Coming from a small town in the middle of nowhere Minnesota, there wasn’t a whole lot of anything going on. Beyond high school sports, our community activities revolved around farming, lake days, and bon-fires. Despite the lack of opportunities, I fell in love with sports.
In high school, I played almost every sport that was offered (some I had more talent in than others). Our school district was not particularly successful when it came to sports though, so that dream of being a professional athlete disappeared pretty quickly. I was fortunate that my mom had a large interest in sports. The two of us would make the occasional four-hour road trip to go to Vikings or Timberwolves games, and those experiences really solidified my love for sports on a bigger stage. Even though those experiences were few and far between, that exposure to professional sports was very impactful. After high school I didn’t know what I wanted to do moving forward, but I knew I wanted to stay involved with the sports industry somehow.
Flash forward a few years, a few unfulfilling jobs, and a few Super Bowls later (go Chiefs!!), I was still desperate to get into the sports industry. I had been working as an analyst for a few years and was finding that I did still really enjoy number crunching, but I was not enjoying the industry that I was in. Although the analyst positions are rapidly growing, I was still struggling to find one in the sports industry, specifically that would allow me to work remotely. In the fall of 2023, I was wrapping up my degree in Sports and Rec Management, keeping in the back of my mind that my spouse and I had an upcoming military PCS move scheduled. We weren’t sure where we were moving, but I knew I needed a remote position that would allow me to continue working, regardless of where I was located.
Eventually, I happened to stumble upon a job posting for a software company called Trak. I had worked a lot with software and data in the past, so I figured I would give it a shot! I didn’t have any experience with sponsorship management, but was very eager to learn. Long story short, here we are! Through all the crazy training, temporary housing, and moves that the military has thrown our way the past few months, Trak has continued to provide the flexibility that I have needed. I am beyond thankful and happy to be a part of the Trak family!
Data analysts within the sponsorship management industry play a very key role. Without supporting data, it can be difficult and time consuming for leaders to make informed decisions. Our role is to make that data readily available and easy to understand. Like I always say, “my job is to make your job easier”! From a sales perspective at Trak, one of my focuses so far has been helping our sales team create KPI metrics and building dashboards to have visual representation of current standings in regards to goals. This has taken out the manual work and allowed sales to spend more time doing what they do best!
Until I started working with Trak, I didn’t fully realize how much sponsorship influence was involved in my early interactions with sports, and how those interactions really shaped the rest of my life. One of the big sponsors for the Minnesota Vikings is Land O’Lakes. Every day when I would drink their milk in the elementary school cafeteria, I would think of that sign in the stadium and remember how much fun we had at the last Vikings game. Just the presence of that sponsorship sign impacted my thought process and my opinion on different products in a positive way. In a sense, that brand exposure allowed me to feel like I was connected to that team.
For a lot of kids, that exposure is something that sticks with us and helps harbor a passion for the team and for sports. It could be the reason someone chooses to play a sport or the reason they fall in love with a team. Even though it may seem like it's mainly a financial decision, sponsorships and the exposures they bring has a much bigger impact. Sports has been one of the largest influences in my life and I am thrilled to play a small part in the success of the industry.
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