Journey to Team Manager of a Super Netball Club with Leigh Southern
Learn how Leigh swapped careers to land his dream role
Reuben Williams
May 20, 2024
Hello friends! 👋
Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast: The ultimate guide to make it in the sports industry!
Each week we share how people made it in sports and tease out their career decisions, work habits, skills, and everything they do that makes them great.
All so you can learn how to get in, get promoted, and get thriving in the sports industry.
Meet Leigh Southern, the Team Manager of the newest professional team in Melbourne, the Melbourne Mavericks Super Netball Club.
If you’re looking to work in operations in sport, team management, or want to know how people have made career changes into sport, you’re going to love Leigh’s story.
Leigh started his career in the tourism industry, but after a while realised it just wasn’t for him. Not one to sit back, he did his research and came across a company called Stage & Screen, and began working on their Cricket Australia account to look after all their travel. This led to roles with the Melbourne Renegades and the ICC T20 Cricket World Cup, before landing at the Mavs.
If you think you’d love to travel week in and week out with a professional team, listen to how Leigh made it his career. Lots to look out for including the skills you need to work in a similar role, the behind the scenes of what goes on during a game day, and how to go from being a babysitter for a WBBL club to a team management role.
Enjoy this episode!
In this episode we cover:
(00:29) Who is Leigh Southern?
(01:48) Hello and welcome to the SportsGrad Community! Here’s what’s going on…
(05:15) Welcome to the SportsGrad Podcast Leigh!
(06:11) Quick-fire questions
(13:43) What does Leigh do as a Team Manager with the Melbourne Mavericks?
(15:59) How Leigh manages all of his various responsibilities
(20:33) What’s it like being part of a new professional sporting club?
(25:53) What does a game day look like versus a regular day?
(32:00) Leigh’s experience prior to this role (Flight Centre, Stage & Screen (working with Cricket Australia/Cricket Victoria), WBBL, Melbourne Stars, Indian Women’s Cricket Team, T20 World Cup, and more.
(45:50) Challenges Leigh has faced and how he has overcome them
(49:15) Top skills needed to work in a team/operations management role, and advice he would give to his younger self
(54:43) ASK SPORTSGRAD
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