Describing Athletic Experiences on Resumes

On your resume, describe your athletic experience in the same way you would describe your campus involvement or work experience. What was your role on the team? How would coaches and other team members describe you? Focus on your accomplishments. Select the skills that are transferable to your career interests and demonstrate the qualifications required for the position, organization, or industry to which you are applying.

You can list your athletic experience under “Activities,” “Campus Involvement,” “Athletics,” “Relevant Experience,” or “Leadership Experience” on your resume. Include a few short bullets highlighting your achievements, and describing what you did, how you did it, and any results.

Below are a few examples:

Leadership Experience

Lewis & Clark College, Portland ORMonth, Year – Month, Year
NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Team
  • Elected Team Captain by coaches for three seasons.
  • Named Northwest conference Woman of the Year.
  • Committed approximately 30 hours per week to training, meetings, film study, travel, and competitions while maintaining full course load.
  • Developed concentration, strong work ethic, and perseverance to meet personal and team goals.
  • Led tours of facilities to prospective student-athletes and their families.
  • Selected as a representative on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Related Experience

Lewis & Clark College SwimmingMonth, Year – Month, Year
  • Provided leadership as the team captain for the (YEAR) season.
  • Organized formal and informal meetings to facilitate and improve communication among team members.
  • Selected to the Northwest Conference Scholar-Athlete First Team.
  • Balanced a full academic course load with competition, practices, training sessions, and meetings.

Activities

Lewis & Clark College NCAA Division III Football TeamMonth, Year – Month, Year
  • Three-time Varsity Letter Recipient.
  • Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Northwest Conference Champs.

The key is to recognize the skills you possess and adapt them to the situation you face, while describing them in professional terms. If you list the skills that you use to manage your sporting commitments, you will see that they can be transferred to other environments. In fact, you will find they are quite valuable in the work environment, which means that if marketed correctly, you will be very attractive to a potential employer.

Your athletic involvement and student-athlete experience can show your:

  • Willingness to “go the extra mile”
  • Communication and leadership skills
  • Work ethic that can set you apart from other candidates
  • Collaboration skills in a team environment
  • Time management – balancing practices, training, and your academic course load
  • Competitive spirit that can drive you in the workplace