Yesterday, I started the morning off with our weekly meeting. It was a fairly quick meeting. We discussed the events for the week. The events are listed as followed: Tuesday (8/30/16) men’s soccer vs IUPUI @ 7:00 PM, Saturday (9/3/16) men’s soccer vs SIUE @ 7:00 PM, and Sunday (9/4/16) women’s soccer vs LSU @ 1:00 PM. LSU match was an additional event that wasn’t initially supposed to take place at Butler University. However, LSU had some issues with their flight plans so the date and location was changed. Roles were quickly discussed and then the meeting was over.
That night the Butler Bulldogs took on the IUPUI Jaguars. I’m an alumnus of IUPUI. However, I’ve never been a sports fan of IUPUI mainly because they don’t have football. Therefore, it wasn’t really a big deal. The weather for this game was frustrating. We had two weather delays due to lightning. I felt like I would be there all night. On top of that the scoreboard was on the fritz so I had to use my smartphone to keep the time. Anyway, it was a good game. The final score was Butler: 4 – IUPUI: 2. Lewis Suddick #8 had a hat trick which means that he scored 3 goals. The rough part about sports is the hours. You tend to spend a lot of time away from your family. I know that part will remain a factor in the industry. I love sports and I love my family so I’ll figure out a way to make it work. Well until next time, be blessed. GO DAWGS!!!
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Yesterday the women’s soccer team played the Akron Zips. It was redemption Sunday as the lady Dawgs beat the Zips 2-0. Butler played aggressive all game whereas Akron played sloppy. I’m actually surprised that they didn’t score more. Maybe the weather played a factor. I was hotter than Satin’s toe nails out there. It was a 1 o’clock kickoff so the sun was beaming. I think it was around 95 to 100 degrees. The heat drains you. Plus, they played on the artificial turf and that turf retains heat so it’s hotter in the field. I stood on the field for a little while and the bottom of my feet seemed like they were on fire. I can only imagine what they players felt. During the game the officials call for a few hydration breaks. It was good to see the ladies win after their loss last Friday.
I had the same role in this game. However, I have a team now of 5 people working under me. They are Butler University students that help out in order to get paid. I’m slowly but surely climbing the ladder. Well, until next time, be blessed. GO DAWGS!!! On Friday night the lady soccer Bulldogs of Butler University took on the lady Hoosiers of Indiana University. It was kid’s night featuring an in-state rivalry. However, the night didn’t get off to a good start. There wasn’t supposed to be any rain or thunder storms Friday but right before both teams were about to take the field to warm-up it started to pour down hard with lighting striking and thunder clattering. Fans and staff gathered in Hinkle Fieldhouse. The rain drops were the size of marbles and when they made contact with something it seemed like a violent act. Lighting struck close to the Butler campus. At one point it seemed like we were caught right in the middle. When the thunder clapped it was super load, enough to frighten people, and the building seemed to rumble. The match was scheduled to start at 7 PM but it didn’t get start until about 8:10 PM. Time seemed to move so slow during the delay but I was glad that it didn’t last longer. This is my Friday night that we are talking about people.
My roles for this match were pre-game field set-up, host for the visiting team and officials, and operating the score board. Now, I handle the entire pre-game field set-up. I lock gates, open doors, put out signs, prep field, sweep area for things out of place, and anything else that Neal Smith can think of. I love it. Give it all to me I can handle it. I like hosting because it gives you a chance to mingle. I had the Hoosier ladies laughing at some of the silly stuff that I was saying. They were really nice. I love human interaction like that because I’m a very social person. It’s like I draw power from people around me. When the match began the play seemed sluggish at first. It picked up after a while. However, a goal wasn’t scored until close to the end of the second period. Indiana scored a goal off the unintended deflection of a Butler player. It all looked like a mistake. Players from both sides were surprised but one was happier than the other. The people in the press box called it a cheap goal but a goal is a goal. The Indiana Hoosiers defeated the Butler Bulldogs 1-0. This was their first win of the young season. The Butler ladies seemed disappointed but it’s a long season and they will bounce back. They play again today at 1 PM against the Akron Zips. Well, until next time, be blessed. GO DAWGS!!! Today was a simple day so I’m just going to check in with you’ll. We had a meeting to talk about the up and coming events. The Butler women’s soccer team has two events this week: Friday 8/26/16 @ 7 PM vs. Indiana Hoosiers and Sunday 8/28/16 @ 1 PM vs. Akron Zips. Special events will be held on both of those nights. It will be Youth Night for the Indiana match and Daddy Daughter Day for the Akron match. Both matches will let kids in free and have a little something special for the kids. I heard that Hink, the Butler mascot (actual bulldog), will be there. I have yet to meet him so I’m looking forward to it. I love dogs. We also talked about our roles, expected weather, and expected crowd numbers. It was a quick and efficient meeting. Well until next time, be blessed.
