Total Sports Management was founded in 2004 and has quickly become one of the world's leading track and field management companies representing athletes in every discipline from around the globe. Chris Layne is currently the managing director where on a daily basis he deals with athletes and the major shoe sponsors. He is also the head coach of Milligan College. In this interview, we talked about the agents role and how athletes should help market themselves.
Ontherighttrack: So let us start with the basic information, how does an athlete go about finding a contract?
Chris Layne: The easiest route is to land with an agent that has a relationship with each of the shoe companies. Certainly there are variables that will impact the possibilities (age of athlete, current level of performance, event, etc.)
OTRT:What can they do besides run fast times to present themselves as an athlete worth investing in?
CL:While marketability is important, the bottom line is performance. I've seen very few cases where an athlete is signed and they're not performing or young enough and showing the potential to perform
OTRT: What is your role as agent during the contract negations and how does this change as the relationship continue?
CL: The role is to simply keep the athlete's best interest first and foremost in the process. We're trying to maximize the bottom line and also find a good fit based on the athlete’s needs, event, position in the sport.
OTRT: Is there anything that you urge your athletes to do to better market themselves?
CL: It never hurts to be proactive, do interviews (the right ones!), be visible in a positive light on social network mediums, keep your nose clean, be charismatic on the field of play. Not everyone is concerned with being marketable; you get certain athletes that just want to perform however.
OTRT: How important is it to craft athletes into household names to the sport?
CL: Extremely important, this sport is struggling when it comes to visibility and being in the mainstream media. Our higher powers need to really think about how they can re-invent the sport, otherwise we're all going to continue to be in a constant struggle
OTRT: What are some unique problems with being an agent of a track and field athlete compared to the other sports?
CL: I don't have experience in other sports, but I would imagine our travel schedules. We're at 90% of the events with clients, overseas, for 2-3 months, and then an additional window of time domestically before the European season. I think the other misconception is there's tons of money in this industry, I compare what we do to minor league baseball, and there aren't many of us that would be doing this if we didn't love the sport of track and field.
OTRT: As an agent, you are on the other side of the sport of track and field, what are some actions that could be taken to better the sport?
CL: A big picture overhaul. We need to look at each event closely, decide if we need to be going the route we're going. Too many variables in track and field. It's like a 5 ring circus, the general public can't keep up I'm afraid.
OTRT: Finally, what have you learned as an agent that can be applied to the rest of the sport?
CL: Contrary to what most think, I think the good managers are some of the most organized entities in track and field. I would like to see the sport come together more, and it might be happening on a small scale, but overall, the stereotype will always be there.
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