Behind the scenes
Another long but successful day. Today went much better than last week. still have to make a few changes but I was happy that the changes with the back door went well. I was also pleased that we work as a team today. We need some type of team building exercises or something. I can still see the individuality poking through the "team." Our staff is lacking unity and teamwork. Everyone wants to be notice for the job that they did. At the end of the day, it is not about the staff but its about the team as a whole which include the players, coaching and training staff and the arena staff. We have to come together to accomplish one goal and that is putting on a great show for our fans.
I'm doing much better with my hand signals and handling game day operations. Multitasking at its finest! We are a small organization with huge egos. I need a handbook on how to deflate egos within an organization. Does one exist? Please point me to it.
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We had a much needed practice today. I took that time to meet with the staff about how we can make things go smoother. I took suggestions from everyone and developed a new game plan that included adding another person at the back door to collect tickets and to place wristbands on the guest who will have access to the field. A change in music was also suggested and including a dance contest during timeouts for the kids.
We have to find a way to make more time at the end of the game for the kids to interact with the players and to get autographs signed. Last weeks game, the arena staff basically rushed everyone out the arena. I develop an action plan which can help us execute what we talked about it. The action plan included names next to each responsibility. Hopefully this will work because its tiring trying to make sure everything is handled and you see the person who was suppose to do it sitting down enjoying the game. Hopefully teamwork will make our dream work. It's game day and I have shaken away that terrible day I had yesterday. I have an extremely long day ahead of me.
Here is a break down of my first day as Director of Game Day Operations:
As i predicted, today was a long day. I have some things to go over with the staff on how we can get things to run smoother. We did not get the crowd we anticipated but we can build on it. Today was spent running around Birmingham. I had to pick up the training staff game day shirts which I designed and had printed. I also picked up materials needed for the game such as a fog machine for the players entrances and catering material for pregame meals. After I picked up those items, I had to rush over to the other side of town to attend the pep rally for the team at Central Park Elementary School. Once the pep rally was over, I had to go to the arena for practice.
Today was filled of lack of communication. It was terrible! From today forth, I will send out some form of communication stating in writing what should go on that following day because informing people at the last second cannot happen. It is my fault for not stepping up and creating documents to outline today events. I saw early signs of poor communication skills within the organization but i did not act appropriately upon that. This is the career I want so I have to do better and use what I've been taught. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION! Today I had a meeting at the Bill Harris arena with the Arena Manager, Staff and Owner/Head Coach Lee Ellison. I was absolutely nervous because this was my first meeting in the sports field. I went over the projections I came up with regarding attendance, back door passes and I presented our new commercial which would be aired on ESPN 2 and 3 in the mornings. The meeting went well and the arena manager was impressed and wanted to know more about the MBA program at Tiffin.
The audio/visual tech took me on a tour of the arena. He pointed out somethings that needed to be done differently this season. I listened to game day music and viewed our logos on the jumbotron. I made a few changes with the order of the game day operations so that it would flow better. I enjoyed using what I learned from the classes I've taken thus far. You never know when you have to talk about social media in sports, fundraising in sports and etc. Walk through was a SUCCESS! Today I went out to a few colleges to promote the team. I went to Miles College, Lawson State Community College and Wenonah High School. The students did not know there was an arena football team in the city and they were interested in learning more about the team. After I explain and gave them a schedule, they wanted free tickets. Of course! I didn't have any to give out so it was almost a wasted trip but it was fun interacting with the students. I spoke to a couple of professors who said they would bring their family to some of the games because it was cheap entertainment.
I went to Wenonah High School which is known around the city to have the best high school band. I spoke with the band director to see if they can perform at one of the upcoming games but their demand was extremely to high. They wanted the Outlawz to pay for 5 charter buses, food and tickets for their booster club to attend the game. Thanks but no thanks! I couldn't believe they were demanding all of that like they were a professional band. People will try to use situations to their advantage and that was a prime example. Today is the game everyone has worked hard for. IT IS GAME DAY and we are traveling to Georgia. My day started at 6:30 am with checking emails later followed by wake up messages to the coaches to remind them to send out reminders to the guys. Around 8:30 am, i made sure the equipment was accounted for and packed. I had to finish packing for the trip. The team was scheduled to meet at 10:30 am at the Birmingham Crossplex to head to Dalton, Georgia. I left before the team to head to Georgia to make sure everything was set at the arena and to find out what entrance to use for the team and training staff. I drove about 3 hours to get to Dalton which is a 1 1/2 outside of Atlanta.
Here is a break down of the schedule:
The game is intense and fast paced with hard hits. I got a chance to run out on the field during timeouts to give the players water. I missed my first signal that a player was hurt but I later got it together. It is a lot to process during the game because you are actually watching the game but you also have to focus your players on and off the field. we had a couple of players that were dehydrated and a couple that were amped up off of something other than adrenaline because they were sweating like crazy. We loss the game within the final seconds. The score was 41-49 Rampage. The game ended around 10:30 pm and we didn't leave the arena until after 11:30 pm. That was the longest day ever! Today is the last practice before our first game against the Georgia Rampage. The excitement is building up. The players are in full pads and its a full game speed practice. Players are playing for starting positions and they are hitting HARD! One player got hit so hard, his mouthpiece flew out. The other practices were extremely soft compared to this one. We had our first fight today that included one of the Quarterbacks and a Defensive Back. I worked on my hand signals with the training staff. It was hard not to enjoy the action and to focus on the players. I guess this is were you have to separate being a fan of football and doing your job. It was hard and i got yelled at a few times but I have to learn from the mistakes I made.
Towards the end of practice, Mrs. Howse went over what needed to be done for the week. I needed to go over the sponsor packages and media press releases to make sure there are n't any mistakes. I am starting to do better with no being so persistent with ideals because they are not being executed. It feels like I am wasting my time giving them. This is going to be a busy week and I am ready for the new challenges that will present itself. Practice is going a lot better, the players are starting to look like a team. Our first game is quickly approaching in two weeks. I am super happy to be able to travel with the team. Mrs. Howse passed out the team's schedule today at practice. She gave everyone a nice stack of schedules to pass out in the community and at their jobs to encourage people to attend the games. She developed two different handouts, one was easy to read while the other was very difficult to understand.
The training staff went over hand signal and other vital information I will need to know during the game. The hand signals they taught me will help us communicate during the games because it is generally loud in the box. The box is where the players and coaches stand or sit during the games. The box is similar to the players box for hockey games. There is not sideline in arena football. I also learned what to look at during the games in regards to players limping or holding body parts. The head trainer explained that most players will not notify you that they are hurt so you have to keep a close watch. Third practice and I am starting to get familiar with the players. I also met the training staff and they asked me if I would assist them during the games. I quickly replied YES! By assisting the training staff, I will get a different prospective of what really goes on and I also get to experience on the field action. This week I received a few phone calls regarding how to incorporate social media in the marketing plan. I suggested that the facebook page be revamped because it was not appealing and boring. I also suggested that video links from the previous season be included either in the bio or as a post. That is really important when you are trying to promote something, people want to see action.
While talking to Coach Lee, I found out that some of my ideals were being claimed by someone else. He asked me what I thought they should do to improve attendance and I said to develop a strong marketing plan which should include using all social media components including facebook, Instagram and twitter. Coach laughed and said "I knew that was your ideal and not hers." Not to get in the middle of egos, I simply replied "We are a team and we are going to succeed as one." I can see the drama building! Welcome to professional sports! |