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“It never stops down there in the equipment room.”

This statement, by the University of Richmond Spiders’ Director of Equipment Operations Justin Clift, not only describes the life of an equipment manager, but sums up Justin’s love for the work. He just loves keeping busy. He loves athletics. He loves the equipment. He loves the preparation and the care and the excitement and the mundane and the required attention to detail.

And Justin has been doing this long enough to know.

AEMA Certification after years as an Equipment Manager

After starting out running errands for the visiting teams’ baseball players at Richmond’s Pro Park more than a decade ago, Justin moved up the baseball equipment manager ranks until he was running operations in Florida for the Atlanta Braves, then the AAA Syracuse Chiefs for the Washington Nationals (more on all that later).

He returned to Richmond nearly a year ago to rescue the equipment room from a dramatic situation.

“In 2017, Justin was hired at the last minute before the football season began,” wrote Ken Hart, retired Equipment Manager for the Spiders. Ken told us at Helmet Tracker that the equipment manager at the time had quit suddenly, leaving the team, well, ill-equipped. “Justin took the reins and with an attitude of servitude made great strides through the fall season toward reestablishing efficiency and professionalism in the equipment room.”

This is Justin. Now he seeks Certification through the Athletic Equipment Managers Association. He takes the exam at the AEMA Convention next month in Phoenix.

Justin is Helmet Tracker’s latest AEMA Certification Scholarship candidate. The Scholarship reimburses one Equipment Manager the cost of the exam and the study book after they pass.

AEMA Certification is required, or sometimes preferred, by many colleges and universities of their Equipment Managers. Some will pay for the exam and book and if that is the case, and a sponsored Equipment Manager wins the Helmet Tracker Scholarship, Helmet Tracker will reimburse the institution.

In 2017, University of Nevada’s Michael Dryer won the scholarship. However, Damien Garnett, Assistant Athletic Director of Equipment at Nevada, asked Helmet Tracker to pass it on as the Wolfpack had paid for Michael’s exam. We did, and Eddie Hardin, now the Assistant to the Director of Equipment Operations at Tennessee State University, received the reimbursement.

““I am grateful,” Eddie told us at the time. “It means a lot going from an intern to my first real job—having bills to pay!”

Now, Justin prepares for the certification exam.

“Certification is required at more and more places. I’m getting into the study book and seeing the specifics of some of the work I did in the past but didn’t know the standard for everything,” he said. “It’s important for the student athletes and the coaches to know I have studied and become certified at this high level. They can trust my experience and expertise.”

Baseball to Football

Justin’s unique journey to the world of a college equipment room took him through baseball.

His story begins behind home plate, as a back-up catcher with the Mills Godwin High School Eagles near Richmond. He was a member of the 1999 State Championship Team, but caught mostly in the bullpen. It was there, perhaps, he first learned that the entire team was part of success—on the field and off the field.

“I enjoyed it as much as everyone,” he said.

After high school graduation, Justin took that job at Pro Park, the home of the AA Flying Squirrels at the time.

“It was then I began to have a passion for working with the equipment and in the locker room,” he said. “Being behind the scenes and working more in a private setting with these guys who would be stars one day—knowing I helped them out doing their jobs – that they didn’t have to worry about anything besides what was going on between the lines, that’s what I began to really enjoy.”

When he arrived at Radford University, he headed to the office of the baseball coach and offered his services. Soon, he was wearing a Highlanders uniform, managing the equipment, doing laundry, and sometimes coaching first base.

“I enjoyed it. Radford was a medium-sized, D1 campus and I felt like I could be successful there,” he said. “I was, and had a great time.”

He continued working at Pro Park during summers and after graduating Radford, accepted a graduate assistant coaching slot at Virginia with the baseball team and in the Sports Leadership Program. He stayed with the team for two years as a volunteer coach after completing the program, then began work with the AAA Richmond Braves, who took over Pro Park and renamed it The Diamond.

“After two years doing that, the Braves offered me the Head Club House Manager position for the Braves at The Diamond and I was there for the 2007 season taking care of the laundry, feeding the players—doing everything that had to do with the team behind the scenes.”

Justin was dedicated, and good at it—as good as the Triple A team was on the field. The team won the league that year and Justin was offered the Head Minor League Equipment Manager job for the Braves’ Florida operations. That meant taking care of day-to-day needs during Spring Training then overseeing operations throughout the year.

