Experience
February 28, 2017
The NPSL announces the 2017 schedule. I have the designation of releasing our team's press release. The release includes information about where and when we play as the team is in a new division for 2017. www.afccleveland.com/news100/
Wednesday, March 1.
This day marked the first day of real interaction with peers, ownership, and team members. Myself and intern Ken Jackson, that joined my team in February, created the task of sourcing blogs, websites, and print media that may be interested in running our stories and press releases. Through brainstorming and Wordpress/Social Media digging we started our list.
Thursday, March 2.
Our media contact list started to grow as we were receiving requests from blog entities that CEO Terry Lawriw had previously connected with.
Friday, March 3.
The media list was shared with Coordinator Jeff Pejsa and he helped to steer me in the direction of adding NPSL contacts.
Saturday, March 4
A google doc was created and a shared drive opened for myself and team to access each others projects and pending work. A collaborative messaging session took place to learn more about everyone's roles in the team were and what everyone specialized in outside of the team. I confirmed several media contacts as interested parties to run our articles and releases.
Friday, March 10
The team needs more sponsors. I sent out feelers to a few local contacts to see if there as interest. These included Huntington Bank, Around The Corner, and Cleveland Whiskey. Unfortunately the two conversations had did not end in a face-to-face being set.
Friday, March 24.
Jeff Pejsa is setting up a conference call to do website training. During the interaction the team is ready to announce on field personnel changes and we discuss approach to articles and player interaction.
Saturday, April 1
The team is bringing back eleven players so far from last years championship team. CEO/Mentor Terry Lawriw is concerned about how the fans will react and we need a nice rotation of articles to get the fans ready for the season. We decide we will release returning player articles by position clumping 2-3 players at a time; our final return article will be about fan favorites Vinny Bell and Tim Beck. I spend most of the day sending and receiving welcome emails to the returning team members. I found out one player in particular, Tim Beck, I coached when he was about 7 years old. The interactions overall were good as many players responded quickly. The main thing is them knowing who I am as well as retrieving player quotes for the articles.
Sunday, April 2
Ken and I start piecing together the articles with quotes and background. Neither of us have met the players or now too much about their backgrounds until today. We spend most of the time going through the FLICKR account figuring out which face goes to which name. I also watched the 2016 championship game to get more familiar with the team.
Monday, April 3
We find out the incumbent coach Carter Poe is leaving and we already have his replacement Mike Sesar. Jeff Pejsa knows them both well so Terry wants Jeff to write the exit/entry articles. We release our first player articles to Jeff and Terry for review. I have structured the article with the photo while Ken wrote the body. Jeff sets the article to release on the website after I correct his guided grammar corrections. www.afccleveland.com/news105/
Tuesday, April 4
We send more articles in the same template to be reviewed. Terry and Jeff want to make sure we are staying on message and have accurate information in our posts. www.afccleveland.com/news106/
Saturday, April 8
I have collected almost almost every email of the players sending quotes to questions like "Why is the team so good at home?" "What is it like to play for Cleveland being from here, or England, Ireland, etc." I have saved them onto the shared drive so we can access later for more content. The announcement of Vinny and Tim seems to be a big deal so we made sure we got this article out on the weekend. I figured the picture of Vinny scoring in the Championship game and running to Tim would fit well here. www.afccleveland.com/news107/
We ended up getting grief from the league for not crediting out photography correctly. Even though almost all photos are property of the team we needed to go back and add the credits for the photos from our previous articles. Luckily almost all of them are the same person.
I am briefed by Terry and Jeff about the USOC announcement coming. Terry is concerned we will draw a team far away and have to travel. It will be our first game wherever it happens but we cant play a team in our own league...almost all teams near us are in the NPSL. They ready me to receive a call from the USOC as the main contact to accept the media information regarding the announcement.
Sunday, April 9
Ken and I just chat via email regarding some more player articles and who else is added to the team. I designate Ken to take the information and run with it; I find the pictures for him to add to the articles.
Wednesday, April 12
The announcement is made that we play Des Moines Menace on Wednesday May 10. I have no idea if I'll be able to attend but Terry doesn't seem happy. The good news is that if the team wins the ext game will be held in Cincinnati. I research the Menace and send an article to get posted to the website and social media about the USOC. www.afccleveland.com/news109/
Saturday, April 15
I have too much class work to catch up on. Ken and I switch places as he sends out some player emails for quotes and I take the template to ready a post for next week.
Saturday, April 22
Terry announces the media team will stay put for the Des Moines trip. His son will live tweet the game for us on May 10 and we talk a gameplan on how to submit an article from the live tweet. I assume Des Moines will stream the game as their facility is very nice, but Terry says its no guarantee. Ken and I release one final return player article as David Jordan was a late addition. We also add our broadcaster to our media list so he receives the press releases about the team moving forward.
Sunday, April 23
Ken and I are learning there is a lot of work to maintain this pace. I speak with Baldwin-Wallace about their international business program and students that may be looking for internships. I set up a direct line with them for AFC Cleveland any time we may need help in the future regarding help for the season. Terry especially appreciates the streamline to bilingual students. I utilized my networking contacts I already had in place to set this up.
