University of Minnesota Athletics
Behind the Scenes; Men's Basketball Student Managers
1/28/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The men's basketball student managers are fairly easy to spot. There are six of them - Michael Dale, Marc DeVoe, Ryan Gorczycki, Adam Johnson, Joe Nikkola and Hansen Wong. They are the ones donning the uniform blue blazers at each game. They are the ones on their toes at every timeout making sure that the players, coaches and officials have what they need - towels, water, stools, clipboards, timeout status, etc. But, that is what you see and quite possibly one of the least important aspects of their jobs.
"Our job revolves a great deal around the behind-the-scenes aspects," DeVoe said. "Most of what we do is the stuff that doesn't get noticed or isn't noticed. It's the stuff people don't know about. We set up practices; we are at the arena five hours before game time to set up for shoot-around or to set up benches or any other odd jobs that may arise."
"We do a lot of little things that don't get noticed. " Johnson commented. "Without us. This operation would fail."
With so many of them, it works as a sort of hierarchy. The lowest manager on the totem pole sets up both benches before games and makes sure all necessary equipment is in place. From there, the jobs or tasks are numerous and oftentimes unbeknownst to the managers themselves from preparing film to setting up equipment to running odd errands for coaches or staff. And, on top of that, it's almost torturous to think of the amount of hours they put in on things that most people don't even notice. So, again, why do they do it? For various reasons.
"There are a lot of upsides to being a manager," Johnson stated. "You get to meet a lot of different people in a lot of different lines of work. You make a lot of connections that help you out down the road with internships and that sort of thing."
"For the most part, we are all doing this because we wanted to stay involved with our respective sports or sports in general," Nikkola said. "We just want to be involved in the program and this enables us to do so. I'd like to go into sports journalism, so this helps me get into the atmosphere in that regard."
While some may see their role as a means of being involved or expanding their network, there are others who see it as a way to gain experience in the sports industry.
"A big plus is that you get to meet a lot of people in the industry," DeVoe stated. "You really learn a lot as far as basketball goes. For me, I'd like to get into coaching, so being a manager allows me to learn the philosophies and techniques that go into being a coach. You learn how to deal with people at all different levels within the operation."
It may be termed "grunt work" or menial tasks, but the duties of the student managers are highly integral to a lot of the goings on of the basketball operations. There is obviously a reason they are required to be present at every practice, every game and go on the road with the team. And, truth be told, what we see on game days is only a fraction of their role. Indispensable and crucial? How can they not be?
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Tarcy Thompson As fans and observers of the game, we have a complete understanding of what it is that pushes a student-athlete to practice everyday for hours on end and arrive at the arena several hours before game time, but the student managers are a different story. Nearly every team has them and any administrative person you speak with will tell you they are indispensable to their respective organizations. Yet, as outsiders, we are not entirely aware of their purposes, their duties, or what it is that drives them to do what so many will term "grunt work."
The men's basketball student managers are fairly easy to spot. There are six of them - Michael Dale, Marc DeVoe, Ryan Gorczycki, Adam Johnson, Joe Nikkola and Hansen Wong. They are the ones donning the uniform blue blazers at each game. They are the ones on their toes at every timeout making sure that the players, coaches and officials have what they need - towels, water, stools, clipboards, timeout status, etc. But, that is what you see and quite possibly one of the least important aspects of their jobs.
"Our job revolves a great deal around the behind-the-scenes aspects," DeVoe said. "Most of what we do is the stuff that doesn't get noticed or isn't noticed. It's the stuff people don't know about. We set up practices; we are at the arena five hours before game time to set up for shoot-around or to set up benches or any other odd jobs that may arise."
"We do a lot of little things that don't get noticed. " Johnson commented. "Without us. This operation would fail."
With so many of them, it works as a sort of hierarchy. The lowest manager on the totem pole sets up both benches before games and makes sure all necessary equipment is in place. From there, the jobs or tasks are numerous and oftentimes unbeknownst to the managers themselves from preparing film to setting up equipment to running odd errands for coaches or staff. And, on top of that, it's almost torturous to think of the amount of hours they put in on things that most people don't even notice. So, again, why do they do it? For various reasons.
"There are a lot of upsides to being a manager," Johnson stated. "You get to meet a lot of different people in a lot of different lines of work. You make a lot of connections that help you out down the road with internships and that sort of thing."
"For the most part, we are all doing this because we wanted to stay involved with our respective sports or sports in general," Nikkola said. "We just want to be involved in the program and this enables us to do so. I'd like to go into sports journalism, so this helps me get into the atmosphere in that regard."
While some may see their role as a means of being involved or expanding their network, there are others who see it as a way to gain experience in the sports industry.
"A big plus is that you get to meet a lot of people in the industry," DeVoe stated. "You really learn a lot as far as basketball goes. For me, I'd like to get into coaching, so being a manager allows me to learn the philosophies and techniques that go into being a coach. You learn how to deal with people at all different levels within the operation."
It may be termed "grunt work" or menial tasks, but the duties of the student managers are highly integral to a lot of the goings on of the basketball operations. There is obviously a reason they are required to be present at every practice, every game and go on the road with the team. And, truth be told, what we see on game days is only a fraction of their role. Indispensable and crucial? How can they not be?
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Tarcy Thompson
