Submitted by Grimm

Grimm takes stats and holds a face cut out of Forward Joe Erickson ‘26. “This season I know all of us want to improve on our stat taking,” said Grimm. “[This way] we can give the team accurate representations of how the games are going.” Stats include number of goals, time on attack and defense, blocked shots, and individual face off wins and losses; these stats are given to the coaches to improve practice.

     Behind every state championship team, every smile in the locker room, and every student section are people who do not appear on the scoreboards, but make every victory possible. For the Boys’ Soccer team, that hidden strength came from team managers like Lula Alter ‘27 and Lara Ibrani ‘27, whose dedication carried the team from day-to-day practices to a historical state title.

     A manager’s work rarely stops at water bottles and snacks; the role may also include a chance to stay close to a sport they love. “I’ve always loved being around soccer, and since my twin brother’s on the team, I wanted to find a way to be involved too,” said Ibrani. “I usually do tennis during the fall, but this year I tore my MCL, so I needed a distraction to put more time into. Managing let me support the team while still being part of the action in my own way.” The job of a team manager is a sacrifice and a year-long commitment that these people choose to make out of reminiscence of their lives.

     For winter sports like hockey, the responsibilities look similar, but intensify with the pace of the sport. Boys’ hockey manager Gabi Grimm ‘26 describes the job as a mix of organization and creativity: “We take stats, fill waters, organize sticks, and run the social media.We’re working on getting photographers for games and creating Canva posts to help bring in fans.” On the girls’ side, Reagan Schoen ’26 emphasized the community: “The biggest part is supporting the team, being there for players, writing little messages, keeping people smiling after a tough day.”

     “We really hope to see a big turnout at games this year from students and fans,” said Grimm. “We spend a lot of time creating posts and filming through the whole game so we can catch every goal for the fans that couldn’t be there.”

     Across every sport,  managers share a common thread of sacrificing their time and energy not for recognition, but because they believe in their teams. Managers are the students who keep things running smoothly, the unseen component of athletics.