Job Title: Director of Player Personnel (Soccer Operations)
Company: Seattle Sounders FC
Industry: Professional Sports
Mentor Since: 2021
Will Mentor: Graduate Students
Background
Job Description
Negotiate player contracts, manage salary cap, liaise with agents, other clubs, and national team federations, navigate league roster rules, execute player transfers and loans, forecast roster-building for current and future seasons, work with technical staff to identify and sign top talent, oversee yearly college draft process.
Company Description
Since 1974, Seattle Sounders FC has existed across multiple leagues and iterations to become one of the most recognized soccer teams in North America. Since joining Major League Soccer in 2009, the club has consistently broken attendance records and qualified for the playoffs for 13 straight seasons. Two-time MLS Cup winners in 2016 and 2019, and CONCACAF Champions League winners in 2022, Seattle Sounders FC remains a perennial championship-caliber team.
Employment History
Varsity Student Institute, American Institutes for Research, Seattle Sounders FC.
Mentoring Objectives & Scope
I am honest with my students regarding the expectations and demands of working on the “team side” of a sports franchise. I want to meet my students where they are and help them understand all the different opportunities that are available to them. I have a good handle on a number of different career paths within this sector of the industry, and can also facilitate introductions to colleagues on the "business side" (marketing, communications, sales, etc). I love discussing all the intricacies that make MLS such a unique league, compared to how most soccer leagues around the world tend to function. I've found it beneficial to chip away on CVs and cover letters, and have worked through some books that are relevant to my side of the industry. I don't want to overload my students with additional assignments or tasks, but am willing to get as granular or broad as they want, depending on their interests and career goals. I've always said that figuring out what you DON'T want to do is just as critical as deciding what you DO want to do. To that end, I don't see it as my job to "sell" students on following in my footsteps if they decide that another pathway within the industry seems more appealing. This mentorship program is for the benefit of the students, not me, so I will gladly tailor it to ensure they get the most out of their time. At the end of the year, my hope is that the students gain a more robust perspective on everything that goes on behind the scenes at a sports franchise, to better prepare them for the rigors of the industry.
When and where do you hold meetings with your students?
I prefer to meet in person, and will usually start off with an informal "get-to-know-you" lunch, then we can work out a cadence and set of topics from there. I've also hosted students for a "ride-along" at a game at Lumen Field and would be pleased to welcome them down to our training ground to watch practice and tour the facility. That said, I know we're all busy, so if Zoom meetings work best, I'm happy to go that route too.
Additional Information
While I am very much in the weeds on everything US soccer-related, I mostly have blinders on as it relates to other professional sports and leagues. There are definitely similarities in form and function across our respective front offices, and I enjoy learning about what makes certain players/coaches/managers so successful, but I don’t claim to be terribly knowledgeable in any sport other than soccer. I am a progressive, native Seattleite (with a few years in DC for good measure) who is passionate about environmental stewardship and recreation equity. To the extent that my job permits, I am outside as much as possible (climb, ski, etc), and I love reading non-fiction and political memoirs in any remaining free time.