In athletics, a lot goes into keeping the athletes in top shape. There’s a group of students who are assist the trainers in that task.

Aldo Rodriguez go into athletic training after an injury sidelined his own athletic career.

“When I was doing my rehab with the athletic trainer, they made it a lot easier to get back on the field. At first I hated the injury, it was terrible. He just made the process easier,” Rodriguez said.

The athletic training program at UNC Charlotte is very competitive, only admitting 21 students. Students are placed in a wide range of clinicals from high schools to colleges.

Prior to starting his clinical with baseball, Rodriguez never paid attention to the sport.

“I had never really watched baseball before this, but it’s definitely growing on me. It’s different with baseball. With all of the other sports, like football and lacrosse, it’s more acute injuries like if someone gets hit or tackled. Here it’s more overuse stuff, it’s more maintenance on their arms as opposed to someone getting hit on the knee and hurting their knee,” Rodriguez said.

The best part about being a trainer is seeing a player through the process from the initial injury to their return to the field.

“I want to do what that trainer did with me and work with athletes when they’re hurt, when they’re down and they feel terrible and get them back on the field and watch them perform the way they can,” Rodriguez said.

Training for success was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Cameron George attended UNC Charlotte as a student-athlete in 2008 as a member of the track and field team. After graduating with a degree in history, George entered the real world. It was then that he realized that he wanted to get involved in sports.

He returned to Charlotte a served as a volunteer coach with the track team. He then got an internship in the ticketing office. When a full-time position opened in the office, George took it.

He helps out with ticket sales for all sports: football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and tennis. George also works with season-ticket renewals and group ticket sales.

The coolest thing about his job is the access he gets to athletics.

“I enjoy that because you get sideline access. Once you get done with football games, you go stand on the sidelines. It’s cool to get that access to enjoy the game and be on the sideline with the coaches and players,” George said.

Though he concentrates in ticketing, George is able to get experience in multiple fields.

“Ticketing is a great way to get in. I do facilities as well, game management. You kind of learn everything. I do marketing, ticketing, game operations. You do a little bit of everything, so it makes you well-rounded and you can see what you enjoy.”

Ticketing Time was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This past weekend the Charlotte 49ers hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament and I was lucky enough to help put the tournament on.

Off the court there was an army of around 75 people working in media operations or marketing to create a flawless tournament.

There was one group in marketing that was responsible for keeping track of the various spirit squads and bands from the schools. The marketing group was also in charge of putting out the socks that cheerleaders threw into the stands.

There were various roles occurring in media operations. One group was tasked with giving media members stat sheets during media timeouts and at halftime and post-game. There was a group responsible for ushering players and coaches to the post-game press conferences.

There were two sets of people in charge of transcribing press conference quotes: one in charge of players’ quotes and one for the coach’s quotes.

While the press conferences were occurring, the locker rooms of each team were also open, so there were two individuals tasked with recording locker room interviews and transcribing them.

These just skim the surface of the various tasks that went along with hosting a regional, and while there were long days associated with the tournament, it was an amazing experience.

The Madness of March was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sam Roberts has been taking photographs for Charlotte Athletics since 1984. While he was at a basketball game, the sports information director said he needed a photographer, that’s when Sam stepped in.

Since then, Roberts has attended thousands of 49ers sporting events, when asked which was his favorite, he said “I don’t have any idea, I enjoy them all.”

Every game, Sam takes anywhere from 600 to 700 photographs initially. He then slims down the pictures, eliminating any that are out of focus or have their view obstructed by another player. After he gets rid of the bad photos, Roberts is then left with 200 to 300 photos for the department to use.

Roberts travels with the football team to the away games during their season. Away games create a time crunch for Sam. After the game, he has an hour to edit and upload photos and then make it to the bus before it pulls out.

“It’s pretty hectic,” Roberts said.

Sam doesn’t just take photos though. You can see him on the ramps at the Charlotte airport where he works for American Airlines loading bags and mail freight. He’s been balancing the two jobs for the past 30 years, working part time with the airline.

He got his start in photography in high school after he joined the yearbook staff. His advice for anyone to get started in photography is to “practice all the time, as much as you can.”

Practice makes perfect was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Students can gain valuable experience interning within the Athletic Department. Jacob Pritchett is a junior communication major that is interning with the media relations department. Learn more about how he got this position and what it entails with this Q&A.

Q: Describe your position within Charlotte Athletics.

A: I’m a media relations student assistant within Charlotte Athletics. I work primarily with our Sports Information Directors (SIDs) across all sports. I do anything from press releases to assisting with media guides on InDesign. I also work directly with our Men’s/Women’s Golf SID, Sean Fox, and write all previews and recaps for both teams and input/upload individual and team statistics from StatCrew to our athletics website.

Q: How did you become involved with the athletic department as a student?

A: I always knew I wanted to do something in sports in terms of a career and when I figured out that I wouldn’t be playing them, I decided to work on the media side of things. After getting accepted into Charlotte, I sent an email to our basketball SID, Brent Stastny, and asked if there was any way I could help out. We set up a meeting time that corresponded with when I’d be down there for orientation anyways and things kind of took off from there.

