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Managers contribute through commitment

Cross country needs extra help with demands of team, make coach”s job easier | by CASSIE REDLINGSHAFER

State banners and t-shirts include team managers, but what do the managers really do? Managers donate as much time as the actual participants do. Not only do they attend practice daily and go to all of the meets, matches, and games but they are busy with different jobs during these events.

Seniors Jenny Platten, Brady Essmann and Claire Hansen are the three cross country managers. This is Platten”s third year as a manager and Essmann and Hansen”s second year.

According to cross country coach Karen Moran, the managers have “many, many responsibilities.” Moran also said that the managers make her job a lot easier.

“Yes, [the managers make practices and meets easier for me because they] help take care of a lot of things I don”t have time for,” Moran said. ‘This helps me focus on the actual coaching.’

At each meet the three managers set up tents, tend to minor injuries and take times for the runners at the one-mile mark two-mile mark, and finish line which, according to Moran is their biggest responsibility.

The managers attend practice every day and have responsibilities such as taking attendance, making coolers and timing the varsity players when they run hills.

Platten ran cross country as a freshman but sophomore year she was diagnosed with Achilles tendonitis and has managed ever since.

‘After I decided I didn’t want to run I thought about how much I liked the coach and I loved the girls so I emailed coach Moran and she suggested that I become a manager,’ Platten said.

According to Platten, she prefers managing over being a runner on the team because she likes to run on her own time instead of being forced to run. Although Platten is no longer a runner, her time commitment to cross country has not changed.

‘Yeah, I think [managing is as big of a time commitment as being a runner], I mean there is a lot of stuff [the managers] do,’ Platten said. ‘Even though there are three coaches this year, there are 68 girls [on the team] so we always have something to do.’

According to varsity runner and sophomore Kelly O’Byrne, the managers are not only as important as runners but that they hold crucial positions on the team.

“Well I feel like the managers are just as much a part of the team as the runners,’ O’Byrne said. ‘They go to all the pasta parties and practices and meets and everything. They also help with individual improvement by timing everything and they really encourage everyone.”

Coach Moran agrees that the managers are a key component to the team and believe they deserve more credit.

“Absolutely, [the managers] are just as important as the actual runners even though many people often overlook them,’ Moran said.

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