Category Archives: Conflict Skills Training

Sports Conflict Academy™

The purpose of this program is to combine a study of the business of sports with a deeply informed understanding of how sports relates to understand, resolve, and prevent the costly conflicts that inevitably arise both on and off the playing field. Both indirect and direct costs are critical to understand to fully embrace the importance of managing conflict in this $70B industry. This knowledge and skill set represents core competencies necessary to succeed in the sports industry.

It is critical that the classroom connects closely to real-world application to ensure that theory is understood both in the abstract and in its relevance today. The combination of sports management and sport and society through the lens of conflict management provides a strong interdisciplinary experience that impacts an under-served area of the sports industry. Every day, there is a sports conflict issue that makes national headlines. The untold stories and destructive costs to the business of sport far exceed those that constitute the tip of the iceberg.

The program prepares and educates those from a number of jobs where a unique background in sports studies, and especially conflict management, would give them an edge in performing their role.

  • Athlete Development Specialist
  • Sports Ombuds Mediators
  • Coaching
  • General Manager/Assistant GM
  • Chief Financial Officer
  • Ticket Manager
  • Sports Marketing & Branding
  • Public Relations
  • Community Outreach Specialist/ Community Programs Manager
  • Community & Player Relations Coordinator
  • Client Relations Specialist
  • Customer Service Manager
  • Human Resources Manager
  • Athlete Wellness Specialist
  • Athletic Director/Assistant AD/Women’s AD & Assistant
  • NCAA Compliance
  • University Athletes’ Academic Affairs Coordinator
  • Youth Sports Program Director
  • Regulatory Organization Manager, e g., state high school governing bodies
  • Union Management
  • Facilities Management
  • Sports Attorney
  • Agent
  • Sports Psychologist
  • Many more…

Courses:

  • Philosophy of Sports
  • Sports Conflict Management
  • Negotiation in Sports
  • Organization & Team Dynamics
  • Sports Law & Policy
  • Sports & Educational Theory
  • History & Culture of Sports
  • Mediation & Consensus Building in Sports
  • Sports Ombuds
  • Sports & An Angry Public
  • Sports Philanthropy
  • Olympics and International Sports – Values and Issues
  • Custom Courses

Contact SCI to discuss your organization’s executive educational sports conflict management needs. Courses can be delivered as individual titles or as an intensive series combining any number of courses selected to meet your staff’s needs.  Additionally, they can be delivered in a variety of time formats tailored to align with your organization’s culture and availability.

Negotiation Training

“Are we negotiating?”

“Always.” ~ The Devil’s Advocate (1997)

Negotiation is a fundamental skills that impacts nearly every facet of our sporting lives. Any time we require the support or cooperation of another individual, we must turn to our negotiation skill set.

The challenge is that much of the popular culture and mythology around negotiation is simply wrong and sets us up for bad outcomes.

SCI has leading negotiators experienced in teaching and training negotiation theory and skill in sports. Whether you are a coach, administrator, official, athlete, fan, parent, agent, or otherwise involved in sports, negotiation is a core competency essential to your success.

We will examine theory and skill related to negotiation and the myriad challenges negotiation presents. In theory, negotiation is not very complex. In practice, it is a different story. We will work to bridge that gap through fundamental concepts and deliberate practice.

Our negotiation training covers a number of key topics:

  • The nature of negotiation and strategy
  • Tactics of distributive bargaining
  • Strategy and tactics of integrative bargaining
  • Negotiation strategy and planning
  • Perception and framing
  • Cognition
  • Communication
  • Finding and using negotiation power
  • Reputation, trust, and justice
  • Agency
  • Coalitions
  • Multiple parties and teams
  • Gender and cultural challenges
  • Managing difficult negotiations
  • Ethical considerations
  • High-speed negotiation

All of our simulations are based on real-world negotiation challenge in sports and tailored specifically to the needs of your organizations.

Teamlead™

SCI provides cutting-edge leadership performance education. This includes assessment and training to ensure that you are successfully identifying and developing critical leaders that ensure your organization or team’s success.

All of SCI’s engagements are based off of years of curriculum development tailored to address the specific goals you have. Cookie-cutter solutions do not develop good leaders in any space and especially not in the sports industry.

The Teamlead™ curriculum begins with an assessment of your organization or team goals and values from which the course and scenarios are tailored to ensure that leadership is developed in a way to be immediately actionable.

SCI equips leaders with a toolbox of tools and skills from which to better understand their character, leadership style, conflict management style, and how to adapt to the needs of a particular situation.

This course is appropriate administrators, coaches, and athletes.

Contact us to schedule your Teamlead™ event.

Custom Curriculum Development

SCI offers curriculum development and instructional design for issues related to sports conflict, which can be customized to meet the challenges and needs of you and your organization.

SCI has experienced developing educational tools effective in changing behavior and providing your key individuals with specific skills necessary for their role and the specific demands necessary for success.

SCI begins by understanding your specific outcomes and goals that define success for your organization or team and then works with you to develop a strategic plan to realize them.

SCI often employs a train-the-trainer model. Rather than relying on outside parties to address future problems, SCI will train members of your team or organization to intervene as problems arise and teach them how to develop strategic plans to prevent them from recurring. This kind of executive education will facilitate far better communication within your organization and save you a lot of money in the long run.