GO DAWGS!!! On Saturday night the Butler Bulldog men’s soccer team faced the Michigan State Spartans. This game would be their third and final exhibition match. The weather was great for soccer. The men’s soccer team looked geared up for the regular season. At one point during the match Butler was up 3-0 over Michigan State. In an exhibition match everyone usually plays in order to evaluate them. Therefore, after some mass substitutions Michigan State was able to score two goals. This made the score Butler: 3- Michigan State: 2. Both teams played hard leaving it all on the field. I can’t wait until the regular season starts. Each game will matter and Butler will be in control of their own destiny. Sports tend to have an up and down trend. Hopefully, this will be an up year for Butler men’s soccer.
I went back to my usual role at soccer game working the scoreboard. Neal Smith asked me which do I like better. I responded, “Both have their positives and negatives. I like both equally. However, if the weather is bad I would rather be in the press box doing the scoreboard but if the weather is nice I’d like to be at the substitution table. I think as time goes on Smith will expose me to more and more things. Back to the game, I was so excited to see the men’s soccer team perform better. I mean they looked like a real contender. Their regular season match is in a couple of days and I will definitely be there. Well until next time, be blessed. GO DAWGS!!! Last night the Butler Bulldog women’s soccer team went against the Ohio Bobcats in their season opener. The Butler women’s soccer team was the 2015 Big East Champions. They lost some players from that team due to graduation but expectations are still high for the 2016 season. The game started off with an hour long weather delay due to lightning in the area. Once the weather cleared up we began. You could tell that the ladies from both teams were excited to play. They were all over the place. While watching the women’s game I notice that they did less pushing and shoving yet the competitiveness was still apparent. Butler scored a goal in the first period then Ohio tied it up in the second period. Both teams tried desperately to score another goal before the second period was over but despite their efforts they were unable to accomplish that task. The game would go into overtime so the next goal scored would decide the winner. After a few minutes into the period Butler put together a sequence of brilliant ball movements that led to an opportunity to win the game. The Butler girls took full advantage of the opportunity and scored the winning goal. A thrilling overtime win is a great way to open the season. It says a lot about the team. I had a different role for this game. I still did my pregame and post game duties but my during the game duties was different. I worked the substitution table which means whenever a player from either team wanted to sub in they had to check with me first then I would report to the press box so they could announce the substitutions. The new position allowed me to be close to the action. It was a totally different experience than working the scoreboard in the press box. I heard and saw everything that happened on the field. Things I heard included: players communicating with each other, coaches communicating with players, fans cheering and remarks, coaches fusing at the officials, the announcer from outside the press box this time, and much more. It was a much livelier soccer experience. It was a long night. I didn’t get in until late but that’s the life of sports. Until next time be blessed. GO DAWGS!!! Yesterday was a long day. I had a meeting and an event at Butler. The meeting was held earlier in the morning while the event took place in the evening. During the meeting we discussed the three soccer matches that would be held this week, what to expect (as far as ticket sales and weather) and everybody’s role. The up and coming events include: Tuesday 8/16/16: 6 PM men’s soccer vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (exhibition), Friday 8/19/16: 7 PM women’s soccer vs Ohio Bobcats, and Saturday 8/20/16: 7 PM men’s soccer vs. Michigan State Spartans (exhibition). The meeting didn’t last long. Neal Smith, assistant athletic director and facility / event manager, told me that as time went on the meetings would be shorter and more tedious. Not too much changes in the meetings. Their main purpose is to inform and make adjustments if needed.
