BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing graduate Jack Glennon has recently published an e-book, entitled ‘100 Pieces of Advice for Getting Started in the Sport Industry’, as part of the company he co-founded, ‘Behind Sport’. Here, he tells us about the book and how his time at UCFB helped inspire him to write it…

Congratulations on the release of your new e-book! Tell us about the book and why you decided to put it together.

‘100 Pieces of Advice for Getting Started in the Sport Industry’ brings together the very best advice we’ve been given since we launched Behind Sport. 

Our flagship series, Industry Insider, has seen us talk to over 170 professionals working in the space about their careers and more. At the end of every Q&A we’ve asked the same question - What is one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to work in the sport industry?

The advice has been so valuable and also so varied that we decided we needed to bring it all into one place.

We know how hard getting into the sports industry can be and also how daunting it can seem when you’re just starting out so we wanted to put something together that people would be able to use as a way to navigate those early steps.

What have you taken into the book from your time at UCFB? 

There are a number of things I took from my time at UCFB in to putting this book together, but probably not the things you would expect. It’s the skills like time management, organisation and prioritisation of tasks that have been really important for doing something like this.

I’d also add that something else I took from UCFB in to this project are the people skills I developed during my time. We’ve built relationships with over 170 people in the industry and without them, this book wouldn’t have been possible.

If you had to choose a single piece of advice as the most important, what would it be and why?

There’s so much great advice in this book but if I had choose one piece, I would go with the advice that Wrexham AFC’s First Team Sports Scientist Owen Jackson gave us.

“Control the controllable’s. What I mean by that is, there are specific things in your life you can control, your discipline, your attitude, your effort etc. Make sure those are bob on and the rest will come with it.”

I picked this one because I think the basics are so important. You can be the most talented person walking the earth but if you haven’t got the basics nailed down, that talent will quickly go to waste.

You’re also the Co-Founder of ‘Behind Sport’. Tell us about the company and what you do.

Behind Sport explores behind the scenes of the sport industry, shining a light on the incredible work that goes on and the incredible people that make it possible.

My co-founder Ryan and I started Behind Sport because we felt there was a gap for storytelling and giving people working in the industry the recognition they deserve. We want to disrupt the sports business space and bring people not only as much as value as we can, but the highest quality content as well.

Over the coming months you’re going to see the level of stuff we’re doing take a real step up. There are some really exciting things in the works.

What have been some of the highlights over the last two years?

There are so many I could choose from. We were fortunate enough to take part in the Santander X Entrepreneurship Awards last October which culminated in talking about the business at Wembley Stadium. We’ve created content with people from some of the biggest sporting organisations in the world, which is something I still find absolutely wild.

For me though, the highlight of the last two years has been the feedback we’ve got on what we’re doing and the community that we’re building under the Behind Sport brand. It’s always nice to hear when people tell us that they use Behind Sport to keep up to date with what’s going on in the sport industry.

What have you brought into the role from your BA (Hons) Football Business & Marketing degree?

I could list the obvious marketing related skills that I learned whilst at UCFB but for me, my time at university taught me a lot more than just that. When building a business, the basics are often neglected in how important they are. It’s things like meeting agreed deadlines, networking and building relationships, attention to detail and things like that which are the most important. UCFB is great place to practice all of these.

What advice do you have for anyone looking to study at UCFB?

With anything in life, you get out what you put in. The same goes for university, if you’ve got ambitions to work in the sport industry you need to work for it. The opportunity won’t present itself on a plate.

UCFB is a great institution, full of great people who want to help you achieve your ambitions so make the most of them. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice.

Finally, your time at university will go by in the blink of an eye, it’s over before you know it so enjoy every second of it. Say yes to every opportunity, you never know where it could lead.

You can download ‘100 Pieces of Advice for Getting Started in the Sport Industry’ here.