Sports equipment managers have gotten a bad reputation since at least the 1998 release of “The Waterboy,” (some ways more than others). Managers are viewed as the non-athletic, nerdy recipient of the coach’s pity. However, the most common reputation that sports managers are given is that of the waterboy. Instead of saying that I am not the waterboy, here is a picture of my most typical day in the life of a basketball manager at Loyola.

Most National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Basketball Programs have anywhere from four to eight managers to run a well-oiled Division I Program. Our cross street rival, the Tulane Green Wave, has four managers.

The basic job description of a manager is to facilitate the daily logistical processes in association with the assistant coaching staff. The facilitation of daily logistic processes means that the players only worry about playing (and academics) and the coaching staff only has to worry about coaching.

My typical mid-season day starts at 6 a.m. I should be in the gym at the latest 6:30 a.m. so that I can fully set up for practice. Setting up for practice includes cleaning the locker room, making sure that all the basketball goals for practice are down and locked into position (as an unlocked goal can lead to player injury), sweep the floor if needed, and make sure that every player has a sufficient amount of clean, Loyola practice uniforms. Supplies needed for practice include the following: stretch cords, towels at each “coast” of the floor, dribble goggles, rebound rims, cones, jump ropes, eight to 10 gallons of water, a full rack of basketballs and a clock.

During practice, the manager is on call at all times for whatever duty the coach may need him or her to do. The manager also is responsible for keeping the clock and shot clock on pace during practice. Post practice, the manager is responsible for the complete breakdown of supplies needed during practice, including making sure practice uniforms are washed. After practice, I usually go to class until approximately 2:30. Some days stop here with the exception of washing uniforms, which is done every evening. However, the manager is on call 24/7 to facilitate any sort of coach’s demands.

On travel/game days, I would be responsible for loading all supplies needed for travel. Those include all supplies needed for practice, plus making sure all players have their game uniforms, plus drinks for pre-game and post-game, plus working in unison with the assistant coaches to make sure we have all pre and post-game meals arranged. During the games, the game must be filmed and shot charts must be completed. Yes, water must also be distributed. Post-game, everything is loaded back onto the bus and loaded back into the gym. Game days do not end until around midnight. At that point I can attempt to do homework and hope to sleep.

Basketball manager is a very tough job. Who’s complaining about work-study now?

Jeffrey Ramon is the manager of the men’s basketball team. He can be reached at [email protected]