“My favorite part about being the football manager is getting to know and watch so many of the athletes and getting to hype them up and hit their shoulder pads at games, really just being the ‘little sister of the family,” Senior Grace Volkmann said. She was recently named the Ponies football manager for the 2021 season. Grace contributes a huge amount to the team. She spends practice days filling and handing out water bottles, always having her phone ready to call the trainer in the event a player gets hurt, as well as carrying their equipment.

This past summer, Grace was included in ETS workouts with players from the team. It only took one person to mention the possibility of Grace becoming the team manager to have her convinced. Before the workouts started, she had never even thought about being manager, but throughout the summer she grew close with multiple players.

“After being asked by one of the coaches to transfer to the football ETS lift session this past summer, I grew close with a lot of the guys and they would ask me to talk to the coach about being the manager,” Grace said. “After being asked more than once, it sounded like a good idea.”

Grace has multiple responsibilities as the team manager. She spends practice days making sure all the players stay hydrated as well as cleaning up the football equipment. Game day jobs include standing on the sidelines making sure the players are staying in line and focused on the game.

“She’s taking care of things that, normally, a lot of the guys just kind of look past,” varsity defensive line coach Jason Caballero said. “She’s always willing to do something for the benefit of us.”

Being the football manager is a huge time commitment, but Grace manages to stay on top of it. Every week varies, but for the most part Grace is out every day with the team at practice. She is there when the practice starts and she is there until the practice ends. She is there every game day throughout the whole game as well as every Saturday morning helping with early morning practice and helping at the JV games. In total, it comes to be around 20 hours a week.

Junior player Tom Blair explained how she “handles a lot of the stuff that nobody else wants to do. She does a lot of the dirty work, and I don’t honestly think she gets enough appreciation for what she does.”

Committed is the best word to describe Grace. This role is not an easy job and requires someone who is willing to do anything and be open minded. It is a hard role, but in the end it is worth it, she became a part of the team even though she is not playing.

“Grace’s really kind of just a glue,” Blair said. “She’s kind of keeping everything together, making sure nothing falls apart.”

Grace thought she was being welcomed onto the football team, but in reality she was being welcomed into a family. Just like any other team a special bond is created. During summer Grace grew close with some of the players and when she started as manager she was introduced to even more. A lot of the players soon became an older brother figure to her.

“It’s a hard role, but we want you to feel like you’re still part of the team,” Caballero said. “You may not be playing but the role is very vital and its sometimes a lot of work and sometimes it’s the joy of just having people there to share those inner family moments that we like to preach about in our football team.”

Grace explained how, “It’s fun getting to know so many people and being part of a big family. Be ready to have to run around all the time but also stand by the boys at games and watch everyone support each other. It is a very energetic community to be in and a part of, you will find yourself smiling watching the boys screaming at games cause you’ll find yourself doing the same thing.