The most under-the-radar role in high school athletics belongs to student managers, a role traditionally held by high school students for their school’s sports teams. 

To gain an understanding of what the student manager position entails locally and the importance of the position, penbaypilot.com spoke to three area student managers: Elizabeth Flanagan (Medomak Valley junior varsity girls basketball), Isabelle Lang (Camden Hills wrestling) and Emalee Grant (Medomak Valley varsity girls basketball). 

Flanagan spent her first two high school basketball seasons as a player, but opted to transition to the student manager role last season after being accepted into The Telling Room of Portland’s Young Emerging Author’s Fellowship, where she successfully published her first novel in one academic year. 

Related: Waldoboro teen author wrote, published her first novel in one school year

The fellowship included weekly trips to Portland and required Flanagan to make the tough decision to end her basketball playing days after six years to focus on her biggest passion — writing. Despite the book being published, Flanagan opted to remain as a student manager this season rather than returning to the player ranks. 

“By being a manager I still get to be a part of the team that I grew up being a part of, I still get to be with my friends that still play and cheer them on at every game,” Flanagan stated. 

Lang, a three-time Class A state champion in girls soccer, settled on being a student manager since health concerns sidelined her from competing as a wrestler. 

Grant, on the other hand, fell into the position her sophomore year almost by chance as she was asked by a friend to be a student manager after Panthers head coach Ryan McNelly asked Grant’s friend to be a student manager. 

“I decided managing would be a fun way to spend my winter, in the long run helping me become more involved in sports,” Grant said. “I came to love the team and the sport and stuck with it for the past three years. I have gained such a great relationship with some of the girls on the team and also with my coach.”

During practices and competitions, each student manager interviewed as their own designated roles. 

For practice sessions, Flanagan is tasked with operating the scoreboard’s clock to ensure drills are run in timely-fashion and sets up and cleans up prior to and following practice. Lang fuses energy into the practice by overseeing music during practice and serves as the team nurse. Grant brings the basketballs into the gymnasium, sets the practice clock up, maintains the clock and cleans up after practice. 

“Sometimes I even bring the girls tissues, refill their waters, or call [a player’s] parents when one of the players need something,” Grant said. “My coach and I joke, that during practices I ‘read his mind’ due to my knowledge of the drills and his scheduling of the practices.”

Throughout the game, each of the three managers are tasked with logging the event’s statistics and maintaining the first-aid medical kit. 

Additionally, Flanagan is charged with tracking which players leave road contests with their parents, while Lang is tasked with ensuring each wrestler has all uniform and equipment pieces. Grant, meanwhile, composes the script the public address announcer will use at the start of the game for player introductions and ensures the timekeeper is on task throughout games. 

For those interested in pursuing the position of student manager for any sport, all three of the student managers we talked to encouraged fellow students to throw their name into the ring for the position. 

“It is a great way to get involved and form friendships with the team,” said Flanagan, who also advised trying to do the position with someone else to make it more fun and a little bit easier. 

Grant noted the experiences as a student manager will be among one’s best high school experiences and Lang noted the position will provide a sense of family and community while you become more connected with the sport.

Medomak Valley varsity girls basketball head coach Ryan McNelly noted the impact and value of a good manager is immeasurable. 

“My managers do so many things behind the scenes that help make our program much more effective,” he stated. “When you have a manager that is motivated and has the ability to take direction as well as be self-directed during practices and games, you are able to focus solely on your sport and preparing your team throughout the season. This is one of many huge benefits of a good manager. I don't feel people often recognize how valuable a manager is to a program.” 

Here’s to the most under-the-radar position in sports: the student managers. 

Reach George Harvey and the sports department at: sports@penbaypilot.com.