Sports managers are often unknown but essential to make sports teams run smoothly.

Dee Gallegos, Div. 657, and Shivani Patel, Div. 670, are co-managers of Lane’s Boys Soccer Gold, one of the two frosh-soph teams, for Coach Jackson.

“Our job is to basically set up goals, bring the soccer balls bags to the field, fill water bottles for the players, and do stats during the game,” Gallegos said. “Most of the time we dostats but occasionally we will watchthe coach’s dog or bring a snack for the coach. Or like today when it was too cold we brought the coach hot chocolate.”

Most of the soccer players do not take much notice of Patel and Gallegos, which is understandable since they have to focus during their practices. When they are not busy, they try to learn the names of all of their players. Recognition usually is not why sports managers become sports managers.

“The perks to being a manager are that you get a lot of volunteer hours and it looks good on college apps,” Patel said. “It also helps me get involved with the school. Plus, sometimes the coach pays for our Starbucks.”

“We got the job by basically bugging Ms. Jackson every day,” Gallegos said.

Kirsten Apel, Div. 651, is one of Boys Varsity Wrestling team managers. She is one of the four managers of the team. “What we do during practices and matches is get ice for injured players, keep score at home games, keep stats for players,” Apel said. “We’re significant to the players because they need stats to go to city [championships].”

Like Gallegos and Patel, Apel has a better relationship with the coach than the players — especially because of the late hours of practices and the early morning Saturday matches.

“The coach [is kind enough] to give us money to buy food,” Apel said. “We get lots of service hours along with some wrestling sweaters and shirts. I learned a lot about wrestling and was able to socialize with the other managers.”

When the team went to the city championships, irreplaceable as they were needed as judges for one of the tables, Apel said. Without them, there would be one less mat to have a match in, slowing down the process of the city championships.

“I got manager because one of my wrestler friends mentioned that the team still needed managers,” Apel said.

“So I asked the coach and he said I could manage.”

Ellen Rakowski, Div. 587, is the sports manager for the Cross Country Team and the Boys’ Track team.

When the coaches aren’t there, Rakowski is the one to lead practice. She stands out easily, the only one in casual clothes instead of running gear.

“I stopped running and I asked Coach Roof if he needed help and then I became manager,” Rakowski said.

After Cross Country season, she also managed Boys Track. Rakowski needed a co-manager to keep her company. Her friends had said they were unavailable and, by chance, a student messaged her on twitter asking to be co-manager because she could not do Girls Track.

“Nine months later and she’s my best friend,” Rakowski said. “She’s my other half.”

Rakowski is always needed in Cross Country. She acts as a friend and coach when the runners need her.

“It’s easier for the runners to talk to someone their own age than the coach,” said Rakowski.

Rakowski is the middle man between the runners and the coaches. Since this is her second year being manager and she used to be a runner, almost all of the runners know who she is. She is essential for the sport.

“I love being manager so much,” Rakowski said.