Name:
Meghan Bertovich
Team:
Dayton Flyers
Job Title:
Team Manager
What I do:
At practice I am partly responsible, along with my fellow managers for running the clock, keeping the girls hydrated along with filming practice. For games, I am behind the scenes; I sit behind the bench taking care of water, clipboards, and stats during time outs. On the road, I make sure the girls have their uniforms and other equipment they may need for the game and after the game, making sure that the food arrives after the game for the ride back to the hotel. During the week, I work on helping the coaches by putting tapes from our opponents’ games on the computer so they can complete their scouts for the girls.
How long I've been doing it:
This is my third year being a collegiate basketball manager. I did manage for 3 years in high school.
Training/Education:
Besides being a manager in high school. I never received any training. I am a sport management major and my love of sports keeps me interested in everything going on.
My responsibilities on a "typical" day:
On a “typical” day I will stop in the office and check to see what has to be done and what the coaches need. Usually, I will check on the tapes that come in for the scouts or do some video work on the computer. Then I’ll head over to the arena about 45 minutes before practice and get things set up before the players and coaches arrive on the floor. After practice, I’ll go back to the office and copy tapes of the practice so that the coaches can have them before they go home.
My responsibilities on a game day:
On game day, I attend shoot-around, usually in the morning. After shoot around, we have a pre-game meal. At dinner we have to make sure that everyone has signed up for any tickets that they may need. After the meal, I head home and get changed for the game. Before I head over to the game, I stop at the office and grab all the computers and equipment for the game. At the arena, we get the film set up and make sure that the girls have all their different parts of the uniform. Once the bench and the half time locker room are set up with all the water and Powerade, I get the ball girls ready and out on the floor. During warm – ups, I double check to make sure that they have everything they need on the bench. After the game, we are responsible for getting the final stats to the coaches and take the tape and make the appropriate copies for the tape exchange so they can go out in the next day’s mail.
Biggest challenge:
My biggest challenge is handling school work and the constant needs of the coaches. It seems like I am always on call and when I get a phone call late at night about something that needs to be done for the next morning, it’s hard to get it done with all the school work. Some times I feel that I am letting them down if it’s not done on time.
Biggest reward:
My biggest reward is being included as part of the team. It’s nice when the players include me in their activities. Sometimes I feel invisible to them, and knowing that I am appreciated makes all the hard work worth it.
Biggest misconception about this job:
The biggest misconception about the job is that you get all the luxuries of the team and only have to show up at games and work there. There is a ton of work behind the scenes that no one thinks about.
To be most successful at this job...
To be most successful at this job, you must be able to cope with change and think on the run. A lot of time, the coaches want you to do multiple things at a time, and if you are not able to multi-task, then it could be a problem.
Advice I'd give to someone pursuing this career:
To someone pursuing this career I would tell them to make sure that they love basketball and they are able to take commands and criticism. They have to be able to adapt to change and sometimes feeling invisible.
What I love about sports:
I love the family feeling of a team. I love the games and the thrill of victory. I love competing in not only basketball, but also other sports. I love being able to get so involved in a sport that it’s my second love. Some even say that I become too passionate about sports and that I need to concentrate about something else, but sports has taught me time management, how to be coach able and how do deal with adversity.
When I leave this job I'd like to be able to say that I...
Made a lot of good relationships with not only the players, but the staff at Dayton, but other schools where the team has gone. I also want to say that I enjoyed my time and have no regrets about working with the team.