It was a sunny day that felt unnecessarily hot in September of my first year on campus at Michigan State. It felt that way because I rode my bike across campus in a suit, going to interview with the women’s basketball team for a student manager opening. I don’t know why I chose to wear a suit, especially considering the fact that nobody else did.
But as the saying goes, dress for the job you want.
I came into MSU as most students do, without a clue in the world what I want to do with my life, but I was always leaning towards doing something sports related. I grew up playing sports, with a coach for a father. I had heard a bit about student managers with college basketball teams, and how it can open up a world of opportunity for someone looking for a job in collegiate sports. So, I decided to try and become a manager with women’s basketball because, frankly, I had a pretty good way in: my twin sister, Julia, was starting her freshman season with the team during that time.
Despite nearly sweating through my suit before and during my interview, I got the job and I started with the team. I was at the bottom of the ladder, just trying to stay out of trouble and learn as much as I could. My first year wasn’t all that special, but I traveled a couple times with the team. Unfortunately, the season was cut short by the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. That year was also a difficult adjustment period. The new environment was a culture shock, and at times I was definitely homesick. But after taking some time to figure some things out, I came to the conclusion that MSU was where I needed to be, and working for the women’s basketball team was what I wanted to do.
Before I started with the team, I never realized how important student managers are to a collegiate athletic program. In all aspects. From the outside, it may be difficult to tell exactly what student managers do on a daily basis. A lot of it is simple stuff like filling up water bottles or wiping the sweat off the floor when someone falls, but there’s a lot more that goes into it. There also has to be multiple levels of trust with student managers. Trust between the managers and the coaching staff, the players, and each other is an incredibly important aspect of the job. Having this means the student managers are doing their jobs the right way at all times.
The actual basketball season is the easy part.
I took more of a leadership position after my first year with the team. Mainly because it was during the season where COVID forced a lot of college programs to cut down on numbers within their student staff. For reference, this past season, we had about 45 student staff members, spread out between managers, scout team players, graduate assistants, and interns. During the COVID season, we were down to seven. Two graduate assistants and five managers, four of whom were scout team players with no manager experience, so we all had to learn on the fly. We also had a COVID test every morning before we were allowed to work, which wasn’t fun, but there was a relaxing sense of safety in knowing each day that I wasn’t sick.
The team ended up making the NCAA tournament that season, which was in San Antonio. Outside of all the measures we had to take due to COVID, it was an incredible experience. We were in San Antonio for about a week, and each morning we had a COVID test. We also weren’t allowed to leave our hotel, but as the days passed the restrictions were loosened up and we were able to explore the city a little bit. The team ended up losing to Iowa State in the first round of the tournament. Frankly, when that season ended, it was kind of a relief. Not because I didn’t like working or being there, but because it was an intense year. One full of sacrifice. I had to be on edge and keep myself safe from COVID-19 as best as I could. I also wasn’t able to see my family very much during that season in order to prevent exposure to COVID-19. It wasn’t easy, but I had my sister with me, and we were both committed to something bigger than ourselves, and both willing to put in the necessary work to help that thing be successful.
I officially became the head student manager and stepped up my commitment to the job at the beginning of my junior year. We were also able to bring in some new people as things were starting to get back to normal. With a new team of managers and scout team players, things were running like a well-oiled machine. Again, I was fortunate to work with a staff that saw that I was committed to the team and my work, and they allowed me to lead the rest of the student managers. I spent a lot of late nights at the Breslin Center during that season, but it was all worth it, as the time I put in helped me work on my leadership skills, organization, and time management, which are obviously skills that will last a lifetime.
This most recent season was definitely the most interesting. There were a lot more new faces among the student staff and some players as well. It was my senior season this year, and it was definitely memorable. The biggest event this year was the Michigan State Madness event. It was canceled for the last two years due to COVID, so this year it had to be special. It was all hands on deck, as both the men’s and women’s programs had a dinner before the event with all of the players, recruits, and their families packed into the practice gyms. That night was a lot of running around for me and the other student managers, but it was a successful evening, and seeing it all come together was a rewarding feeling. Once the regular season began, so did the fun. We began the season with a few non-conference games that were relatively easy wins for the team. The first real test was the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, Oregon. That trip was one of my personal favorites, as I had never been to Portland before. The arenas that the team played in were great. The first game was at the University of Portland and the second was at Veterans Memorial Coliseum. But the best part of that trip was not the games, it was the trip to Nike headquarters where we were lucky enough to tour their basketball performance center where they design and test all of their basketball shoes and equipment. After that trip, it was business as usual. I went on every road trip with the team over the last two seasons, which was a real grind to say the least, but I enjoyed every minute of it.
Overall, and this may sound cliché, but my greatest takeaway from my time with MSU women’s basketball was the friendships that I made with the people that I worked with and the professional relationships that I built along the way. The 18-year-old kid that walked into the basketball offices drenched in sweat a few years ago definitely grew up a bit over the last few years, but that was to be expected.
The experience that I gained is truly invaluable, and will serve me well in whatever I do, whether it’s basketball related or not. I also figured out what I want to do with my life. My goal is to coach college basketball. I really would not have decided on that had I not found my love for the game of basketball again over the last four years.