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Flexible & Open Mindedness:

In the summer of 2010, Arlesha graduated from Florida International University and landed her first internship working with Dwyane Wade's management team. During this internship, Arlesha learned how to manage partnerships, handle communications, and support players through personal life transitions. Afterward, she secured a full-time position in the Alumni Relations department of the Miami Dolphins. In this role, she worked alongside Nat Moore, one of the organization's senior executives, to ensure that former Dolphins legends such as Don Shula and Dan Marino remained marketable as promotional assets. Arlesha joined CAA in 2013. As Instagram gained popularity, she helped onboard athlete clients onto the platform, creating social strategies to offer additional assets to brand partners and another channel for fan engagement. She learned that being flexible amidst innovation helped organizations remain category leaders in their respective lanes. Arlesha learned to adapt to the dynamic innovations that emerged every few years in the sports industry. In 2010, while working with the Dolphins, Arlesha witnessed the digital revolution in sports. She recalls how photo archives were manually filed onto disks, and paper tickets were issued to fans for stadium entry. However, with time, everything became digitized and automated, and she saw how the organization responded to these changes in real time. Her experiences taught her to stay curious about advancements and bring the necessary resources to stay ahead in the industry.

Versatility is Key:

Working at CAA was a dream come true for her. She made a meaningful contribution to the D. Wade account, improved her skills, and impacted the entire talent roster. The biggest takeaway from working at CAA was embracing multiple interests and honing various skill sets. In nine and a half years, she went from athlete management to athlete marketing and brokering endorsement deals to eventually pivoting to brand strategy within its Brand Consulting division, all within one organization. In addition, working at SC30 with an athlete like Steph Curry takes confidence. One can find it intimidating to be in rooms with "GOAT" talents, but it takes self-assurance. She honed multiple versatile skill sets and utilized them to work with someone as versatile as Stephen in his own right. Those skillsets in brand strategy—brand development, research, etc.—came in handy for SC30's intellectual properties as she enhanced them with new techniques and approaches for its marketing partners. Versatility is key. If you are trying to break into the sports industry, it is essential to understand that it is vast, and there is no one definitive way of achieving this. Keep yourself open to multiple options and avenues. Arlesha strongly recommends trying out different opportunities, even at a young age, and having multiple jobs, as it can help you find your ideal role.

Skillsets vs. Styles:
Arlesha often faced a common challenge in her career - being "typecasted" and limited to specific roles or responsibilities because of who she worked with or for. Even among her colleagues and peers, she was identified as just "one of Wade's crew" and was only given work related to Dwyane Wade's brand and business affairs. While she enjoyed working on the D. Wade portfolio, she wanted to take on more and prove that she could make an impact on multiple clients. After a few years, Arlesha took on an expanded role and supported the careers of around eight NBA clients. This was a significant achievement, including brokering endorsement deals, managing a brand partnership portfolio of over twenty-five brand partners, and designing legacy strategies many athletes still use today. She proved to herself that she could never be put in a box, which served as a valuable lesson for her career moving forward.

Although the skills needed for working for a professional sports team, an agency, or an athlete are similar, there are different work styles. An entrepreneurial working style is encouraged and rewarded in an agency or athlete-representative setting. Meanwhile, in a professional team setting, the focus is on teamwork; every person and action depends on another component. Both work styles and approaches are equally productive. Arlesha suggests that to succeed in the sports industry, it is important to be forward-thinking and strategic. Identifying and pursuing a career path is crucial by analyzing industry trends and determining how your interests, passions, and skills can contribute to the field.

What’s Happening in Sports

🏀 Indiana Fever selected Caitlyn Clark with the 1st overall pick, and LA Sparks selected Stanford star Cameron Brink.

⛳️ Scottie Scheffler pulls away to win Masters 2024 at Augusta National for a second major title.

🏀 NBA playoff picture: Thunder clinch No. 1 seed in West; Suns, Pacers secure final bid in each conference

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