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Meet Cody Crump, Equipment Manager

March 12, 2017 By Jeff Zogg

 

For Cody Crump, equipment manager, it’s the grand production of the thing. It’s the offseason workouts and the Spring football. It’s the work putting drill equipment together and following instructions from the coaches. It’s the camaraderie in the locker room and on the practice field.

It’s the hard work, the 60-hour weeks, and yes, the swag and the laundry. It’s stepping out early onto the field on game day to see it. The entire production of each football game in all its pageantry, all its competitiveness, all its emotion and nuance and brute force.

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“It’s the final production. You see the fruits of your labor,” said the Northwestern State University equipment man. “I have so many great memories. And I want more.”

Cody grew up in a small farming community north of Shreveport, Louisiana and was a student manager for all but a few weeks of his four years at Louisiana Tech University where he earned a degree in Kinesiology. It was after graduating Byrd High School, an academic magnet school, he saw a Twitter posting for the Tech student manager job. He applied but didn’t get the job. When another student failed to show up, he was first in line and started the next day.

“By the end of my sophomore year I was pretty certain I wanted to be an equipment manager—I wanted to pursue that as a career,” he said. “Sports had been an important part of my life. On away games, I would talk with the student managers and equipment managers. I started to build a network.”

But it was a home game, against Texas A&M that provided his most memorable game.

Cody Crump Equipment Manager“We lost by two on a failed two-point conversion. It was the most devastating loss I’ve ever experienced, but it was also the greatest game I’ve ever experienced,” Cody says.

“It was probably that day I decided that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It was great. I loved it.”

He interned at Oregon for a year, where his experience and knowledge of the industry expanded.

“Cody’s responsibilities increased during his time as a direct result of his hard work and dependability,” writes Aaron Wasson, Director of Equipment at the University of Oregon. “Those responsibilities included receiving and issuing all Nike product for us, assisting the full-time equipment staff packing for road trips, inventory, laundry, as well as assisting in post-season NCAA Championships we hosted in Softball and Track & Field. Cody was well respected by his co-workers and athletic department staff as a direct result of his hard work and loyalty to the Oregon program.”

Oregon served as a model, a training ground for Cody’s next stop. He was hired at Northwestern State in Natchitoches where, as Director of Equipment Operations, he oversees 14 sports.

“The first year here has been filled with ups and downs. There was no Equipment Manager for four months before I got here and so there was a lot of catching up to do,” he said.

“That has made me a much better Equipment Manager. I had to learn things on the fly.

Cody Crump Equipment Manager“I was thrown into the fire and had to do or die, but it was good because it taught me about myself. I learned what I could accomplish.”

Cody oversees one graduate assistant and up to 10 student managers. It’s a big job and the pageantry of each game, each event, just stokes the fire for more. He and his wife Lindsey love to travel and someday want to work for a major university, overseeing all equipment for its football program.

“I know that with hard work, we will get there.”

Meet Cory Hatcher, Equipment Manager

March 5, 2017 By Jeff Zogg


Cory Hatcher, Cowboy and Equipment Manager

“I grew up in Syracuse, Kansas–a small town with about 2,000 people. I grew up on our family ranch and when I wasn't in a rodeo, I was playing as many sports as I could. I'm just a small town cowboy with a passion for sports”

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With that, Cory Hatcher introduces himself, then says, “Equipment managing, that is my goal—to make this a career. Once I got to Illinois State, I fell in love with it. It’s really fun and I like being around the players and the team and the whole organization,” he says. “We move toward a goal together.”

Cory gets to the point, sums up the situation, and gets back to work. That’s the cowboy showing through, the western rancher who has branched out to the Midwest and then further East to pursue his career goal while bouncing back to the family ranch to help with the 300 black angus the family raises on 10,000 acres.

“The ranch has been part of my family for several generations. It will be a part of my life forever. I really enjoy it,” says Cory, who placed third in state in Team Roping in high school. “I wish I could do my job and be close.”

But there are no football teams who need an equipment manager out in the flatlands where Kansas and Colorado come together. So, for now, Cory has a foot in both worlds.

“Cory puts his heart and soul into everything he does each day in the equipment room and for the athletes he serves,” writes Nick Watson, Illinois State University Equipment Manager. Nick hired Cory as a student manager. “To me, this one characteristic alone is one of the most important reasons Cory needs to become (AEMA) certified and gain a position in the equipment managing profession.”

The Philadelphia Soul

Working with the Redbirds was not Cory’s first equipment management gig, just his latest. After earning a degree at Wichita State in Sports Management (he officially graduates in May 2017 after some academic accounting issues left him a few hours short), Cory continued eastward to take an internship with the Philadelphia Soul, an Arena Football League team.

