Working in Sports During the Holidays

Working in the NBA

It was Christmas Eve and there my family was, filled in a car, sitting outside a local McDonald’s in Greensburg, IN, using the WiFi while I logged a game and sent it back to Portland, OR.

Most Video Coordinators and Basketball Operations specialists will understand.

Even during the holidays, the work continues, the games continue.

But in that, one of the important things for me was to always stay close to the family and always get back home at some point (before / after / during) the holidays.

It is so incredibly easy to get wrapped up in your job, especially in sports.  Holidays only exist in theory.  Maybe instead of a Christmas morning practice, it will be a Christmas afternoon shootaround before the game.  Everyone has to make sacrifices.

Those sacrifices are part of the territory.  But I’m also here to tell you not to sacrifice your family and loved ones.  Your jobs, your careers will pull at you and pull at your time, all of your time.  And as hard as it might be, you need to have some boundaries.  You need some time for you, for your friends, for your family.

As much as a ‘team’ acts and often says you are part of the family, the truth is, they’re a business.  They’re an organization.  You are not part of their family.  As soon as the team starts losing games or a Coach or GM gets fired, you’ll likely soon be discarded as well.  It’s part of sports, part of the game.  We all know the sacrifices we’re walking into, but within that, don’t sacrifice the things you already have, the people who have been with you along the way.

And while an organization is a business, some of the people you meet along the way will become family.  You’ll find new loved ones to share holidays and time with.  These are important and those who’ve been with you all the way are important.  In the midst of the bustle or holidays and games, do your best not to get caught up in just the game and work itself, but to still find the balance between getting your work done and cherishing your family and loved ones.