Does anyone know how to get into the sports photography industry?

first of all you need expensive glass the 400mm and 600mm lenses for about 4000 to 8000 dls EACH and a d3 camera for the 9-11 burst there is no way you can shoot tv sports or air media sports with a 50-500 bigma lens and a D90 before you buy them Join a photography club in your area. You will need to have contacts and build a network for future use. These people will some day be invaluable to you. Move up to sporting events in your area that do not require special access or press passes and that allow you to get close enough to the action. Try something fairly basic such as a high school tennis match Increase the difficulty of the sport, gradually. Do not attempt to move up too fast, as this might lead to discouragement. Your goal is not to get every shot, but to get one great shot. This may mean shooting several rolls, or over one hundred frames; no one cares how many you took to get that one. They just want that one Build your portfolio. Do not settle for buying a cheap portfolio either. Go to a local professional camera shop and find a high quality leather portfolio. You will want to have a very professional layout of all your best work. This is your resume so treat it with the highest respect Request an interview with your local suburban paper. Find one that will work with your format, be it digital or film. Digital is probably the best option right now, as film demand is on the down slide. Meet with the photo editor and be prepared to sell yourself and your work. As you become more dependable in getting that money shot every time, your stock rate will increase and you will be able to start demanding higher paying gigs.