![Wayland Historical Society Executive Director Scarlett Hoey explains the history of the Cochituate Gatehouse.
"The exterior is still a nice monument to remember buildings [involved in] water history," Hoey said. "We all drink lots of water, and it's such an important resource that we kind of take for granted nowadays."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_2024-1200x800.jpg)
As the winter sports season ended, I found myself with nothing to do. Not wanting to pick up another sport, I started looking for a way to fill my spring with an activity that allows me to strengthen my resume and build connections. That’s when I discovered sports management.
I reached out to the head coach of the girls tennis team, Jason Tassinari, and asked if he had managers yet or if he needed one. From there, I was taught to set up the courts, score the matches and talk to the other teams coaches when needed. As one of three managers, I am told to be as involved as I want and treated as a part of the team.
Some people are able to easily pick up a sport freshman or sophomore year, and stick with it throughout high school. However, it can hurt one’s confidence if they are placed on lower teams that might be away from friends. This spring, I was looking for a way to stay connected to the school without destroying my work schedule and stressing myself out about making highly competitive teams.
At sports games, managers are asked to keep score, manage the roster and take care of any logistics that make the game run smoother. Every varsity sports team at Wayland High School needs a manager, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for students who are looking for a way to fill their time during the offseason.
My favorite thing about high school sports is the ability that a team has to bring you close to people you might not have talked to otherwise. I met some of my best friends this hockey season and was looking for another opportunity to meet people in other grades and build connections with people in mine. As a manager, I am able to build the same connections through bus rides and long matches without stressing out trying to fit learning a new sport into my schedule.
Last season, I decided to pick up a new sport and try softball, hoping that it would introduce me to new students around the school. As a first-time player, I made the JV team, and while I enjoyed the physical aspect of the sport, I was separated from all my friends and any older students in the school. Additionally, the pressure of being a new player caused me stress because I was not accustomed to playing the sport and was worried about being out of place. By becoming the tennis team’s manager, I was able to play my own role in a team without worrying about underperforming in a sport that I had just picked up. Managing gave me an opportunity to make friends on a sports team without the added stress of competing.
One of my closest friendships today has developed because of the time spent together on bus rides and at matches. Spending time around the tennis team has given me a great chance to meet and talk to students from other grades, all of whom turned out to be really nice people that I love spending time with on match days. Managing a sport during a season, where I would otherwise have nothing else to do, helped me make old friendships stronger, as well as initiate new ones.
Even though I’m not going to play a sport in college, the ability to commit to a team can boost your resume when colleges are considering you. Being a part of multiple sports teams shows dedication and commitment, on top of allowing you to build connections with people who could help you find things you are passionate about and shape your future. Further, I have built a relationship with adults at this school who I was able to use as references for job applications.
As a final benefit, being a sports manager grants you with both a varsity letter and community service hours at the end of the season. As a sophomore, this eliminates the stress of finding time and opportunities to get the 30 service hours that are required of me in order to go off campus in my junior year. Managing was an easy way to build a resume, get the hours asked of me, while having fun with a team and learning about a new sport.
Until this season, I was under the impression that only seniors were allowed to be managers. However, this is an opportunity open to students of all grades. We, as a school, need to talk more about the availability and importance of managing positions to incorporate otherwise bored students into sports programs.
