CAA Volunteer

 This weekend, I had the opportunity to volunteer for the CAA tournament in D.C. When I signed up, I was assigned Event Operations, which I found out this weekend, that its basically Clean Up Crew. Not my ideal position. Fortunately, I was switched to merchandise with Jennifer Condaras, Deputy Commissioner of the CAA. We mostly just did t-shirt inventory and selling, but the overall experience of working alongside her was very educational. She introduced us to all the executives that would come greet her, and we were able to get contact information from a couple of them. When I started sports management, I thought once you had your degree, you were set and would find a job, but based on the stories I heard from the CAA Staff that's usually not the case. This experience opened my eyes to the value of networking in this industry. Everyone starts off by knowing someone, who knows someone in the department you want to work for. Although I was only there for two days, the importance of putting yourself out there any chance you get for someone who knows someone, who knows someone to remember you in the future is immense. This coming weekend, I will be in the A10 Championship and with the experience I had with the CAA, I hope to continue to grow my networking skills in the sports industry, especially with strong female executives. 

Tournament Director

     I've had many jobs over the past couple years, but lately I've been trying to get more major-related jobs to help me with experience in the future. Recently, I've got the responsibility of being tournament director for my volleyball club's in-home tournaments. I mean, it's no Capitol Hill Classic tournament that happen in the DC convention center with 100+ courts, but it's a start. I set ups the nets and workstations, I check in teams and referees, make sure everyone paid and has updated rosters, and mainly focus on managing all the games go on schedule and the teams doing what they are supposed to be doing. It's a really chill job, but sometimes I feel like I am too experienced for this. Maybe I am just a fast learner because my 10-hour shift basically just inputting scores into a laptop seemed mediocre. I can't wait to finally graduate college and just do work that is more challenging and exciting. I think my best route to a more high-paced tournament is picking up fewer local events and move towards DC, Richmond or VA Beach. Next weekend I'll be volunteering for the CAA Basketball Championship and the week after that I'll be at the A10 Championship, which is super exciting. But I also know the work volunteers do is not as complex as I wish I was able to be responsible for. I don't believe this to be a bad mentality of mine -- wanting to be challenged-- but it frustrates me that I haven't gotten to a point of "real life" career work that I'm so eager to pursue. 

WM Phoenix Open

Last weekend my boyfriend and I went to the WM Phoenix Open in Phoenix, AZ. I have to say, I am not much of a golf fan, but the appeal of this particular PGA tournament is far beyond the everyday golf fan. Usually when you think golf, you think of boring guys taking all day whacking a ball around a sprawling landscape, but the WM Open really makes golf a party. There are huge grandstands all over the course, tents for food and drink, and hundreds of thousands of rowdy fans as excited and energized as you would find at an NFL or NBA game, if not more so. The WM Open is considered the biggest part in golf, and it brings in the most attendance of any sporting event in Phoenix every year, with attendance over 700,000 over the 5 days of the Open. Another great thing about this event is that for the past five years it has been a zero-waste event. Everything used by vendors and the tournament is 100% recyclable and compostable and the entire event is powered by renewable energy, this is definitely something that more major sporting events should strive to copy. After watching and learning about this event, and just being around the energy and experience, I have to say that golf is not what I thought it was and I can now say that I would be very interested in pursuing a career on the PGA tour, trying to show more and more people that golf isn't just an old man's game anymore.

Mason Club Volleyball

     After two open gyms and two tryouts, I made the Mason Club Volleyball Team. Ever since COVID started and I haven't been able to play volleyball on an actual team, it has defiantly been my missing puzzle piece. When I found out that Mason had a volleyball team, I knew I had to tryout. Alright, look, I was kind of cocky going into this tryout because I believe I'm pretty good, so I wasn't so worried. I walk in the first day, and there's like 30 girls. For volleyball. Thats a huge number for a sport that only allows six players on the court at a time. The level of volleyball was overall really good for an open gym, I was impressed. As the numbers trickle down to the final cut, that's when I started to ger nervous. I mean, I'm not that tall, and I haven't played in 2 years, but the edge I had over a lot of the girls, is that I've been coaching almost full-time for the past two years. Something you should know about me; I listen to my inner voice. As I was hustling for every ball and trying to keep my breath normal, my inner monologue was going over all the correction I've given my players as a coach. Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty good coach, and it showed in this tryout. I have never played better than how I did on the final day of tryouts. In conclusion, Mason Club Volleyball has officially begun for Spring 2022, and having experienced the intensity of the first practice yesterday, I know this will be my outlet from the upcoming academic stress. 🏐