Between rigorous classes and busy practice schedules, Northwestern’s Division I student athletes aren’t the only ones balancing academics and athletics. Behind the scenes of NU sports are student managers — essential, but often overlooked, parts of their teams.
Weinberg freshman Gabriella Virgen, a student manager for the women’s basketball team, grew up playing sports and knew she wanted to be a part of a team culture when she got to NU.
“It’s an environment you can’t replicate anywhere else,” Virgen said.
As a student manager, Virgen’s main responsibility is helping the coaches run practices. She said this includes setting up equipment, running the clock, cleaning up, filming practice and working on the floor to give players balls. During games, she and the other managers sit behind the players and give them towels and water bottles.
Virgen said the women’s basketball team has about a dozen student managers, but that the number at each practice varies. Managers are not required to work every home game. Each works a few times per week so there are enough people to help out.
She said the time commitment during the season depends on the combination of practices and games she works. For example, working three practices a week is a commitment of about six hours, while working two games and a practice is closer to 15 hours. During the off-season, the team has regulations on how much they can practice, so she only works about three hours each week.
Although the job is a paid position, Virgen said the real reward is the sense of community she has found.
“The environment is a really fun place to be,” she said. “The coaches, they’re so sweet, so kind and they’re very inclusive.”
Weinberg sophomore Charles Frady works behind the scenes for NU’s baseball team.
He said his goals aligned with the program.
Frady focuses on data operations for the team, working with the program’s TrackMan unit to collect pitching and hitting data. He also helps with general operational support, stepping in wherever an extra hand is needed.
During both the season and offseason, Frady estimates he commits about 30 hours each week to the program, all on a voluntary basis. Unlike other student managers, whose positions are work-study, Frady’s position, as with all the baseball managers, is unpaid — which he said is more akin to an internship with the baseball program.
“Technically, I don’t have to be at any of the practices, or if I ever want to call and tell them, ‘Hey, I don’t want to go,’ (I can), but then I get less opportunities with the program to do cool things,” Frady said.
Weinberg freshman Cydney Waterman, a student manager for NU football, said she discovered her passion for the job after managing her high school team. She saw the opportunity as a way to stay connected to football and explore how a major D1 program operates in conjunction with NU’s academic demands.
Waterman’s duties involve setting up and breaking down equipment for practices, assisting a defensive coach and organizing gear in the equipment room. During spring practices, she estimates she works about 15 to 20 hours each week, but in the fall, she said her commitment to climb closer to a full-time job — about 40 hours weekly.
Though she isn’t required to attend every event if she has a class conflict, Waterman said she’s expected to be present at most practices and all home games, including the game at Wrigley Field.
For Waterman, the best part of the job is the benefits.
“I get free merchandise just for working, and then I also have breakfast and lunch at the athletic dining hall, and it’s way better than the average dining hall food,” she said.
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