How To Write an Athletes and Sports Resume
To write an athlete’s and sports resume that maximizes your chances of success during the job hunt, you need a strong game plan. This guide provides that plan, including tips on how to emphasize your athletic achievements, leadership capabilities, and knowledge of your sport.
Once you understand the game plan, you simply have to execute it. That means gathering information about your own qualifications and an employer’s preferences. Then, you can use those insights to write resume sections fully aligned with the organization you’re applying to.
- Entry-Level
- Mid-Career
- Senior-Level
1. Write a brief summary of your athletic and sports qualifications
The profile summary is your introduction to hiring organizations. Keep this section short and powerful, including the most pertinent details to grab the audience’s attention — just like those pregame athlete introductions.
Consider addressing your tenure in the industry and any details that help align you as a good cultural fit for a coaching or athletic organization. Begin to build a case for your ability to lead or support a team that segues into the rest of your resume and persuades hiring managers to keep reading.
Profile Example #1
A Head Football Coach with five years of experience specializing in athletic program management, physical education, coaching, and talent scouting. A proven track record of coaching and mentoring high school athletes to achieve athletic goals and academic success.
Profile Example #2
A Student-Athlete with a strong history of success in women’s basketball and volleyball. A proven track record of contributing as a team captain on multiple championship teams. Adept at providing mentorship and support to junior athletes and teammates.
2. Add compelling examples of your athletic and sports experience
Once you grab a hiring manager’s interest with your opening summary, build on that engagement with powerful bullet points throughout your professional experience section. This is the area of your resume that lists your past work history and achievements.
Showcasing your athletic accomplishments, stats, and awards is particularly important here, especially while pursuing a role as a head coach of a sports team. Although you can coach without having played a particular sport, being a former athlete provides you with a unique perspective that can significantly enhance your coaching pedigree.
Professional Experience Example #1
Head Football Coach, South Philadelphia High School, Philadelphia, PA May 2018 – Present
- Develop athletic programs to drive academic excellence, personal development, and career development for student-athletes
- Serve as the point of contact for student-athletes, provide mentorship and coaching, develop strength and conditioning programs, and manage rehabilitation programs
- Plan and implement gameday strategies in collaboration with offensive and defensive coordinators, resulting in a conference championship appearance in 2021
Professional Experience Example #2
Point Guard, Roosevelt High School Varsity Basketball Team, Seattle, WA September 2017 – Present
- Serve as a team captain for the women’s varsity basketball team from 2019 to 2021 and deliver valuable contributions during the 2020 championship season as a point guard
- Achieve recognition as an All-American Female Athlete with averages of 18 points per game, 10 assists per game, and four offensive rebounds per game
- Provide mentorship and support to female athletes at the junior and varsity levels and deliver leadership to drive team morale and performance
3. Add athletic and sports education and certifications
Back up your claims and work history with relevant education credentials if you have them. This can be anything from a degree in sports science or sports leadership to certifications that speak to your professional level of knowledge.
Whether you’re looking to play a sport, coach a team, or support from the sidelines in any type of role, it’s easier to get hired when employers are confident in your abilities. The right education credentials show you’ve mastered certain sports-related knowledge or skills.
Education
Template
- [Degree Name]
- [School Name], [City, State Abbreviation] | [Graduation Year]
Example
- Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Kinesiology
- Temple University, Philadelphia, PA | 2019
Certifications
Template
- [Certification Name], [Awarding Organization], [Completion Year]
Example
- Certified Sports Performance Coach, National Sports Performance Association, 2020
4. Make a list of your athletic and sports-related skills and proficiencies
Including relevant skills on your resume serves a number of important purposes. First, this helps to ensure compliance with applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems look for resumes that meet a minimum relevance threshold before passing them on to hiring managers.
