Managing a team is sometimes the next best thing

By Sports Editor Jay Ahuja

Another day of practice. It’s 4:30 in the morning, the sun can’t be seen, but NNHS senior Erin Carolan is more excited than any of the wrestlers there. Carolan is the varsity wrestling manager for NNHS, and while many frown upon the position, Carolan couldn’t be more proud.

“My dad was a wrestler throughout his life and just growing up in that environment, I have grown fond of the sport as well,” Carolan, who has managed the team for two years, said.  “I would love to be wrestling right now but I fractured my spine. Being the manager was the next best thing.”

It’s funny how some things work.

During my freshman year, as I was trying to figure out the way things worked at NNHS, I noticed that the upper-classmen were constantly teasing the managers of varsity sports. I was told that the managers were just people who were unsuccessful in their respective sports and were therefore stuck with the job of cleaning up after the athletes.

I went along with that concept and occasionally joined in the taunting.  At the time, I wondered how big of a loser someone had to be to pick up after athletes during their spare time.

That  line of thinking was pretty popular among students at the time, and it is still prevalent today.

From that time to my senior year, I went through a lot. But, the most important thing I learned was that I had no right to judge someone until I had walked in their shoes.

This lesson became a reality after I was cut from the varsity basketball team in my junior year. After five months of working out with the basketball team, I felt a close bond with some of the players and even after losing my spot on the court, I still wanted to be a member or have some connection to the organization. The coach offered me a chance to be the team manager, and I accepted.

I figured it would be easy work, and I had never been more wrong. After a couple weeks of attending every practice and game, I already wanted to quit. It was at that time that I realized how much persistence and patience is necessary  in order to be a manager. Waking up early, going to every single practice, and taking care of equipment seems easy enough, but after four months, it becomes a big burden.

Regardless, being a manager brings a sense of connectivity and togetherness with the team. Of course, it could never replace the feeling of actually playing for the team, but, sometimes, you have to take the next best thing.