“I was assigned the office first, in player personnel. I helped set up the field and such—watched game film,” he said. “Then, the GM asked me to help with the equipment and I really enjoyed it. I got to be around the players more and be a little more myself. That’s how I got started.”

Wilkes University and Illinois State

Cory Hatcher, Equipment Manager
Cory Hatcher, ISU Equipment Manager

From there, an emergency need at Wilkes University lead to a one-season assignment with the Division III Colonels. “I got more experience and took care of things for a year.” After taking time to help on the family ranch, he was accepted in the graduate program at ISU and went to work for Nick.

“I learned so much. It was great,” Cory says of his time in Normal, Illinois. “Nick was always ready to help me. I could ask him 150 questions and he would always be willing to help me.”

Recently, the ranch called him home to help with a family situation, but his sights are set on returning to an equipment room soon.

Cory plans to take the Athletic Equipment Manager Association certification exam at the national convention in June. And Helmet Tracker is there to help by offering him the opportunity to win a scholarship that will cover the expenses of the test.

“Cory is an extremely hardworking and dedicated equipment manager,” Nick writes. “Cory is the ideal individual that equipment managing needs to continue to help athletes and our profession grow.”

Helmet Reconditioning and March Madness

February 27, 2017 By Jeff Zogg

 

Nick Watson, Director of Equipment Operations, Illinois State University

It used to be that in the life of an equipment manager there were months of rest.

No longer.

Helmet Reconditioning

March brings Spring football, helmet reconditioning, plus all the Spring sports are in full swing— baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis, track and field and more.

Nick Watson, the equipment manager at Illinois State University, also reminds us that winter sports aren’t quite completed. For him, the men’s basketball Redbirds enter the Missouri Valley Conference seeded #1 Friday and hope to gain a spot in March Madness.

Even swimming and diving continue to roll.

Nick has two assistants and about 10 student managers, so he doesn’t have to get elbow-deep in sports outside of football. Still, running the program and making sure everyone is heading in the right direction takes time and effort.

“There is always, to be sure, things to do,” Nick told Helmet Tracker on the eve of March. “Inevitably things we put away after the football season can’t be found where they’re suppose to be. There are new drills and equipment the coaches want.”

For an equipment manager, March is as busy as any off-season month. Spring football begins the last Saturday of the month and Nick has to have everything ready.

Nick ordered new helmets and shoulder pads to take advantage of early-bird specials, and this new equipment is coming in—along with the new players—transfers and the occasional walk-on.
“We’ve got to get all those guys outfitted with jerseys, practice clothes, lifting clothes, and workout stuff.”

New Helmets

Come summertime, ISU will have 115 or so guys working to get ready for the season. Because seniors are allowed to purchase their own helmet before they graduate, Nick orders about 35 to 40 new helmets every year.

“It’s always busy,” he said. “The only quieter times now are in December if we don’t go deep in the playoffs, and Spring Break.”

Meet Javonn Askins, Equipment Manager

February 22, 2017 By Jeff Zogg

Javonn Askins is a So Cal athlete who has played sports for 24 of his 28 years. Along the way, he battled knee injuries, suffered through four surgeries–but now wants to make sports his career.

“When I was 19, I started coaching when I was recovering from one of my surgeries,” he said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do career wise, but I knew I wanted to stay around sports.”

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Another injury and another assignment with the team brought him to the role of equipment management. “I was helping coach freshmen basketball and the varsity team coach asked me to help take care of the equipment. At the time I wasn’t aware people made careers out of being an equipment manager.”

After yet another athletic injury at a community college and working various jobs, Javonn began to look for ways to get back involved in football. He had played basketball, baseball, and football at Norte Vista High School – the home of the Braves. The only way back in, for the time being, was through volunteering. So, he volunteered.

And volunteered.

And volunteered some more.

For nearly seven years he volunteered as an equipment manager and coached at local high schools. Now, he works with Notre Dame High School in Riverside, California.

A year ago, the University of Redlands responded to his quest and in 2015 he was offered an internship with Darren Damewood, the equipment manager there at the time. Damewood was a technical advisor for football equipment for the show Friday Night Lights.

“I was immediately impressed with his desire and drive to become an equipment manager, despite so many obstacles,” Darren recalls. “He wanted to try everything, and since I was basically a one-man-show for all sports (how a lot of D3 schools are if they have a manager at all), it was needed.”

Darren began to teach Javonn the tasks of the job, but was soon taking calls and texts from him at all hours asking questions about details. Javonn wanted to get it right, get everything right, so Darren began to talk with him about becoming a certified Equipment Manager.

