YOUTH SPORTS: You Need a Good Manager

You need a good manager.

Anyone who has ever coached a sport knows how important it is to have a good manager or two to help you out. Every successful sports team has a good manager who fills the water bottles, washes the uniforms and towels, helps film the game, keeps stats, etc. I could go on and on with the things a manager is often asked to do. These kids often work harder than most of the players on the team.

Even with all of this hard work they put in, they are usually looked down upon. The players, coaches, and fans do not give them the respect they deserve. "Managers don't deserve a letter" is a comment I've heard before. Good managers often put in more time and effort than most varsity athletes do.

When I played on the eighth-grade basketball team, we had a great manager. He always did his job with a great deal of hustle and enthusiasm. He did all of the normal managerial duties as well as play with us when a player or two was sick or injured. Many nights after practice, he would stick around to get a few shots in himself.

He knew he didn't have the most natural ability in the school, but he still tried out for the team every year. He never made the cut. As soon as he was cut from the squad, he would immediately ask the coach if he could be the manager. He just wanted to be a part of the team. If that meant he might be made fun of or labeled as the nerdy manager, then he would do it. He wanted to help us anyway he could. He didn't mind filling our water bottles or washing our towels as long as he was a part of the team.

He wasn't concerned about actually wearing the uniform or sitting at the end of the bench. He wasn't the ninth or tenth guy on the team whining about their playing time. He was a true team player. When the team was announced on the stage during pep sessions, he wanted to be standing beside them. When the team was on a road trip, he wanted to be sitting on the bus with the guys.

Being a true team player is quite rare occurrence these days. Most kids are concerned about their own statistics and not the team's record. Our manager was the most team-oriented person I have ever been around. This is what made him so good at his job. He was willing to sacrifice anything in order to make the team better. I can remember him staying after practice to rebound for me while I shot free throws and jump shots. The coach and I never had to ask him to stay late and help.

We had a good basketball team my eighth grade year. We lost only two or three games and won the county championship. All of that is a fading memory now. However, I'll never forget the game when we were playing the best team on our schedule. They were undefeated. Our coach knew it was going to be a tough game for us to win.

It was the last game of the season. The X's and O's do not matter at that point of the year. If you don't know your plays by then, you should just forfeit and go home. The key to us having a chance in this game was our team’s emotion. Our coach knew this very well. If there was one thing he was good at, it was getting us motivated. The problem was that by the end of the season, he had pretty well used all of his pre-game pep talks. We had heard them all.

When he came in to the locker room before the game, we were all a bit nervous. We were waiting on his big speech. All he said was, "Tonight, we are going to be led on the floor by our best team player." Everyone looked around at each other. Coach then pointed at our manager. Every player looked at the manager's face and saw how much this meant to him. The whole team suddenly caught a glimpse of what it was like to be a team member and how you sacrifice individual things for the good of the team.

Our manager led us through the tunnel and he tore through the paper ring the cheerleaders had made. The crowd went wild when they saw him leading us around the court for our pre-game routine. The fans and the players knew what this meant to him. We went on to win that game. It was our best team performance of the year. After the game, we carried our manager off the floor. He deserved it.