No Longer A ‘One Trick Pony’

The term ‘one-trick pony’ means a person or thing with only one special feature, talent, or area of expertise. It is typically not considered a term of affection in the way that words like ‘specialist’ or ‘master’ are used to describe someone. Given this, over the past two decades of working in the sports industry, I have made a conscious effort to develop a diverse set of skills to contribute to the organizations I am employed by and the industry at-large. But now, for the first time, I have realized that for most of my career I was, in fact, a first-class ‘one-trick pony.’ 

Let me explain. Yes, I worked at a professional football league, ran a professional football club, and held senior positions with three agencies over a period of twenty years. While the city (or country), scope of responsibilities, and context of my work have been unique in each role, the subject matter was primarily the same: football. It has always been football, my best friend, my first love, my companion, my security blanket, my ultimate comfort zone. I can speak about football for days at a time; I’ve played it, studied it, contemplated about it, dreamt about it, and have travelled the world visiting football grounds and meeting people connected to the beautiful game. 

So it is no surprise that within the sporting circles, I have always been the ‘football guy.’ At MLS, I was the ‘grassroots & fan development football (or soccer) guy’ and, in India, I’ve been the ‘American guy trying to grow football in India.’ No matter what words you drop in, it has always turned into a ‘football guy’ sandwich. I never minded this as being so closely connected with an area of life that I have a deep love and respect for has opened up countless opportunities for me to meet new people, speak at conferences, and be a consistent presence within conversations around the growth of the sport. And I firmly believe in the importance of associating yourself with an area of life that you deeply care about and expressing this to the world through hard work and authentic sharing. 

But now, today, on the 7th of March, 2021, I can say that I am no longer a ‘one-trick pony.’ I am not sure what I would be considered now, but I am no longer the ‘football guy.’ How can I be so confident? As I was reflecting on the past few years, a couple of notable moments came to mind, which made me realize that it is finally time to accept the death of my former self and step into my new avatar. 

The first notable moment was when Mid-day Magazine was interviewing me after the Global Institute of Sports Business, my passion project, won the Excellence in Sports Management Education award. It was a thrilling moment as since the age of five or for thirty-five years, most of my awards were associated with my on and off the pitch achievements in football. And now, for the first time, I was being recognized for my efforts in setting up a sports education programme; yes, it was sports management education, but far different from scoring goals, developing fans, or executing successful events. 

The second notable moment was in November 2019, at the University Of Massachusetts, Amherst Campus. I delivered a two-hour presentation on the Indian sports landscape to a room full of post-graduate students at the world’s top sports management program. While I covered football, I also covered cricket, kabaddi, basketball, fitness, and general industry trends. I not only was comfortable standing in the room and speaking about sports far outside of my comfort zone, I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

At some point during the talk, I realized that I was more interested in helping these future industry leaders take the lids off of their minds when it comes to the global development of sports versus impressing them with my knowledge of the beautiful game. This lecture was followed by five more across the United States, and I felt the same sensation of confidence and fulfillment during each one. This also happened recently when I successfully delivered a presentation on Sports Technology in India at the SportIn Global Summit, another time when the topic was way outside of my perceived comfort zone. 

The third moment happened just yesterday. I was invited to chair a panel discussion on the topic ‘Producing World Champions’ at the annual CII Scorecard conference. The panel included the Director-General of the Sports Authority of India, the President of the Athletics Federation of India, the founders of two of the most impactful athlete development agencies in the country, and one of my heroes, Indian badminton legend Pullela Gopichand. 

I received the invite call only a week earlier and had been nervous about the panel ever since. I wasn’t worried about public speaking or moderating as this is second nature to me by now. I was nervous about the topic and the panelists. I’m a ‘football guy’ turned educator from Southern California, what do I know about producing world champions in India? With this question swimming through my monkey mind, I spent my non-working time studying athlete development in India, understanding the recently launched Khelo India initiatives, and consuming anything I could find online about India’s performances at the Olympics over the past twenty years. I also meditated on the talking points and questions, editing, arranging, and re-arranging them until I felt comfortable, only to re-arrange them again. 

In the end, I pretty much winged my role as moderator of the panel. Not because I was too shaky to look at my notes, quite the opposite. Because I was entirely at ease facilitating a conversation on the past, present, and future of athlete development in India with these esteemed individuals. The truth is, I’ve been in India for eleven years now and have spent pretty much every week of those eleven years researching, building, or evaluating the Indian sports ecosystem. While my primary focus has been football, it is inevitable that I would have developed some insights and wisdom about the rest of the country’s sporting ecosystem along the way. 

So that’s it. I have graduated from being the ‘football guy’ to just being someone who can contribute to the global sports ecosystem and educate the next generation of sports industry leaders. It may have taken twenty years of working on getting to this place, and I wouldn’t change a single thing about my journey. Sometimes it is good to build your brand and network as a specialist in something and then expand into new horizons or powerfully respond when opportunities are presented to you. Because in addition to not wanting to be thought of as a ‘one-trick pony,’ you also don’t want to be known as ‘a jack of all trades, master of none.’