Welcome to our ‘Sport – A Career Choice Series’, a one-to-one meeting with sport professionals. On a regular basis, we will discuss sport career paths with leaders from the industry, who will share their tips, journeys, backgrounds, experience, ups and downs. At its core, this is an initiative to promote the exciting types of employment opportunities available in the sport environment.

A 1-2-1 with Ozana Marginean

Can you briefly introduce yourself?

Ozana Marginean, born in Romania in the small city of Arad. I have played basketball for 15 years at different teams in Romania as well for the national team ages U16, U18, U20. At age 19, I accomplished my biggest dream when I was awarded a full basketball scholarship at St Francis College Brooklyn. In May 2014, I graduated from with a BSc in Business and a Minor in Sports Management. I am currently residing in Barcelona and working at the Johan Cruyff Institute as a program advisor and sales assistant for the programs delivered in English; I am also in charge of the market expansion.

Walk me through the step-by-step process that you went through to get to where you are today.

I believe that from a young age I took the decision to create my own path in life, by following my instinct and paying close attention to everything I was passionate about. My parents did not have much involvement or decision making in any aspect of my life, as my ‘way of living’ made them trust me completely. What I mean by way of living is dedicating a ridiculous amount of time to the basketball court, track field and school. If I could describe my youth years in 1 word would be: ambition. Was it more extrinsic than intrinsic? Probably. My intention and motivation was to leave Romania, to play at a high level, to be recognised as a great player, to achieve the outcome. I was forgetting about the process, as well as the present and that was a bit damaging to me.

Everyone was proud of me apart from me. Not until I reached my goal of playing college basketball in the US, or at least that’s what I thought at that time. How did I make it happen? All the basics: sweat, hours spent in the gym, practice practice and more practice. Besides this, I made sure everyone around me was aware of my dream and I wasn’t reluctant to ask for help. Apart from my own research, studying for SAT, contacting universities, compiling highlight videos,  I was very lucky to encounter people throughout my journey that truly believed in me and helped me accomplish my goal. Up to this point, I still realise that achieving something by yourself is impossible and what I will always remember from my journey and basketball years are the people I met, my coaches, my teammates, my mentors, my friends.

When I was awarded a scholarship at a small college in Brooklyn, things fell into place and for the first time in my life, I was feeling accomplished, happy, proud. But just like any other moment of exuberance, it didn’t last long. College basketball is tough, requires discipline, work-ethic, resilience, sacrifice. School must come first. The moment you step out of the basketball court you are a student. There isn’t much freedom to find yourself, to experience. Everything is quite inside the basketball and school bubble.  

I had to adapt quickly and find my role in the team. I tried to be a good teammate and I quickly learned that we must accept and embrace our role and make the best out of the way things are. I was never a strong and quick player, I wasn’t emotionally strong during games and many psychological factors and wounds intervened in my performance on the court. Despite all this, I was still equally part of the team. Just like in any successful company or business, it cannot function if the employees do not fulfil their specific roles, from the CEO down to the cleaning staff.

The next 4 years can be resumed to the following: the swoosh sound, the never ending practices, the smell of the basketball gym from even before entering the school, sweaty clothes and bodies, squeaky Nike sneakers, ball hitting the wooden flour, bus rides, teammates, classmates, tears, moments of loss, disconnection. All these might sound like details but they were little blocks that together were creating the bigger picture.  

Moving to Barcelona was a big change for me and a challenging experience. But even though I moved here by myself with no secured job, I somehow trusted my instinct and my life experience in New York and I know things would turn out great. After all, if you can make it in NYC you can make it anywhere.

Overall, playing in Romania at different teams, national team, achieving my dream of playing college basketball,  living in Brooklyn for 5 years, creating a life in Barcelona have helped me compile a bunch of skills and values that define a big part of me today.  New York for me was limitless, the opportunities were at every corner and life was unbelievably exciting. I took the city and I turned it upside down, I loved it intensely as it made me feel untouchable, alive like never before. What I will always keep with me are the people I met, the friendships I created and the experiences I lived there. Not the statistics, not being on the bench, not the repetitive practices, not the tears and emotional rollercoasters. Something athletes should keep in mind. And as the great John Wooden says “Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” Couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity awarded to live there.