That lasted seven years and when the Braves made some changes, Justin found himself in the Washington Nationals’ organization—first for the Potomac Nationals, then in Syracuse working for the Chiefs, the Nationals’ Triple AAA club.

In a Pickle

The baseball grind was wearing, and with Justin’s folks getting older, he began looking toward Richmond again. Then, he found that the Spiders had been left in a pickle by a suddenly departing Equipment Manager.

“The equipment guy quit two weeks before football season started. Ken Hart came in after several years of retirement and I learn from Ken and we got through football season,” Justin said. With Ken’s blessing, Justin took over the office after the 2017 season.

“I think it’s something I was born to do,” Justin said. “I’m very detail oriented and my mind is always working.

“Being in the equipment room, it’s different every day. I don’t think I could sit behind a desk from 8 to 5 every day.”

Justin said he liked working with the folks he rubs shoulders with every day—the student managers, the athletes, and the coaches.

“The college athletes are student-athletes. These are super smart kids and they want to fill their minds with so much. They still have the rah-rah about them to really come together as a team and win as a team. I think that makes the equipment job more worthwhile.”

“I enjoy working with the coaches and when they are in a pinch I can offer solutions quickly and efficiently,” he said. “It’s so nice to come through and take the burden away from them – to look out there and see you had a hand in getting everything together so a team can be successful.”

As far as his future, Justin doesn’t look too far away.

“I’d like to be here for a while. It’s really pretty here and we have some good resources. I’m back home.”

“I had no idea how reliant a football program was on its student managers.”

So begins our story of Trevor Cook, our latest Helmet Tracker AEMA Certification Exam Scholarship candidate. His Dad put on the University of Georgia uniform as a back-up kicker. His mom marched in the UGA Redcoat Marching Band. Trevor knew he wanted to be involved in athletics, but didn’t know how or where or in what capacity.

“I Hate Watching Football from the Stands”

Trevor grew up half-a-country away from Athens in Keller, Texas. He was a four-year varsity tennis player, and marched in the drum line for the Fossil Ridge High School Panthers.

After graduating in 2012 and heading to the University of Texas in Austin, he aimed for a job in the football program.

“I hate watching football from the stands,” he said. His dad served a local high school as athletic trainer. Trevor’s view of football has always been from the sidelines. He was, as you might expect, made a ball boy when he was 6-years-old. It was a role he played through high school. Then, Texas.

“As an undergrad, I wanted to be a student equipment manager,” he says. Rules at Texas forced him to wait until Spring football, then he landed a job and stayed until he graduated in December 2015.

“It was cool to be a part of what was happening there. We’ve all seen Rudy (the movie). I wanted to be a part of it and I know it would be a job, but there were some things I didn’t know,” he said.

He began learning the ropes—and the breadth and impact of the job.

“I was surprised about how much we were involved. I had no idea how dependent a football program is on student managers. A program at this level cannot run without the student managers working every day. They are crucial they are to any success.”

Trevor makes this bold statement with a matter-of-fact knowledge. He says it’s true because it’s true. He knows it’s true because he’s seen it, lived it, and now is making a career out of it.

Mentor Coach

The Head Coach at the time, Charlie Strong, made a, well, strong impression.

“This man was making like $5 million a year and took the time to get to know everyone involved. He knew my story, everyone’s story. Coach Strong – I felt like I had a relationship with him. He knew me and knew my family. This is the way I want to be.”

Coach Strong’s character and attention changed Trevor, and offered him a role model.

“I would like to be that kind of attentive person. To be able to say I know everyone I work with at that level.”

Trevor has endeavored to demonstrate that kind of encouragement and personal interaction with those he serves and those he works with.

“I enjoy the student interaction,” he said. “I do consider myself a mentor in some ways. I don’t have the biggest impact right now, but when you are in a locker room for four years with an athlete or a student manager—you see them go from a recruit to being knocked down as a freshmen to being grown up. While I am not that much older than them now, I enjoy working with the student managers and help them experience what I’ve already experienced.”

Back to Georgia as Equipment Manager

After Texas, Trevor headed back to Georgia where he landed a gig at the University of West Georgia as a grad assistant in the equipment room.

“It was a whole new world,” Trevor said. “I went from the rich of the rich to DII football in the deep south. There was, maybe, 10,000 people in Carrollton, Georgia. It was a three stoplight town. I was there 11 months but I learned more there than any other job.”

