing immediate care.
An athletic training degree from an accredited college or university is required for almost all jobs as an athletic trainer and for certification by the Board of Certification. According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, 70 percent of athletic trainers have a master's or doctoral degree. Formal athletic training education includes courses in biomechanics, human anatomy, nutrition, and physiology.
Sports Management
Sports management encompasses coaching, fitness instructing, health club management, and many other sports careers. In a sports management degree program, you'll learn the conceptual, managerial, and practical skills to prepare you for leadership in the sports management industry. These programs blend general management skills with the specific demands of managing sports organizations.
Sports management programs provide a strong foundation in marketing, accounting, finance, Communications, management, ethics, and the legal aspects of business. Specific courses provide an understanding of the role of management in sports, the role of sports in society, and the opportunities to apply this knowledge in sports careers. Field trips and internships serve to solidify your understanding of the business of sports.
Sports medicine
Professionals who practice sports medicine focus on physical fitness and the treatment and prevention of injuries and other disorders related to sports. Common conditions treated in these sports careers include joint stiffness and pain; dehydration; injuries to the back, knee, leg, or shoulder; tendonitis; and tennis elbow.
To treat and prevent such conditions, sports medicine professionals offer nutrition and fluid replacement counseling; exercise programs for increasing strength, flexibility, and endurance; protective equipment; fitness tests; physical therapy; and surgery. Sports medicine practitioners also work to prevent abuse of performance-enhancing drugs such as anabolic steroids.
Sportscasting
Sportscasters select, write, and deliver sports news, which may include interviews with sports personalities and coverage of games and other sporting events. Play-by-play announcers quickly, accurately, and articulately describe the events of the game. Color commentators (think ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman) field questions from play-by-play announcers and provide expert insight into the game.
Those aspiring to these sports careers should study journalism in school with an emphasis on broadcasting. Sportscasters need to be clear, concise writers; avid readers; and sports fanatics who are well-versed in the history of sports.
Kick off one of these sports careers and get in the center of the athletic action.
About the author:

Robyn Tellefsen is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.
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