I believe strength and progress can only be built through adversity. Romania is defined by adversity especially in sports. Athletes should look at everything around them and turn the situation into an opportunity to thrive. We have so much talent, motivation and drive and these three things are pillars to the bridge of progress in our country.

Can you describe the ideal customer of the company you work for?

Elite athletes, former athletes, graduates who are looking to enter the sports industry, business professionals who are looking for a career change. Also, clubs, federations, sports entities who understand the value of education, are looking to constantly improve, learn and contribute to the sport industry and support the development of talent.

What’s the…

• first tip that comes to your mind if a student who is passionate about sport, but doesn’t have a degree in the industry, came to you for advice?

Try to get involved in as many activities as possible in the sport industry. Network, volunteer, study, play the sports you enjoy, attend events, tournaments. All these things will help you meet like-minded people from whom you can learn and maybe create something together. People that share the same passion will always connect easier and will inspire each other.

• most important skill someone should develop to be successful in a career like yours?

I believe the most important skill in any career is communication. It is the base to any team, any relationship, any successful enterprise. If you don’t learn how to communicate properly, may it be your ideas, your feedback, initiatives, complaints etc nobody will listen. Learn to adapt to the person you want to communicate with and remember, listening is a crucial communication skill as well. Don’t push your ideas forward unless you have your thoughts clear and know how to express them properly.

Unfortunately, we live in a world where communication is 80% done through email, chat, social media and we must learn not to lose the human touch in conversation and eye contact. I will add here one of my favourite quotes related to the topic and something I always try to have in the back of my mind when having a conversation:

“Talk to someone about themselves and they’ll listen for hours.” Dale Carnegie

• one person / role model that has inspired you the most during your sports career and also after entering the sport business industry?

There are many people who inspired and mentored me throughout my sports and business career. It will be quite difficult to choose one, as I learned so much from the people I encountered throughout my journey.  I was lucky enough to have coaches who were teachers and I believe all coaches should be first of all teachers. Some of my coaches cared more about us as human beings than as simply basketball players.  When I look back to my basketball years and try to fix my thought on that one person that inspired me, many come to my mind but not for pure inspiration, but for the values that I saw in each of them, their life stories that motivated me, their life advice to me, their values for on and off the basketball court. After all, the people around us can give us advice, show us support and listen to our problems and stories, but what truly inspires us to make changes comes from within.

• first most important thing you would change in the way sport business is done in Romania – something that, if implemented, would initiate the development of sport as a whole?

We have a tendency to forget or simply not invest time or resources into building strong characters and athletes in the early years. Character, mindset, emotional strength, mentality, form itself from an early age and the most important factors at these ages are the adults: teachers, parents and coaches that surround us and how well educated they are in treating with youth.  That would be probably the first thing I would try to focus on to initiate any change in the country.

How has playing basketball professionally helped you become the person you are today?

The experience is irreplaceable. The work ethic, resilience, failure, goal setting, communication are all part of what the game taught me. Also, I learned how to balance my life, focus on what’s important and understand failure brings success. Discipline, commitment and balance are key factors in the life of a student athlete as well as sleep routine, nutrition, health, sacrifice and commitment. I learned not to complain and be grateful for what I have. The things I keep closest to my heart that I took from the game of basketball are the relationships I created  and the fact that PLAYING is crucial in being healthy and happy. Basketball is a culture, is an art and just like any expressive art form it can be used to create stories, to incite emotions within fans, players and participants. Through it, as well as through music, dance and movement, two of my other passions, I create my own act and scribble my story day by day. It’s my way of turning the daily monotony into a meaningful emotional experience.

Basketball helped and will always help in creating a better version of myself.