The spring season for sports has come, bringing updated rosters, game schedules, and most importantly, new managers! The role managers play to help our teams is severely underappreciated, so I decided to dive into the life of this overlooked job.
To start, I had to find the student volunteers for this role, which was somewhat of a grueling task. Some people dropped out and others didn’t want to be interviewed, but I was determined to uncover this unkept secret of Jackson-Reed.
After many laps around the hallway, I finally found baseball manager, junior Ida Steinburg, locked into her AP chemistry retake. The grinding mentality needed to help out the baseball team continues off the field, as witnessed by Steinberg’s incredible focus and precision on her notes.
When asked about her role as a baseball manager, Steinberg described various activities she does to help the team out. “At the beginning of the season, I did a lot of folding clothes. There [were] a lot of uniforms to hand out and merch to sort through.”
Once the season began to take off, Steinberg’s role became more of a guide, especially for the jv team. “I think a big part of my job is kind of just [being] an unbiased presence there.” Steinberg offers a fresh perspective in the environment, something that is imperative for underclassmen. “When they’re all frustrated, they don’t really want to talk to their other teammates. And I think it’s helpful that if they want to, they can talk to me to calm down.”
On top of being an emotional guide and stellar organizer, Steinberg has many more responsibilities as manager She is in charge of writing down all the live plays that happen in a game, and inputting the stats into an app, Gamechanger, that the athletes have access to. Her biomed expertise allows for her to give low-level advice on slight injuries a player might have as well.
Initially, Steinberg chose to become the baseball manager because, like all of us, she needed community service hours. Already at 40, she expects to get 100 by the end of the season, enough to get her the credit she needs for community service. When asked about her experience, Steinberg said that “when I was going into it, I was really scared. But once you get to know all of them, most of them are very nice people.
If you are wondering if you would like to manage a sport next year to get those hours, build up your resume, or have some fun, you should definitely look into it next fall. Steinberg was able to meet people she otherwise wouldn’t have, and develop connections that have helped integrate her into the team. As Steinberg says, “it’s an interesting experience,” but one that is definitely worth it to make some long lasting memories.
