At this site you will find the back issues of two newsletters, SPORTS NEWS YOU CAN USE and THE CREATIVE ATHLETE. This site is intentionally low-tech. I want everything to load quickly and be accessible on a variety of machines. (Let me know if you run into any problems.)
I have been publishing both newsletters by email since 1996 . They will continue to be offered by email and if you want to stay current on the issues, I recommend that you subscribe (you will get them faster and on a more timely basis this way). Just send me an email (slainson@sportstrust.com) requesting one or both. Subscriptions are free. (Note: I email each new subscriber all the back issues of the requested newsletter. If you do not want them, let me know when you subscribe.) Issues of each newsletter come out approximately every two weeks.
SPORTS NEWS deals with sports business and careers.
THE CREATIVE ATHLETE focuses on topics which might be of interest to athletes, their families, and their coaches. It is not a training guide, but rather a long-range career planning guide covering all aspects of managing one's own athlete career.
Both newsletters are organized book-chapter style. Since topics are presented sequentially, it helps to start from the beginning. (This is why new subscribers receive all back issues.)
The material in the newsletters is drawn from a large library of information I have been collecting for the past ten years. The emphasis is on usefulness rather than late-breaking news.
Why this project: My experience with top level athletes taught me that there is insufficient information available for anyone contemplating a life in sports. Not necessarily a life in the pros (those jobs are hard to find), but a life involved with sports at a serious level. I've seen the same mistakes repeated over and over again because athletes have to learn through trial-and-error rather than learning from those who went before them.
My goal is to provide free or low-cost sports information for a wide audience. As time goes on, I will be bringing in sponsors to enable me to offer an ever increasing variety of services.
About me: This project developed from my personal experience. I had a chance to observe and work with a number of Olympic-level athletes when my daughters took up figure skating in Colorado Springs, Colorado--home of the United States Olympic Committee and Training Center. While researching sports marketing and management, I talked to athletes, their families, coaches, sports officials and staffers, agents, members of the sports media, and people running sports companies.
In addition I bring my background as a writer, PR specialist, and marketing consultant to this project.
Because so much of the money that supports top athletes comes directly or indirectly from sponsors, I have focused much of my attention on finding ways for companies to best utilize sports and event marketing to further their own goals. The best sponsorship deals are mutually beneficial to both companies and athletes. As a consultant, I strive to provide accurate, unbiased information rather than act as an agent for any particular entity.
Much of my work has involved conducting both qualitative and quantitative research for clients such as Sports & Fitness Publishing, North American Roller Hockey, and Coors. Before focusing on sports, I was a full-time writer. My work has appeared in Glamour, Mademoiselle, Cosmopolitan, Ms., Self, Savvy, The Olympian, American Skating World, MediaWeek, and Inline Retailer & Industry News. I am also a book author (Crash Course: The Instant MBA) and have contributed to several marketing textbooks. In addition, I am on the editorial review boards of Sports Marketing Quarterly and Integrated Marketing Communications Research Journal.
Copyright 1997 Suzanne Lainson/SportsTrust
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