Later that evening the Butler Bulldogs had their soccer match against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The weather was a lot better and the crowd was a bit larger. I mean we are talking about “Thee Ohio State Buckeyes”. If you watch sports you know their fan base is amazing and they represent well even at away games. The Buckeye crowd was just as large as the Butler crowd. I have pretty much the same role for all soccer matches: host for the opposing team & officials, assist in field set up & tear down, and operate the scoreboard. This time we had to lock the gates to keep people from sneaking into the game for free. As far as the game goes, it felt more like soccer and less like a brawl. It was a good match. Butler came away with the win. The score was Butler: 2 – Ohio State: 1. I found my getting into the game more and becoming more excited despite it being a slower game. Let’s be clear I knew nothing about soccer. However, now I think learning something new and that’s what it’s all about. Until next time be well. GO DAWGS!!! Today there was a men’s exhibition soccer match between Butler and the Indy Eleven. The Indy Eleven are a part of the North American Soccer League (NASL). The Eleven are consider a professional team, not quite MLS but professional none the less. As a player that must have been cool to open the season against professionals and see how you stack up against them.
For today’s match I was the host for the Eleven & officials, assisted in field set up & tear down, and operated the scoreboard. As you may know in sports fans can arrive at the event close to kickoff whereas staff such as me arrives a few hours prior to kickoff in order to prepare. As the host I had to meet the opposing team and officials in order to escort them to the locker rooms where they could get ready for the match. In assisting with the field we had to get the goals in place and I tell you them things are heavy. I broke a sweat pushing those goals. Operating the scoreboard simple enough to catch on to yet you had to pay attention to the match in order to not miss anything. There are protocols and guidelines that I follow in order to do my job effectively. They tell me what I do, when I do it, and how i do it. It was a gloomy and rainy day to play soccer. There was a decent crowd size considering the weather. This was the first soccer match that I have watched in 5 years. I didn’t realize how physical soccer could be. There were injuries due to bodies flying around. The players were pushing and bumping each other. The aggression was definitely present, so much so that a fight almost broke out. Also if you play soccer you have to be in shape because all these players did was run around continuously for two 45 minute periods (90 minutes). I wouldn’t make it. I play football where we get multiple breaks. There was no score by either team for the first period. In the second period the Eleven scored two goals, thus the final score was Butler: 0 – Indy Eleven: 2. At the end of the match I was told that the Eleven only played their reserves because they had a game that Saturday night and it was just an exhibition game. That made since. If the main guys would have played the score may have been worse. It was a good game though. Butler plays Ohio State on Tuesday so that should be interesting. Today was a good experience. I learned a lot. I look forward to keep learning as this internship continues. Well, until next time, be blessed. GO DAWGS!!! Today was the official start date for my internship at Butler University under assistant athletic director and facility/ event manager Neal Smith. We started the day with a morning meeting. This meeting would kick off the 2016 Butler fall sports season. When Smith and I arrived the room was mostly full. He actually seemed surprised. Staff members from different areas of expertise attended the meeting in order to be filled in on their roles in specific athletic events. Some of the areas represented were: marketing, event security, Butler police, ticket operations, external operations, concessions, event & facility operations, sports information, website management, grounds crew, and spirit shop management. The first topic that we touched on was introductions. According to Smith, there were some new faces including my own so it’s good to be knowledgeable of who you will be working with this fall. Secondly, we briefly went over the fall/winter schedule. Butler offers 6 sports in the fall/winter: men’s football, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s volleyball, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. All of Butler’s collegiate sports are in the Big East Conference besides football. Football is in the Pioneer League. We also touched on special events that would be taking place over the season such as Butler men’s soccer vs. Indy Eleven and the Cathedral High School Homecoming vs. St. Xavier (Cincinnati). The Cathedral Homecoming game was said to be the biggest fall sport crowd that they would see ranging from 5,000 to 5,500 fans. Lastly, we went over the roles that staff member would play in the Sunday men’s soccer game. In the meeting staff members were free to speak, ask questions, or make special announcements. Even a few jokes and laugher were shared. The meeting was both efficient and effective. The staff was friendly to me and seemed pleased to welcome me as a part of their team. After the group meeting Smith and I went over my specific duties for Sunday’s soccer game. We went over a lot of information about what I’m supposed to do, when I’m supposed to do it and how I’m supposed to do it. I like details and I’m glad he broke things down the way he did. I catch on quick so I’m sure I’ll be fine. I can’t wait until the game on Sunday. Well, until next time, stay blessed. GO DAWGS!!! |
Special ThanksI would like to give special thanks to select parties. Thanks Neal Smith for this internship opportunity. Thanks Tiffin University for preparing me for my path ahead. Thanks to both family and friends for all the support, especially my mother & father. R.I.P. Kalvin Harris Sr. Most of all thanks GOD for the blessings that you have bestowed on my life. Archives
November 2016
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