Q: What do you get your experience with the department?

A: I get just that. Tons and tons of experience. I’m learning anything and everything I can while I’m a student to better prepare myself for the work I’ll be doing after I graduate. Our SIDs have been doing this for a long time, so I’m learning something new every day and that’s always been my goal.

Q: What would you suggest to anyone interested in getting involved with the Athletic Department?

A: If it’s your dream to do something in sports, then I would highly recommend getting involved. Here at Charlotte, we have a unique opportunity in having such a young football program. I’ll always remember my time here because I feel like I started with this team. It’s a cool feeling to go to school and work with a guy and then two or three months later he’s our first NFL Draft pick. Not a lot of people can say that.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

A: My plans for the future start with graduating with my Bachelor’s in 2019. After that, I’ve put some serious thought into grad school, but I haven’t made up my mind yet. If I decide not to go, then my plan is to try and find a full-time SID position at a university in North Carolina. In a perfect world, I’d like to stay in the state because this is where all of my family is, but we’ll see.

Gaining experience was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Sean Fox is one of the five Sports Information Directors (SIDs) for the Charlotte 49ers. He oversees volleyball and baseball and is responsible for getting the teams out into the public eye using the website, social media and other factors.

Fox went to college up the road at Catawba in Salisbury.

“I never knew this kind of position existed until I was a freshman in college. I always knew I wanted to stay in sports and have been in this spot ever since,” Fox said.

After graduating from Catawba, Fox went on to work a couple of years in Minor League baseball. In 2009, he received the head SID position at Pfeiffer and a few years later, in 2014 he joined the group with the 49ers.

With baseball season cranking up, Sean’s job is too. When asked what a typical day for him is, he said it “really depends on what day it actually is.”

Mondays are spent selecting Player of the Week candidates and preparing for midweek matchups. If there’s no game on Wednesday, he typically takes the day off. Thursdays are for weekend prep. Friday through Sunday you can find Sean at the ballpark — even if the team is away, Sean goes with them.

While there are long hours and traveling involved, if you have a passion for sports like Sean, going to work doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not enjoyable.

“I love being around the sports I love, all of the student-athletes and trying to help them anyway possible. Traveling at this level is certainly one of the best parts as well. The coaches I work with make it so much more enjoyable to where I don’t look at it as a job, it’s just fun.”

Media Mediators was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Jackson Cook has worked with the marketing department for the 49ers since his freshman year. After serving as the Student Marketing Association’s president for two years, he is now an intern with the department.

Q: Describe what you do within Charlotte Athletics?

A: I am a marketing intern with Charlotte 49er athletics. I handle all of the pre-game and in-game promotions for our varsity athletic events. I also help create and execute our on-campus marketing strategy. In addition to that I work in community outreach and creating an image for Charlotte athletics in the community.

Q: Why do you enjoy your job?

A: I love my job! It allows me to interact with the student body and the community. I have a lot of fun with it

Q: What’s the best part of you job?

A: The best part of my job is putting a smile on people’s faces. To entertain and be the source of someone’s joy is a great feeling.

Q: What advice would you give anyone interested in pursuing a similar career path?

A: My advice to anyone pursuing this career path would be to put yourself out there. Volunteer within your desired department and make yourself known. Work hard, pray hard, and good things happen.

Q: You’re still a student, what are your plans for after graduation?

A: I have been fortunate enough to receive admission and a Graduate Assistant position at the University of South Carolina. I will pursue my graduate degree and work within their athletic department. Go Gamecocks!

Marketing Madness was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Joe Proszek has a passion for sports. He has converted his passion into a career and now serves as the Media Production Coordinator for the Charlotte 49ers.

Joe’s work can be seen in interviews, feature stories, highlight videos, intro videos and commercials.

“Anything and everything you could possibly want video-wise for this department, we make it, we do it,” Proszek said.

He makes videos for all 18 sports here at Charlotte, however working for an athletic department wasn’t always in the cards for Proszek.

“I’ve always loved sports, everything sports. It’s all I wanted to do when I was a kid. I wanted to play every sport, I wanted to be the best at every sport. I’m competitive, sports were my life. They’re everything for me. Then I realized, looking at my father who is 5-foot-6, I realized sports were probably not going to work out for me professionally.”

“So if I was going to stay in sports, which I wanted to do, I was going to have to find another way to do it. I grew up with a knack for writing and speaking. I was never afraid of public speaking, so I figured journalism. It made perfect sense to me,” Proszek said.

He continued down this path and went on to attend the University of Missouri.

“I had every intention of being your local, night side sports guy. I thought I was going to work my way up, start in a terrible, small town and work up to a bigger town, eventually get to the big city.”

Following his dream, Proszek became a producer, anchor, reporter for the local NBC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri at KOMU TV News 8.

“I just hated it, really didn’t want to do it anymore. I realized if I had to cover one more low-A high school football game in a town whose name you can’t pronounce or spell, that I was just going to lose it.”