Through connections, he landed a summer internship at Valley Ranch – with the Dallas Cowboys. For a Texas guy, it would be the pinnacle of jobs, and Trevor relished it.

“I learned a lot there,” he said. “One thing I learned is that I wanted to stay in college athletics. I like the NFL, but I prefer college.”

Trevor says the budget restrictions at West Georgia stretched his imagination and his resourcefulness.

“It was a great experience. It humbled me, and I learned what was possible.,” he said. “I am a better person because of it.”

No Horsing Around

Then, a year ago, Trevor made the move to Texas Christian as a graduate assistant.

“The experience here is great. I’m running my own budgets and have an addition sport.”

Five guesses as to his additional sport.

Baseball? No.

Volleyball. No.

Lacrosse? No. Track and Field? No (and no). Field hockey? No.

Trevor’s other responsibility is the TCU Equestrian Team.

There he reins in the practice equipment, travel gear, and the Nike account. It’s a $60,000 budget.

“It’s an interesting sport, but I’m not too hands on with the program,” he admits. “I’m working 70 to 80 hours a week and have another year until I graduate.”

Of course, the equestrianism is secondary to his work with in the football equipment room. The Horned Frogs made it to the Big 12 Championship game last season where they lost to Oklahoma before defeating Stanford at the Alamo Bowl.

This season they face some big games: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and more.

“I am the third equipment manager for football and my main responsibilities are with the helmets. We have a practice helmet and five game helmets.” It’s a part of his job he relishes. “Not every job allows you to go to football practice 125 times a year!”

AEMA Certification Exam

Trevor takes the Athletic Equipment Management Association certification exam in June at its convention in Phoenix, Arizona.

“It’s very important. Anyone who takes this profession seriously needs to take the certification exam seriously.”

It’s an exam that is not focused on football, unlike most of its participants. AEMA National Office Manager Sam Trusner tells us that a large percentage of test takers fail to make the mark the first time, usually because of a lack of study. That won’t be the case for Trevor, says Trevor.

“It’s true in other professions—teachers, plumbers. If we want to be taken seriously, and we take our livelihood and our athletes’ safety seriously, we need to take the exam seriously. Certification adds legitimacy to what many still call ‘The Laundry Guy.’”

When he passes the exam, Trevor will finish qualifications for Helmet Tracker’s AEMA Certification Exam Scholarship which reimburses one equipment manager for the cost of the exam and the study materials.

Many colleges and universities require AEMA Certification when hiring Equipment Managers (http://equipmentmanagers.org/certification/exam). Others prefer Certification. Some will pay for the exam and book and if that is the case and a sponsored Equipment Manager wins the Helmet Tracker Scholarship, Helmet Tracker will reimburse the institution.

In 2017, University of Nevada’s Michael Dryer won the scholarship. However, Damien Garnett, Assistant Athletic Director of Equipment at Nevada, asked Helmet Tracker to pass it on as the Wolfpack had paid for Michael’s exam. We did, and Eddie Hardin, now the Assistant to the Director of Equipment Operations at Tennessee State University, received the reimbursement. Read his story here.

““I am grateful,” Eddie told us at the time. “It means a lot going from an intern to my first real job—having bills to pay!”

Outside the Equipment Room

When not building helmets or setting up practice, Trevor enjoys movies and live music—being in Austin grew that interest.

“I love country music, but also classic rock” he tells us. He also enjoys Mexican food, but quickly adds that being in the equipment room is where he wants to be—it’s his passion.

“I like to think we make the athletes lives better. We make a difference for the better and make a difference for a whole bunch of people. College athletics does things no other avenues can. That’s what I enjoy about this job.”

In the equipment room is where Brian Coutras, himself an AEMA Certified Equipment Manager, has relied on Trevor.

“I have the opportunity to supervise Trevor while working in the TCU Athletic Equipment Room during his time as a Graduate Assistant at TCU,” Brian writes to us at Helmet Tracker. “While performing the duties and responsibilities of our GA, Trevor displays characteristics such as hard work, attention to detail, excellent listening and communication skills, and the interest and desire to be great.

“One of the best things about Trevor is his willingness to learn.”

Brian is the Assistant Athletics Director of Equipment Services at Texas Christian University.

As for Trevor, he returns from the barn, from his office, from a concert venue to the equipment room. That’s where he belongs.

“I absolutely love this job. I think it is perfect for me.”