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Pictured above: Theresa Kurtz working the 2022 Mountain West Conference women's soccer tournament, capturing a team huddle from Wyoming.
Two words that go a long way
Theresa Kurtz of the Mountain West Conference was reminded just how much gratitude and relationships make a difference in our happiness at work.
by Theresa Kurtz – Mountain West Conference, Associate Director, Strategic Communications @theresa_kurtz
There is never a dull moment in sports and each season brings something new. Fresh faces with unique stories to tell, record-breaking performances on the field or court and degrees earned. All of which, college sports communicators cover in multiple ways. Whether it’s a written story, a social media graphic or video, there is a team behind the team that’s tirelessly working to share the countless stories on campuses.
And not just the sports communicators. Don’t forget about the work that the academic counselors, athletic trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, facilities staff do to prepare for a single event or a season.
It takes an army. For any given event, a school or conference has the staff that prepares the facility, the staff that prepares the team, the staff that promotes and covers the event and the coaches that lead teams to victories or sometimes defeat.
Most of these jobs, a fan never even sees occur. It’s just taken care of. If a problem arises, its handled before most even know there was a problem.
No matter our role, we all got into sports because of our love of the game and desire to create the best experiences for all the student-athletes across the country.
Kurtz (center) enjoying the comraderie of one of the teams she has supported.
It’s hard work, long hours and more often than not, lots of time away from our own families. Those in the sport industry sacrifice a lot for career we love that at times can be a thankless job because of how behind the scenes so many of the roles are.
Recently, I was reminded how powerful a simple “thank you” can be. Those two little words can spark so much into a person after a long day. Hearing thank you, no matter how big or small the task may be, can motivate an individual or completely change your outlook.
Just last month, I spent nearly two weeks on the road covering back-to-back Mountain West championships. I had reached the point in the road trip where I was ready to get back to my routine — and my own bed — but we still had three soccer matches and five days to go.
An interaction with one of our head coaches was a turning point for me on the road trip. I showed up to practice and was greeted with a huge hug. That hug followed by those two words: thank you.
One soccer coach had taken the time to thank me for everything I had done so far this season. That 30-second interaction left a lasting impression, proving how powerful saying thank you can be.
The gratitude didn’t get me home any more quickly but made the last half of the road trip just as much fun as the first half of the road trip. A simple thank you was enough to keep me motivated on what can be an exhausting stretch of covering college athletics.
As the soccer championship continued, our coaches continued to show appreciation and gratitude for the job we were doing. It felt less and less like a job and back to my passion and why I got into the profession, which is to tell stories of all the various people in college athletics.
Whether it’s a 12-day road trip for conference tournaments or the day-to-day coverage of teams throughout a season, appreciation for what we do as athletics communicators goes a long way. We all should add thank you to our vocabulary more regularly.
So, here’s the first of many thanks that I will say during the 2022-23 season. Thank you to the institutional and conference communicators for efforts in covering your schools, teams and leagues. Thank you for the late nights you spend writing recaps and stories. Thank you for the graphics and videos that further tell stories. Thank you for all that you do to cover college athletics.
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