Sporting Kansas City Internship - Environment/ Initial Impressions

I am interning for my hometown's professional soccer team, Sporting Kansas City. I have just completed my first week and have learned a lot. While I have not formally started my sales training yet, I have still been introduced to product knowledge (stadium layout, ticket prices, group deals). Also, I am in the midst of researching architectural firms in the Kansas City area, and pretty soon, the staff will be reaching out to these firms to offer deals, like client/employee appreciation opportunities. Finally, I have already attended two games in which I assisted the staff in facilitating group experiences. For instance, we checked-in kids who had qualified to hold the players’ hands during the national anthem.

On the very first day, my supervisor, the other intern, and I went through some of the main rules. He made it clear that we must be very professional and must not slack off during our time in the office. There will always be appropriate times for socializing, but we are there to work. Also, he illustrated that the staff is very friendly, so we should never hesitate to ask anyone for help.

In terms of dress, business attire is expected (dress shirt, tie, etc.). At games, I must wear a jacket as well (which is unbearable during the hot summer)! On the first day, I wore a red dress shirt, and my supervisor said that I was already committing a “Career Limiting Move.” The staff is to avoid wearing red and black dress shirts while working at the office, because those colors may symbolize that we are at the very top. Those colors are only for the bosses. Since then, I made the decision to only wear either white or cool colors (blue, green, purple), because it seems like those are the colors worn by everyone else on the Ticket Sales/Service staff.

Everyone in the office gets along extremely well with one another. There is a good mix of males and females (the other intern is female). Also, there are quite a few different ethnicities that are represented. I honestly have not even seen any instances in which one’s race or gender has dictated his/her role in the office. I think it truly symbolizes that soccer is the world’s sport and everyone can connect with each other through their love for soccer.

The internship has been great so far, and I am looking forward to delve more into sales training during the next few weeks!