my life as a Trojan and as a Gator
It’s amazing it is that time of year that the indoor track and field season has started. I remember competing in a few indoor meets in December at Florida and SMU, and it really set the tone for the rest of the season. Even though I have been out of track and field now for two years (amazing!), I still follow the sport. It’s been fun keeping track of former teammates and teams, and I am able to do this by going to the premier track and field web site, Trackshark.com. Tom Borish has done an amazing job with this web site and has contributed so much to the athletes, fans, and the sport of track and field with Trackshark.
The other day, I came across this one feature that appeared on Trackshark, and it definitely was interesting. It was an article that discussed how field events (ex. throwing) do not get the same amount of attention or recognition as some of the other events in track (ex. sprints).
Well, this is not too surprising. I saw this when I competing in track and field, and I would get questions about what I exactly did, what my training routine was, and other questions too. The real issue is not understanding the event, but it is the athletes and people representing the event that need to be the focus of redefining the sport’s reputation. These are the people that are the “faces” of throwing– and we need to determine how these individuals are presented to the public, what are the perceptions of these throwers and coaches, and what associations and attributes are being assigned to these individuals.
Throwers have an opportunity to not only educate the public, but also transform the throwing brand. But it is going to take some strategic planning and message development to certain audiences. Based on this article, there are some good suggestions– and here are a few other ideas to consider:
- Be proactive with managing throwing brand. I think that it is time to stop complaining about the lack of facilities, not enough media attention, etc. It is a time to be active and take ownership that an individual thrower can help manage a reputation and brand of a track and field event. It’s time to formulate a long-term plan to the throwing brand out to various key audiences in an effective manner.
- Understand the perceptions of what it means to be a thrower. When you think of a shot putter, a ballerina is not the first thing that comes to mind. There are certain stereotypes, perceptions, and associations that come across to the general public. Throwers need to embrace this challenge and inform the public about what it means to be a shot putter, discus thrower, javelin thrower, or even a hammer thrower. Throwers need to advocate and educate people about their sport.
- Instead of shifting the blame to the public, media, etc.– look at the throwing community: It is important to look at how the throwing community in general operates and functions. Is this one of the reasons that the throwing events are portrayed as they are in the media and what assocations are assigned to individual ? I would argue yes. Some of these individuals are gatekeepers for athletes and others and may not be acceptive to change. However, in order to get the throwing events into popular sport coverage, there needs to be a “paradigm shift” (you know that I have been looking at research and theoretical foundation literature when I’m starting to refer to Thomas Kuhn). Basically, what we have here is a set structure that a group of people have set up and built in the throwing community. In order to advance as a trackand field event to get more media coverage, recognition, and presence in athletics– there needs to be a change.
- Individual throwers need to separate their brand and reputation to make themselves unique and personable to the public: Not all throwers fit the typical thrower stereotype. Throwers need to distinguish themselves from their competitors to make themselves more marketable. Whether this is setting up a web site or getting involved in social media marketing– there are a lot of opportunities out there. Being personable to the public means having good interview skills, expressing your personality to your fans and other audiences, and be nice! 🙂 Also, athletes need to know that they are not managing the throwing brand, but their own as well. You can tell a lot about an athlete by the way they present themselves to their competitors, how they answer questions to the media, and who they associate themselves with (ex. coaches, support staff, etc.)
- A good sports reputation starts with a good person: No matter how much press attention, funding, or recognition a sport has– you’ve got to have good people representing the sport. It’s as simple as that. 🙂
I hope you all are having a great day! 🙂
Best Wishes,
Karen
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