Second, it demonstrates that you understand the position and niche. If you have skills the employer is looking for and discuss them professionally, hiring managers are more likely to take you seriously. Include these skills in your profile summary and throughout your personal experience section.
| Key Skills and Proficiencies | |
|---|---|
| Analytics | Athlete development |
| Athletic program development | Coaching |
| Communication | Defensive gameplans |
| Film review | Gameday strategy |
| Game planning | Leadership |
| Mentorship | Offensive gameplans |
| Personnel development | Physical education |
| Program management | Recruiting |
| Sports management | Strength training and conditioning |
| Talent scouting | Team leadership |
| Team management | |
How To Pick the Best Athletes and Sports Resume Template
The best resume templates are professional and clean and make use of consistent fonts. Limited use of color isn’t out of the question, especially in an industry known for team colors and logos. That said, be sure your template is streamlined and not gaudy. Ultimately, the text on the page is more important than any design element.
Choose a template you can easily work with. Avoid designs with complex formatting and select an option that you can use in a program you’re familiar with. Resume templates for Word or Google Docs are a good bet for most people.
Athletes and Sports Text-Only Resume Templates and Examples
- Example #1
- Example #2
- Example #3
Aliya Jackson
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
123 Windermere Rd., Seattle, WA 12345
Profile
A Student-Athlete with a strong history of success in women’s basketball and volleyball. A proven track record of contributing as a team captain on multiple championship teams. Adept at providing mentorship and support to junior athletes and teammates.
Professional Experience
Point Guard, Roosevelt High School Varsity Basketball Team, Seattle, WA
September 2017 – Present
- Serve as a team captain for the women’s varsity basketball team from 2019 to 2021 and deliver valuable contributions during the 2020 championship season as a point guard
- Achieve recognition as an All-American Female Athlete with averages of 18 points per game, 10 assists per game, and four offensive rebounds per game
- Provide mentorship and support to female athletes at the junior and varsity levels and deliver leadership to drive team morale and performance
Outside Hitter, Roosevelt High School Volleyball Team, Seattle, WA
September 2018 – Present
- Serve as the outside hitter and offensive focal point for the varsity volleyball team and achieve recognition performance in the 2021 championship appearance
- Achieve a hitting percentage of .280 in 2019, .295 in 2020, and .310 in 2021
Education
High School Diploma
Roosevelt High School, Seattle, WA Expected Graduation June 2021
Key Skills
- Team Leadership
- Coaching & Mentorship
- Basketball
- Volleyball
- Communication
Frequently Asked Questions: Athletes and Sports Resume Examples and Advice
What are common action verbs for athletes and sports resumes?-
Being perceived as a proactive candidate who is ready and willing to bring value to an organization can help you land interviews. Integrating action verbs into your resume positions you as this type of applicant.
When you use highly related verbs, you also signal to the employer that you understand their needs and how to meet them. Verbs such as “coached,” “developed,” and “mentored” show you know the value of leadership in sports. Words like “achieved,” “excelled,” and “improved” demonstrate your commitment to stepping forward with confidence and an eye on goals.
| Action Verbs | |
|---|---|
| Achieved | Adapted |
| Coached | Competed |
| Created | Cultivated |
| Designed | Developed |
| Enhanced | Evaluated |
| Facilitated | Improved |
| Led | Managed |
| Mentored | Motivated |
| Oversaw | Performed |
| Recruited | Supported |
| Trained | |
How do you align your resume with a job description?-
The job outlook for athletes and sports competitors is strong through 2032, with expected growth of 9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s much faster than the average growth rate for all jobs in the nation. Even with such growth, competition can be fierce in this niche. Aligning your resume with an employer’s job posting can improve your chances of connecting with the right hiring managers.
For example, if you’re a student-athlete applying to college, provide insights into your volunteer experience while pursuing a scholarship at a university with a clear focus on public service. As a professional coach, emphasize your experience mentoring students to excel both on the field and in the classroom to achieve their long-term goals.
What is the best athletes and sports resume format?-
The best resume format for athletes and other sports professionals is reverse chronological. This format includes critical sections like education and a profile summary but puts added emphasis on your experience.
It also presents your most recent and relevant work history towards the top of your document. For athletes, this ensures your latest achievements and highest level of performance to date are seen first by hiring managers. The same is true for other sports-related professionals.
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Always provide a cover letter, making use of this extra document to add more information that helps an employer see you as a viable candidate. Cover letters are a great place to demonstrate your cultural fit for a team or explain why you want to work for a specific organization. They also offer space to explain potentially confusing things about your background or highlight your most impressive accomplishments. Check out our college resume cover letter examples for ideas on formatting.
