The words of a team manager: “A person whose talent didn’t get them far enough to make the team, must subside to team manager.”

While the teasing statement may not give them much credit, team managers do much more than we think, and are a beneficial component to our Jackson-Reed community. Their talent: to keep the chaos in check. 

Lucas Dimou, the new field hockey team manager, says the job makes him happier than ever. Dimou was contacted by the coach of the team, Coach Patty, when she was looking for someone to help the girls out. He gladly took her up on it and has been with the team since the start of the season. He has multiple duties, from assisting with paper work, to getting the field ready before practice. Dimou is there whenever the team is, and handles rosters at games. Along with these responsibilities, he is able to take a huge weight off both the athletic director and coaches back. If you have seen our field hockey players dressed from head to toe in cowboy gear, it is because they aspire to be just like Dimou in his day-to-day cowboy attire. 

Delaney Staudenraus, the boys soccer team manager, started at the beginning of the year at the first game. If you’ve all seen the posts from @jrboys_soccer in order to excite the school on a win or upcoming game, it’s Staudenraus! She, along with two team members, run the account. Filling out MaxPrep is a tiresome job, but Staudenraus gets it done. Along with frequent snack and advil runs to support the players, the “organization can be hard,” Staudenraus explains. “Whether that be during a game, or the transportation to an away game.” 

Our Jackson-Reed coaches wouldn’t be the same without adding something on to our to-do lists last minute and that is no exception for team managers. Whatever comes to the top of a coach’s mind spontaneously, has to be done by someone. 

With that our team managers still love their jobs and have strong enthusiasm towards their prospective sports. Our teams at Jackson-Reed are well accomplished, and we should be insanely proud of the work they do. •