“It’s no easy job but someone has to do it.” These are the words I live by when I walk into work every morning at 6 a.m. to do what I love best: manage the Maryland football team as a student equipment manager. There is a lot to this job, but to simplify things, I’m going to take you on a day in the life tour student equipment manager.
On a normal practice day, I get up around 5 a.m. and start making my way over to Gosset Football Team House, or as I like to call it, my second home because I spend so many hours there. The first thing I do is grab breakfast, which usually consists of bacon and eggs and some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, all provided by the football team.
Next I head down to the equipment room, which is right next to the locker room, and I begin to fold all sorts of towels; towels for the coaches, towels for the players, Gatorade towels, any kind of towel that is presented to me so the players and coaches can use them after practice. Next, I go to set up the practice field, getting out whatever pads or equipment the coaches need to run certain drills for the players during practice. After this, my job is, either spotting the ball on certain hash lines for drills, or doing the chain crew with some of my other managers.
When practice is over with, us managers put all the gear away that is left on the field. Then we head back down to the equipment room to collect all the players used clothes from practice and wash and organize them so it can be ready again for use the next day of practice. This is a typical Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday.
However, when it is actually game day, that is when the real work begins. Our job as student managers is to put the game jerseys on all the shoulder pads for the players who are dressing for the game, clean up the locker room to make sure it looks nice and the final touch - bringing out the Maryland Pride 2.0 helmets!
In terms of what I do on a day to day basis, working for the team is almost as much work as playing for the team, but the amounts of work are measured in different levels. We both run around, but they tackle the dummies I set up and wear the jerseys I put on their shoulder pads. But in the end, we are all in it for the betterment of the Maryland Football Program and I just wish I could suit up with the guys I work for everyday!
This is just a glimpse of what I do on a day-to-day basis, but I love this job so much because of my passion for Maryland football, and as well as just seeing the team succeed in every aspect of the season. I advise anyone who is interested in this line of work to please go do it, and have the time of your life!