An opportunity presented itself back on the campus of Mizzou to work for the athletic department. The first game Proszek worked, he was stationed with a camera on top of the press box during a soccer game. To add to the night, remnants of a hurricane were blowing through the area.

“It poured rain the entire game, blew wind on y face. It was miserable,” Proszek said. “I did it and I loved it. I had a lot of fun.”

After continuing to work with the department, he found this was the type of work he was interested in and worked at Mizzou until he was offered the job at Charlotte.

Joe can be found at every 49er athletic event with camera in hand. His favorite part of his job? The athletes.

“I have athletes from every different walk of life, every background. Some are quiet, some are loud, some are funny. I get different ones every year and they make it worth it,” Proszek said.

“These are some of the most talented athletes in the world at what they do. If you love sports like I do, if you can’t get excited to come to work every day to watch people who can do this sport at the highest levels, I don’t know what you’re doing.”

For his advice to anyone aspiring to have his job, he says to “Start practicing, start interning somewhere, get in the door anywhere.”

“This industry is all about what you can do. I know when I’m reviewing resumes, looking at anybody, I want to know what you’ve done and I want to see what you’ve done, I want to know what you can do.”

Mark Twain once said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” This saying resonates with Proszek as well.

“ You can never start too early. This job is ever changing, this is a competitive industry. It’s so highly competitive. That’s why I like it, I’m very competitive. I want to be the best. Whatever we did yesterday, is not going to be good enough for what we do tomorrow. Every day needs to be better than yesterday because everyone else’s video is going to get better. Everyone is going to do something better tomorrow than they did today.”

“If you want to get into this industry, be better tomorrow than you were today and today better be better than yesterday.”

Ready for a close up — just not his own was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Athletics are an integral part of the college atmosphere. While many are transfixed by the coaches and players, many don’t know the work that goes on behind the scenes to create the magic during the games. In this blog I aim to raise the curtain on various aspects of the Charlotte 49ers athletic department.

Over the next few weeks we will take a look at the different components that make up the athletic department on campus. From video coordinators, academic compliance, marketing and business there is a lot that goes into an athletic department.

Each week I’ll bring you a new interview that will show what goes into each job. I will also include a short video (about 10 seconds) that allow you to visualize what makes up various components of the job.

Before we start talking about other people, here are some quick facts about me:

I am a junior communication major with a concentration in mass media and a minor in journalism. I have been the sports editor for two years for the campus paper, The Niner Times.

Through my time with the paper, I have developed multiple relationships within the athletic department — these relationships will help give me an uncensored version of the athletic world.

If you want to know more about me, check out my Facebook or Twitter.

Talk to you next time!

Mock Tweet: Take a time out and see what my new blog is all about, just follow the link! https://medium.com/take-a-timeout #charlotte49ers #college

Welcome to my blog was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Lala: I chose to look at this blog because it’s a collaboration from college-aged women, just like me. While I didn’t find the topics super interesting, it still had areas I could learn from.

http://thelala.com/health-trap-weve-tricked-believing/

With this blog I like the use of block quotes, pulling an important sentence out of the blog and placing emphasis on it. However, I felt as though the blog could have used more visuals. It’s talking about adapting to a healthy mindset, so visuals could have easily improved the content.

http://thelala.com/birthday-suit-favorite-outfit/

There’s not much about this post that I found attractive. It has an appealing photograph, however that is the only appeal to it. There are no links, no quotes, lists, or anything else to aid the story. It was a very dry read.

Sweet Spot blog: This blog is about various happenings around the MLB and different scenarios that could happen. I chose this blog because it was sports-minded and the website it is located on is ESPN, which is the leader in sports news.

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/85041/best-team-ever-the-2018-astros-could-be-one-piece-away

Overall I enjoyed this piece. It broke down the various parts of the 2018 Astros team into digestible increments. With the post broken down like this it was more comprehensible. Also the writer linked any player’s name back to their personal pages and also linked stories into his piece which created a dynamic story. The writer also utilized a couple of charts to help prove his point. I’m a big numbers person so I really appreciated this component of the post. I would have just wanted to see maybe a few more charts, but that could only enhance this post even more.

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/85050/mets-bring-back-jay-bruce-to-break-baseballs-hot-stove-cold-snap

With this post I would have liked to see more graphics. The writer was breaking down a players new contract, so a visual of the breakdown would help make a more appealing story. However the use of links was very useful in this story as I was able to navigate to various people the writer was discussing as well as various performances.

Advice from a twenty something: This blog is just a blog full of advice from, once again, women around my age. I think it’s important to just see what other people my age are doing with their blogs and how they set them up.

http://advicefromatwentysomething.com/where-to-put-plants-small-spaces/

The main thing I loved from this blog was the use of pictures. For every example she gave, she had at least two pictures showing off what she was describing. I really enjoyed how succinct she was in this post, she really let her visuals speak for themselves.

http://advicefromatwentysomething.com/5-habits-for-20s/

This blog also did a nice job of breaking the information down and using heading. I also enjoyed the links in this article, every paragraph it seemed had a link to another article discussing the topic more in depth. I wish there were more visuals, either through text or photographs.

Blog Analysis was originally published in Take a Timeout on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.