Student managers don’t get to play, but they can still feel like an important part of the team. Here are a few BU examples:

KASIDEE COX

Standing 6-1, sophomore transfer KasiDee Cox is one of the first to arrive at practice and the last to leave. She cheers on her team from the sidelines, but has never entered the game herself – because basketball managers don’t get playing time.

Cox spent hours on the court in high school shooting free throws and making plays, but in college her role on the team revolves around running the clock, getting players water and doing the team’s laundry on a daily basis. After being told during her senior year of high school that she wouldn’t be able to play college basketball, the closest Cox gets to the game is occasionally filling in on a play in practice if an extra set of hands are needed.

“It gets really hard because I thought I would get to play basketball in college,” Cox said. “Not being around any of the sport, especially my freshman year, kind of sucked, but this makes it suck less.”

Spending countless hours with the women’s team, Cox has enjoyed the “mountain and valley filled journey” that was the team’s 2015-2016 season. Watching the team maneuver through a “rough patch” and come out on top in the end was worth it for a chance to travel to nationals with the team.

“They definitely have their good days and their bad days, just like every team does,” Cox said. “I think their seniors really stepped up and now they’re off to nationals.”

Cox has become better friends with the women, and the past few weeks especially she’s had the chance to spend time with the players outside of the Collins Center.

“The best thing I got out of it was 16 new friends,” Cox said. “I was not expecting that.”

ERIN THOMPSON & ALI GASCOIGNE

As basketball approaches its end, baseball season has begun. Managers Erin Thompson and Ali Gascoigne, like Cox, have spent hours watching the team grow this year already, compared to previous seasons.

“I really like seeing the growth and development of the team because I feel like the team morale last year was low and with the reputation on campus of not being ‘super successful’ was negative,” Gascoigne said. “But they’ve gotten so much better and improved so much in just one short semester. The team has grown and the relationship between the team has gotten stronger than what I’ve seen in the past.”

The primary tasks Thompson and Gascoigne cover are filling the team’s water, supervising drills if needed, and helping ice players after practice if needed. At games they run the scoreboard and PA system.

“I enjoy being a manager for baseball specifically because I feel like all the players are very respectful of our position and they make us feel like part of the team,” Thompson said.

Gascoigne, who previously was a member of the dance team, became a manager after Thompson told her about an open position. She’s grown to enjoy announcing at the games and being the “voice of the baseball team.”

“It’s fun to know that I represent part of a team that usually girls don’t get to be a part of,” Gascoigne said. “I like every aspect of it.”