Sports Professional Interview Paper

On Friday, September 15th I met with my sport professional at Victory Field in the heart of downtown Indianapolis. My interview with my sport professional lasted around forty minutes. I decided to do an in-person interview because I thought the sport professional would be able to better recognize and remember me after our meeting. An in person meeting also shows more of a desire and dedication as a phone call would have been more of a convenience. I got connected with the sport professional due to my past work experience with his baseball organization. The sport professional that I met with was Randy Lewandowski who is President and General Manager of the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Mr. Lewandowski

Lewandowski's first job was with the Indians in the summer and fall of 1994, after networking with a former teammate. At that time, he worked within the ticket department. During our meeting, he mentioned how he considered himself more of a generalist than a specialist as he worked in the ticket office, yet also worked as a receptionist and in customer service. By working in all three, he was able to gain many skills needed to be successful as a professional while also getting needed experience in various areas besides the ticket office. His experiences have helped provide him with a background that helps him to know how he wants his organization to be run. In terms of education needed for his job, Mr. Lewandowski said, “Having a Sport Management degree is not a requirement for this job, but it is also okay to have a degree in another somewhat related major such as business (R. Lewandowski, personal communication, September 16, 2017).” The quote represents the idea that one does not need to have a job in the field in which they have a career in. A different major may even be able to help as a result of being knowledgeable in more than one area. The statement also represents an idea that you can have a successful career in sports without having a degree directly related to sport management. In order to be successful at the position one needs to be have attention to detail, high expectations, honest, have a good attitude, and be willing to work hard. Many of these qualities are necessary when working in sports, as sports is about providing a service to others. A lot of the qualities that were mentioned represent characteristics of being a good leader. Although, they are not the four key characteristics as discussed in class, it represents values and attitudes essential to being a good