By the time fall camp rolled around we had grown the account through a series of countdown to kickoff graphics. Looking back on them, they weren’t the best, but it was a place to start. The Tommy Tuberville era opened with a 42-7 win over Purdue at home on August 31, 2013. How much of that game did I see? Not a single snap. Why? Because I was busy helping with recruiting operations. Whether it was leading recruits to the athletic building, picking up food, or taking out the trash, I didn’t ask questions, I just did the job. This was my role during home games and while I didn’t get to see any of the games, I didn’t care, I had my foot in the door and I’d do anything that was asked of me.
It was this mentality and work ethic that I believe is what resulted in getting hired into a full-time position prior to the 2014 season. In just over a year-and-a-half I’d gone from a student hired because of an e-mail blast that was simply doing graphics to being hired for a full-time position shortly after graduation. In my time as a student I’d worked some long hours and late nights, mostly on game days, recruiting weekends and signing day, but nothing could prepare me for time commitment of the full-time position.
The one thing that most people don’t tell you about when you begin pursuing a career in collegiate sports is the time commitment. Working in sports is not the usual 9-5 career (for most). It’s a lot of long hours, late nights, working on weekends and missed family functions. For all the time spent at the office, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Being part of a team or athletic department is truly a privilege. As a member of the staff you get to experience things that fans dream about. From traveling with the team to spending time with the coaches and players, you’ll see the behind the scenes moments that many only get to experience if it’s posted to social media.
While our department’s main focus is coaching video, we do so much more. On paper I am our Assistant Director/Football Video, which means I assist with all of our coaching video needs. The normal week can consist of filming/editing practice footage for our coaches and then run the All-22 camera (https://twitter.com/UCFBVideo/status/534372306416861184) during games. However, I also oversee and manage the football social media channels. So, on top of coaches’ film, I’m always working to create content for our social media channels and respond to fans. This balance of responsibilities can result in many late nights and early mornings. My fiancée, until next June, fondly refers to me as, “The Ghost” during the season because I’m never around.
So what have I learned in my short time in the collegiate sports world? Never take anything for granted, no job is beneath you, be ready to give up your weekends and if you don’t know how to do something, figure it out. You never know where an opportunity may lead, or what doors a passing acquaintance may be able to open for you. Does the trash need to be emptied? Do practice drills need to be painted on the field? Does a vacuum need to be run in the office? No matter the task, approach it with the same energy that you do your everyday work. This commitment to accomplishing a task outside the scope of your job can say a lot about your dedication and willingness to help.
Whether it’s a game, fan appreciation event or even doing something for another team, be ready to work any day of the week. Finally, many times I find myself searching YouTube or Google for tutorials on how to accomplish a task. I may not always know how to accomplish it, but I’m not going to let that stop me from trying and doing everything in my power to figure it out.
My experiences have taken me all over the country and I’ve gotten to experience some pretty cool stadiums and game atmospheres. I’ve been to three bowl games, spent a week and a half of late December in Hawaii and gotten to ride in a NASCAR all because of my job. You never know what’s going to happen next, but it’s what you do with the opportunities that you’re given that help you pave the way for your story to be written. How do you want people to talk about you? How do you want your references to describe you to potential employers? For me, it all began with a chance e-mail I received while sitting at home watching a football game.