South Carolina Athletes Get a Crash Course in the Real World

Athletics have always been your passion, but you’re approaching graduation and beginning to consider other career paths. What now?

South Carolina student-athletes have the benefit of turning to the Beyond Sports program. Gamecock Athletics Director Ray Tanner describes Beyond Sports as a professional development and internship program that will help student-athletes find success outside their fields of competition by giving them real-world experiences in their academic interests. He said “as part of our mission, student-athletes who come to the University of South Carolina should be given the means to excel in all phases of their intercollegiate experience, whether it be on the fields or courts, in the classroom, or in the community.”

Though juniors and seniors are the main target, any student-athlete can apply for the program. Once they become a part of it, they begin to get work experience through internships in fields that interest them. They also learn life skills from the program’s many partners. One of those partners is Will Baggett, a highly regarded speaker and author who helps Millennials sharpen their executive image and sell themselves in today’s workplace. He stresses positive first impressions with “A, B, C’s — appearance, behavior, and communication.” Baggett also teaches valuable life skills and practical strategies that give South Carolina athletes an edge on others who are preparing to join the professional world.

Gamecock football player Javion Duncan said “it really opened my eyes to what I can do in the future, even if it’s out of my major. I really enjoyed the concept that you don’t have to have been in one major to be successful in something different.” That’s just what the Beyond Sports program hopes every student-athlete will feel in their quest for success in life after college.

In the SEC, It Just Means More.

To South Carolina’s Beyond Sports Program, It Just Means More Tools to Edge Out the Competition.