The Golden Rule

Every manager knows it's best to be invisible.

A good manager is one that goes unnoticed. And while this has never really been my style, I'd say I managed (pun intended, and one of many to come) to avoid garnering too much attention when I first started. This was fine and dandy of course, but I have to admit: the job was plain old boring. There's only so many times you can hold a door open and say "you're welcome" to everyone who passes through it before you go crazy. But over the years (two, to be exact) that I have worked for the _________ University Women's Basketball Team, I've quickly discovered the best ways to get noticed:

A great way to get yourself noticed as a manager is to let the buzzer go off during practice. This can happen accidentally ... Perhaps you were busy rebounding. Or running to the office to grab a coach's practice schedule. Or maybe you were just daydreaming about what it would be like to have a pillow fight in this huge gym and you forgot to check the clock. Either way. That loud, obnoxious buzzer is a fantastic way to say "Hey. I'm here. And I actually do stuff sometimes." So every once in awhile, I just let it go off on purpose. "Oops. Sorry Coach. Did I interrupt your 10 minute long tirade about rebounding?"

Another good way to get yourself noticed is to befriend the players. Of course, the easiest way to go about this is through their stomachs. When players aren't focusing on their game, they are focusing on their food. If there is one thing I have learned from this job, it's that basketball players are always hungry. And usually it's for things that they aren't allowed to have. So whether you have to secretly get the soft-serve machine up and running before team meals or smuggle forbidden french fries to the back of the bus, the risk (getting caught by the coaches) is definitely worth the reward of having a few players know your name.

And if all else fails, find a Nordstrom's outlet and pick yourself up a pair of snazzy shoes. Those always seem to be great conversation starters.

That's really all I am trying to do here. Be immortalized. And what better way than a tell-all blog that will make my job seem way more exciting than it actually is. Stay tuned. Because one day my (self-assigned) number of 00 will one day hang from the rafters of ______ arena, and you'll wish you had read my blog.

- Manager of the Year