“Darren told me about the AEMA, so I went to the convention last year and began networking,” Javonn said. And, as he worked at Redlands, he learned more and more about being an equipment manager. “I loved it! I loved being behind the scenes and working with the coaches. I’ve just fell in love with it and most importantly I was around sports.”

Darren describes Javonn with words such as “inspiring,”, “insightful,” and “mature.”

“I think he would be amazing for both the student-athlete, but also the coaching staffs.”

Talking to Javonn, it’s evident that this is the right career path. “It brings me so much joy – being an equipment manager and volunteering at the high school. I learn about things, get to be around sports and being around people – coaches, players, and alumni.”

And, the surgeries, and the waiting, and the volunteering and more waiting have not been the only barriers he has overcome. Javonn is 40-percent deaf in one ear and the handicap has made learning difficult. He is married with two small children and is taking a non-traditional route to become a certified equipment manager by spending over a thousand hours volunteering.

Javonn plans to take the Athletic Equipment Manager Association certification test at the national convention in June. And Helmet Tracker is there to help by offering him the opportunity to win a scholarship that will cover the expenses of the test.

“My route is a little different, but won’t stop me from getting to where I want to go. I am patiently waiting for opportunities, waiting for the blessings,” he said. “I love sports, I couldn’t imagine my life without it.”

Meet Ryan Lysaght, Equipment Manager

February 13, 2017 By Jeff Zogg

The football flashbacks convinced Ryan Lysaght he couldn’t live without football in his life any longer.

Ryan Lysaght Equipment ManagerYou know the kind? When the team looks unstoppable. When they march downfield, making play after play until pay dirt. Ryan knew what that was like. He knew the teamwork involved. He knew the work in practice that made such a moment possible. He knew the brotherhood it all created. He wanted back in–and not for a moment or just for a college job, but in for life, for a career.

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At Taylor High School outside of Cincinnati, Ryan was team captain his senior year. The Yellowjackets broke .500 for the first time in decades.

His junior year he had fractured his sternum and had to sit out. His senior year he broke his hand during camp and everyone thought he was out for weeks. Instead, he taught himself how to snap the ball left-handed.

“Football taught me how to deal with adversity and the challenges we will face, whether in sports or whether in life,” Ryan says.

His guidance counselor suggested he check out Ohio University, a school in Athens, Ohio that boasts nearly 30,000 students, but each one of them feel like they go to a small college.

His freshman year he was drawn, of course, to Peden Stadium and the flashbacks began.

Ohio University Stadium

““I instantly missed it. I needed to get involved or do something with the football program.”

He emailed the Athletic Director and soon he had a volunteer job in the locker room.

“Ryan has been a dedicated and loyal student-equipment manager here at Ohio University,” says Equipment Manager Matt Morton. “Ryan goes above and beyond what most managers would be asked to do. When he wasn't in class, he was in the equipment room doing anything he could to keep the team and the room running smoothly.”

After working up his seniority, he switched his major to communications studies and redirected his career goals.

“What I really want to do is work with equipment and work in football when I graduate.” That graduation is a few months away, and Ryan is ready. He interned with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Cincinnati Bengals.

“That was great. Growing up near Cincinnati, I never thought I would have worked with the team.”

It’s that camaraderie that draws him — that and the opportunity to be a part of a winning team.

“Our job in the locker room and equipment room is crucial to the success of the football team – from the practices to the games – whether it’s making sure the equipment is there or the field is ready – every little thing counts. I want to be a part of that.”

Morton even handed a bunch of his own duties to Ryan during one season when he suffered back problems. “In his second and third seasons, Ryan transitioned to another important manager position on the offensive side of the ball, quarterbacks. This position required him to take point on script meetings, assigning practice duties to his fellow managers, and making sure the offensive side of the ball was running smoothly and efficiently at all times.”

Ryan knows his communication skills will also contribute to a winning team.

“I can help get everyone on the same page almost 100 percent of the time. That is what I would like to focus on wherever I land after I graduate.”

Ryan plans to take the Athletic Equipment Manager Association certification test within the next year. And Helmet Tracker is there to help by offering him the opportunity to win a scholarship that will cover the expenses of the test.

“Ryan is passionate about wanting to work in equipment management as a career and profession,” confirms Morton.

Ryan certainly has the right attitude to start the journey toward winning with any team he joins.

“As equipment managers, we have a certain ability that allows us to always care for or put others first before we acknowledge our own personal self.”

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(855) 435-6388
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Helmet Tracker joins together coaches, former players, industry leaders, and parents. We search for and apply ways to use technology so coaches and equipment managers can do their jobs more effectively.



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