Winter sports have been put into play, and teams are working hard to win games, meets, and even reach the state championships. What we see is the game, but what we don’t see are the heroes who ensure the game runs smoothly. Making sure everyone has a clean jersey, cold fresh water, keeping score, and filming the game, are the duties of the basketball managers. 

Being a basketball manager requires being ready for morning practices, staying late after school, or traveling to schools that could be 25 minutes away or one hour away. Although people don’t see their work on the court, they are what keeps our teams in check.

“We usually have to do the laundry, and make sure the numbers are matching for the players so they can have a clean set of uniforms to wear,” sophomore Leyu Yonas, Varsity and JV manager, said. “It’s not the same as just washing clothes at home, they have to make sure the water is at the right temperature and the soap is the right amount, and when it’s time to dry they have to make sure you don’t leave them in for too long and at the right heat. They have a routine of making sure they have the right uniform for either home or away games, and that they’re never wearing a dirty uniform making it easier for the players to be able to focus on the game.”

One of the most important things they do is “keep book.” Keeping book happens during the game, they write down what player from what team made the point, who fouled who, and how many timeouts a team used.

Although it might seem easy, it is stressful as it is where they look to see the official score and if done wrong could end a team’s winning streak, or take away the first win. “It’s very fun and exciting,” sophomore Angel Labosettea, JV and freshman team manager, said. “I find it kind of challenging at times to focus [on]the game and write everything down, but that adds to the fun for me.”

During the games they all split into three teams: team one films the games from freshmen, JV, and varsity, team two handles giving water to the team when they call for a timeout, and team three keeps up with the scoreboard and book. When working together this form of communication makes perfect teamwork. 

Managing sports helps some people further their experience for their future. “I wanted to manage because I’m going to study sports management in college and this would be some good experience that I’m getting,” varsity manager senior Naolee Makonnen said. “Even though it isn’t a collegiate-level team, to see how everything works is a good experience to have for the future.” She managed the team since her freshman year to get the feel of how working with college sports would be. As it is her final year managing at the Rock, she wished the best to the program and expressed her gratitude for the experience she was given.

Managers are the people behind the scenes keeping everything perfect making sure the team has everything they need before they head out to the court, from the right uniforms to having a fill bottle of cold water ready for them. That is what the M in team means.