Sports professional

You'll:

• compete in matches and competitions
• keep up and improve your skills with regular practice
• maintain your general fitness and stamina by training
• make sure your diet and lifestyle help you to achieve peak performance
• take advice from coaches, nutritionists, exercise professionals, sports psychologists and doctors

• persistence and determination
• ambition and a desire to succeed
• physical fitness and endurance
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
• leadership skills
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device

For some sports you'll need to meet very specific entry requirements, for instance:

• horse racing requires jockeys to be a certain height and weight
• boxing has divisions according to weight

For all professional sport you'll need determination, talent and a high level of fitness.

You can get into this job through:

• an apprenticeship
• amateur sport where you could be spotted by a talent scout
• a sponsorship or scholarship scheme

In the more physical and contact sports, your career would usually be short. Many professionals finish their sporting career by the age of 35.

After your career ends, you could stay involved in sport by moving into areas like:

• coaching
• refereeing
• team management
• sports journalism and broadcasting
• sports centre work