“Gaining Practical Knowledge From Senior Executives In The Industry Is Invaluable”

iSportConnect’s Marketing Associate Thomas Riley last week finished his placement year from Bournemouth University, and in this Friday’s Meet The Team piece he explains what he has learnt during his time working on iSportLearn and why he believes it is so valuable.

Having now had the chance to reflect my experience with iSportConnect, and having launched iSportLearn, I feel a huge sense of achievement and pride. 

I started out at iSportConnect on my placement year in order to begin my journey in the sports industry, of course I had my expectations of how it was going to be and what the world of sport would be like, but within the first month of being at iSportConnect I found it was very different to what I expected.

“I had my expectations of how it was going to be and what the world of sport would be like, but within the first month of being at iSportConnect I found it was very different.”

When Sandy Case, iSportConnect’s Chief Strategy Officer and CEO of iSportLearn first showed me iSportLearn and what the project entailed, he showed me that businesses like iSportConnect are trying to create positive change. The launch of iSportLearn and as it continues to grow, will mean that many more people, regardless of background, skin colour or disability, have an opportunity to break down those barriers and learn.

During my experience, I gained first-hand knowledge and insights from the playmakers who were involved and my role as Project Manager was incredibly varied as we gathered well over 100 hours of content to eventually turn that into our final product. The challenge of leading a young team of assistant who helped us to post-produce the videos into its final form was also a great learning opportunity.

A lot of responsibility was given to the team and I in order to meet deadlines and it took a lot of time and resiliency to push through in order to help people gain a better understanding of the sports industry as a whole. I feel the purpose of iSportLearn can most definitely help tackle the diversity issue and bring a new pool of talent into the industry as the business expands. 

“At university, you just don’t gain that sort of experience… learning how each industry works and gaining practical knowledge from senior executives in the industry is an invaluable attribute to be able to have under your belt.”

Without my experience at iSportConnect, I would never have known how Formula 1 operate their events and everything that goes into them, how sponsorship deals work, like the way Coca-Cola can sponsor a global event like the world cup but also target local markets, or how how leagues and publishers work together in Esports and a team like EVOS Esports is formed.

At university, you just don’t gain that sort of experience. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying university courses relating to the sports industry are bad or that you don’t learn anything from it, but learning how each industry works and gaining practical knowledge from senior executives in the industry is an invaluable attribute to be able to have under your belt in an ultra-competitive employment market, and from that side I think iSportLearn can really offer value, it certainly did for me. 

I want to say a big thank you to everyone at iSportConnect for the opportunity that they have given me. Over the last ten months I have gained so much insight, knowledge and developed my skills further to allow me to progress in my future career. 

iSportLearn can definitely do the same for young people looking to get into the industry by giving them an actual understanding that people like myself would never get until I was actually working in the business.