Editorial: 5 things I learned as a football equipment manager

When I got to college, I was similar to many first year students across the country: nervous, a little excited and without a defined role on campus yet.

Transitioning from a small high school in Georgia was certainly intimidating. I tried to get involved in a few ways, including trying out for the club golf team and the mock trial team.

After those didn’t pan out, I applied to be an equipment manager for our football team. I had done it in high school on a significantly smaller scale and thought it might be fun. Although I was initially hired to only do laundry, it turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Here are five of the most important lessons I’ve learned during my time in the equipment room.

5. Learn quietly, but don’t be afraid to ask questions

Being the new person in any setting can be discomforting. Everyone else has a wealth of knowledge you haven’t yet acquired. In my first semester, I was purely helping with laundry, but during the second semester I started working practices and building my knowledge base.

You can only learn so much without actively participating and asking questions about tasks you don’t know how to do. While I was around the team, I mostly kept my head down at first and went about my work. After all, I was an equipment manager: Our job is to work behind the scenes to serve players, coaches and anyone else in the program.

Miami University’s equipment team was a bit different. I asked questions about anything and everything, trying to grasp the entirety of our operation. Eventually, I began getting noticed for my work, and the workplace became more comfortable.

All of this is to say if you’re in a new job: stay humble and learn from those with experience, and people will notice and respect you.

4. No job is too small

This pairs well with the last lesson, and it’s pretty self explanatory. When you are starting out at a new job, you’re low on the totem pole.

You get assigned the tasks that others with more experience grew out of. Accepting them willingly and doing them to the best of your ability is crucial to the team’s success and shows the commitment you have to your coworkers.

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While I was fortunate to have a good work ethic coming into college, doing the late laundry shifts and making sure our equipment room was clean helped reinforce it. We all have to forge our own career paths, and the faster we accept and excel at our introductory tasks, the faster we can take on more responsibility.

Photo by Ellison Neumann | The Miami Student

Reaves standing with the Miami football team at Yager Stadium this season

3. The job isn’t everything

This one took me a while to figure out. I always had the perception that if I wasn’t at work everyday and outworking most of my coworkers, I wasn’t committed to the program.

While you should absolutely go above what is required, it’s also important to take some time for yourself. I think more people are starting to realize the importance of balance, and company cultures are starting to shift a bit.

Whether you’re working a job in town and need to take some time to prioritize school work, or you need to take off early one day to meet a friend who is in town, make sure to take care of yourself. If you aren’t feeling your best, you won’t produce your best work.

I’ve found that my boss is generally more accepting of me taking time to prioritize myself if I can come in and work some hours on days my coworkers aren’t required to be in. I’m also more willing to work those hours knowing I can take care of myself when needed. The most effective work relationships are built when you know when to give and when to take.

2. If you want a job in sports, equipment is a great starting point

I didn’t realize coming into my role as an equipment manager how many different departments you work with. Whether you’re working with vendors for orders, the business office, coaches, trainers, videographers, other sports teams or athletics marketing, equipment managers have their fingerprints on everything.

One of our former linebackers coaches, Joe Bowen, started out working equipment. He’s now the defensive coordinator for the University of Buffalo Bulls, who won nine games in head coach Pete Lembo’s first season there. Bowen’s name is still written on a magnet that’s hanging in Yager Stadium’s equipment room.

1. How to network

You hear about networking a lot – and rightfully so, it’s important. But what is networking?

Generally, people use it to talk about meeting as many people as possible, which is also important. I see it a bit differently. To me, networking is working as hard as I can to serve others and form genuine connections with them.

The stronger relationship you have with your bosses, your direct co-workers or co-workers from neighboring departments, the better off you will be. We’re all trying to climb some ladder, whether it’s in a career or just getting a list of tasks done. If you can help others climb their ladder in any way possible, they will do everything in their power to get you where you want to go.

You don’t need to know a million people to have a powerful network: You just need to be kind, helpful and thoughtful. The people you are helping also have networks which they will leverage to help you. Form genuine, strong connections by thinking about others instead of yourself. That is how you network.

I’ll forever be indebted to Miami for these lessons and the many more I learned on campus, and I hope you all are able to take something from my experiences.

reavespj@miamioh.edu