Team Managers Are There to Help in Any Way
Team managers, quite simply, take care of the little things on game day. Yet none of what they do on game days is simple or little; it all adds up.
Take, for instance, the four managers of the girls varsity ice hockey team. Their duties range from making sure the uniforms are ready to go to filming games to running the game clock to keeping statistics to taking photos.
“They take care of all the stuff that surrounds the game so that allows me, as the coach, to coach, and it allows the players to play,” head coach Liz Leyden said. “Having four managers allows for flexibility for me, too, which has been great, and I think [it] makes the experience of being a manager more fun because there are others to work with.”
Senior Emma Sage is one of the team managers.
“This experience has taught me a lot about hockey, of course, but also about team dynamics and what goes on behind the scenes of a sport different than the one I'm used to playing,” said Emma, who plays lacrosse.
Emma said she feels part of the team because of her interactions with players not only at the rink but also around campus. And game day? “They’re excited to see us when we get to the rink,” Emma said.
Emma emailed Liz earlier in the fall expressing her interest, and one of her main tasks is keeping the scoresheet and statistics. “That is something I look at between periods, and it can be really helpful for me,” Liz said. “Emma is someone who always is looking to see how she can support the team.”
Another senior, Maddie Peter, runs the clock.
“That is not an easy job,” Liz said, calling it one of the more stressful tasks, “but she has become very confident. She has not only figured that out, but how to play music, which the girls love, between all the whistles.”
The music pumps up the fans as well as the players.
Sophomore Charlie Sticka often films games. She remembers her first time filming for the livestream and for players to be able to watch tape.
“I was so nervous,” she said. “I was so worried I would completely mess up.”
She said she enjoys the perspective from behind the camera.
“I see the game differently from that viewpoint,” Charlie said. “I see more than I would if I was just in the stands as a fan. It's also given me a greater understanding of the game.”
Charlie had to fulfill a team activities commitment for the winter season, but she needed to do something with a certain amount of flexibility. She played soccer in the fall for Loomis Chaffee, but she practices and plays with an off-campus soccer team in the winter. She said Stephanie Bissett, the dean of students for the sophomore class, suggested she help manage the girls hockey team. “Many of my friends are on the team so I loved the idea,” Charlie said.
Freshman Celina Xiong also has contributed to the team as a manager. Among her assigned roles is making sure the jerseys are ready on game day and brought back to be washed after the game, but she also goes out of her way to raise the players’ spirits. “She is so kind,” Liz said. “She made the team New Year’s gifts over winter break. She is just so supportive, and the girls feel that support from her.”
Loomis varsity girls hockey is 18-4-1 this season and has lost only once since December 11. The Pelicans had a winning streak of 10 games earlier in the season and have won six of their last seven. The LC girls have two remaining regular-season games, both on the road: Phillips Andover Academy today (Wednesday, February 21, at 3 p.m.), and Deerfield Academy on Saturday, February 24, at 4 p.m.