GW’s basketball programs are well-oiled machines.
Players, coaches and staff work diligently to ensure that not only games go seamlessly, but practice, travel and everything in between. Alongside them are the student managers, who perform myriad tasks to ensure things go according to plan.
The women’s basketball team has three managers, each of whom fills a specific role. Nate Chicoy, a freshman studying international business, says he makes sure the coaches know the names of the refs during the games.
“We, all three, have separate tasks on gameday,” Chicoy said. “They’re not heavy tasks, just some little stat keeping during games, or water and towels during games, just help set up. Just be there.”
Brady Rosenstock, a sophomore majoring in communications, served as a practice player his freshman year and decided he wanted to take on a bigger role this season. Isabella Smetana, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering, became interested in the position after seeing a post on Instagram. All three interviewed with Assistant Coach Adam Call, after which they were hired as managers.
With the benefit of priority class registration, Rosenstock was able to build his schedule around the practices, giving himself the availability to attend every day.
“I was fortunate because we get priority scheduling,” Rosenstock said. “So I was fortunate to really clear my schedule and remove my stuff because I go to every practice.”
Rosenstock, nursing a scratch on his neck at the interview, which he said was a result of a physical practice battle with graduate student forward Mayowa Taiwo, helps the team by serving as an extra body in scrimmages and collecting rebounds during warmups. His rough-up was not the first time an injury has happened in practice, as he shared that he broke then-senior forward Faith Blethen’s finger last year.
“She was able to play through,” Rosenstock said of the injury. “But that was bad.”
Smetana shared that she traveled with the team to Maryland last week for the game against Towson, a 68-60 GW loss, where she roomed with graduate student guard Nya Lok.
“She’s super awesome,” Smetana said of Lok. “They were all really nice.”
Eli Cole, a graduate student in the School of Business, became a manager for the men’s team after inquiring about a position with a graduate assistant in one of his classes. He filled out an application, interviewed and was hired early this September.
The men’s team, which has 11 managers, uses a scheduling system to delegate tasks, including practice duty and laundry.
“We have one big loop and then set up the gym for practice,” Cole said. “We have the extra pinnies in case they’re running drills, we have a bucket of pads for different drills, practice plans. Super simple in that way. And then during practice, we have towels for the floor, we have extra balls if one goes out of bounds.”
On game days, Cole said managers arrive hours ahead of tipoff to help with shoot around and lay out the players’ jerseys. During the games, they help the graduate assistants with anything they need, distribute water and bring stools out during timeouts.
Cole said that he has been able to develop relationships with the players, both inside the Smith Center and out.
“Now, when I’m walking down the street with them or going to class, we’re friends,” Cole said. “And then we get to the game, and it’s all business-focused and we each have a job to do.”
The managers for the women’s team also said they’ve become close with players, particularly Rosenstock, who is in his second year with the program.
“If I see them in the dining hall, I’ll for sure say ‘hi,’ and sometimes I’ll eat with them,” Rosenstock said.
The managers also said their basketball knowledge has increased since working for the teams, as learning terminology from practices and stat-keeping are major components of their positions. Additionally, having a close view of the operations side of the programs has given them insights into how Division I basketball teams are run.
“It’s just interesting to see the backend of a college DI level team,” Chicoy said. “How they handle recruitment, how they handle the backend stuff that no one really sees.”
Cole said he enjoys the team environment and being able to learn from and laugh with players and coaches alike.
“I think the biggest thing is just it’s very friendly and welcoming,” he said. “I look forward to going. Everyone from the players, the GA’s, the coaches, everyone is very humorous all the time.”
