They are always early to practice and among the last to leave. They are a frequently overlooked component of the football team, serving as a link between coaches and players during practice and on game day.
They are the equipment management staff.
The UCLA football program managerial staff includes nine students and three full-time employees who are responsible for preparing equipment (jerseys, pants, helmets, shoulder pads), setting up the locker room, working with position groups during practice (feeding, spotting, and catching balls or serving as an occasional defender), and assisting with general personnel strategy assignments.
“We are responsible for managing 113 different players and 16 coaches,” said equipment manager Corey Steady, a fourth-year undeclared student. “Everything except injured players and water.”
While some fans may hesitate to credit equipment managers for a team’s success, in this college football season alone, two slipups by the managers have cost their teams.
In a Nov. 1 game against Georgia Tech, the Virginia Tech equipment managers lost several players’ jerseys, and the players were forced to wear borrowed jerseys from Georgia Tech. Quarterback Sean Glennon was seen on national television wearing a Georgia Tech away jersey with his name and number written on with a Sharpie and the Georgia Tech logos covered with tape.
In a Nov. 3 game versus UCLA, Arizona was penalized 15 yards for allowing a player with a broken chinstrap to enter the playing field.
Fortunately for UCLA, this year’s team has avoided such slipups.
“Not at UCLA,” Steady said. “We work hard to make sure that players just have to worry about playing and the coaches just worry about coaching.”
Each manager is assigned to a different position group and coach, with whom the manager works exclusively for the entire season. Steady has worked with many of the quarterbacks since they were freshmen and has developed a good relationship with Pat Cowan.
Second-year Nate Pang is working his first season as an equipment manager, and he says that despite the tough schedule ““ managers are often forced to work practices during the holidays because of scheduling ““ the job has been a good experience.
“It’s a fun and unique experience, but everyone works hard and takes care of their business. The coaches are pretty respectful for the most part, and it’s great to be working with some of my friends from high school.”
Beyond just practice, the equipment staff is also busy on game days, when it is responsible for preparing game day uniforms ““ jerseys, pants, socks, helmets ““ getting coaches ready, warming up players on the field before the game, and keeping uniforms tidy during the game; shoelaces need to be tied, jerseys tucked in, and bloodied equipment exchanged.
“If you don’t notice us, then we’re doing our job,” Steady said. “We should not be an area of concern for the team.”
Beyond the experience of working with Division I athletes and potential professionals, the equipment manager staff is aptly compensated for its work with partial scholarships, free gear ““ jackets, pants, backpacks, shoes ““ and travel with the team to away games.
“The best part of the job is being on the sidelines with these guys,” Steady said. “It’s the second-best thing to playing.”