Monday, April 24
Terry and Jeff notify us we need to get the season preview together for review. They email Ken and I some key points they want mentioned. Ken and I agree to both read up on what MLS teams do for their previews.
Friday, April 28
Ken sends me a template he wants to use for the article. I approve as it is the same template the Columbus Crew used for their article just weeks prior. We are n the same page and both take pieces of the template to work on. I focus on the season games, events the teams is hosting this year, the USOC, and the overall summary.
Saturday, April 29
We submit the season preview for review.
Sunday, April 30
We have a website training call from 9a-11a regarding how to use the new website.
Wednesday, May 3
I listen to the conference call again and use the webex follow through to familiarize myself with the site. I connect with Ken regarding the NPSL conference call I missed about the leagues expectations. I take notes about the necessary verbage, hastags, etc. Ken is in finals week so I relieve him of any work for the next three days. I take team emails for new players joining the team and utilize their back ground information to set articles to release. We release a different player article every day at 9 a.m. until the team starts playing their first game. I have three articles set to go for May 4,5,6.
Thursday, May 4
Jeff contacts me to notify me the links are not working in my article and that the graphic images were not used. I take the time to go on the article and fix the issues. I also fix the pending article mistakes. Our season preview is set to release www.afccleveland.com/news111/
Friday, May 5
Terry invites me to represent the team on May 19 for a local community event with U.S. Youth Soccer. He asks me to write an article about it as well as contact them for any extra information. We game plan about what we will wear, talk about, and hand out.
Saturday, May 6
An article creating buzz for the team's community involvement was written. To assure I am accurate and stay on message I forwarded the draft to Terry and Jeff for review. The article highlights our involvement in the Cleveland Clinic dedication ceremony in Glenville as well as notification to contact the team for other community events.
Wednesday, May 10
I didn't have to travel to Des Moines, IA for the game; the charter could only fit so many. At game time, I received a text to watch the stream and score the game from home. The stream offered by Des Moines' website was incorrect so eventually U.S. Soccer tweeted out an alternative. All of a sudden I realized I have never scored a soccer game before but got the jist of it. Unfortunately I kept having the stream stall and was on a delay. Terry would be texting me what happened but I would be a few minutes behind. I did not score the game fully because there was no pre-set excel spread that was a free download. The NPSL site only has an uneditable template even though its the official way to score the game. I sent the stats to Terry and he filled in the blanks. The rush of scoring at the end of the game was very exciting! However, that flurry caught me off guard and I became frustrated in a time of such excitement. I will have to get used to it as I am the official stat keeper for the team now.
Saturday, May 13
I arrived on time at 4pm to meet most of my media team and have plenty of time to set-up. As I arrive at Independence High School I notice there is a full blown track meet going on at the field. I was able to meet Jeff in person for the first time as well as many others that are also serving the team in their first year. I notice that these guys are way more passionate about soccer than I am; I underestimated how big of fans these guys could be. Either way I am ready to own the situation. We had to wait until 530 to have access to the press box and then the video, graphics, and broadcasters were all asking for information. I volunteered to retrieve the lineups from the teams with their numbers and positions but the coaches had different ideas. I entered each locker room and took a picture of the blackboard and notebook paper the coaches wrote names on, in formation. I sent the pics to the press box so they could start working on it. Eventually we received an official copy from each team with numbers and faces but the broadcasters lost it. The visiting team Dayton decided to wear the wrong numbers on players which made the PA operator pretty frustrated as he couldn't announce the correct names. There is no way we can control that as the team was just formed within the last few weeks. Relaying the information for subs, goals, and penalties was tough to be timely but it worked out. I was trying to help with the graphics person, social media team member, and the recap intern to not only get them content but have us set up for the end of the game. I scored decently well this time but I am not sure all of the stats were correct. I took a picture of the stat sheet and emailed it into the NPSL for official scoring. The coaches and refs were to sign the stat sheet but we didn't accomplish that. I explained to the league weather played a role but we would be more efficient come Wednesday for the USOC.
Wednesday May 17, 2017
Our US Open Cup match is today against Cincinnati FC. We only had a few days to get the logistics down to get to the match. I got the short straw since I am of age to rent a vehicle; I am tasked with driving one of the vans down to Cincy. The 15 passenger van works for fitting about 13 players with their gear. Our first rendezvous point to pick up players had too many players getting on. A couple players follow me to Medina to meet up with Terry and the other van. The unorganization has me a little frustrated but we are going to make it work. Driving all the way to Cincinnati from Cleveland and back in one day is going to be tough; especially considering my other gameday responsibilities. We made it there early and hung out at Panera right outside Nippert Stadium, FC Cincinnati is branded everywhere, on the street signs, restaurant doors, and sidewalks. It is going to be amazing to be playing against a top notch organization. We park right by the locker rooms and get all the gear in a small locker room above the playing field, not a natural locker room. A few of our players need a trainer but we do not have one. We have to find our FC Cincinnati contact to get access to some resources. Our media team gets credentials and we head up to the press box. I walk around little bit and see there is premium seating on two floors of the stadium including a press box with captains chairs. This is by far the best press box I have had access to including the Cleveland Indians. All of our names are taped to our designated locations and we get a spot right in front of the TV. FC Cincinnati CFO welcomes us to the stadium and said she would be sure to put the Cavaliers game on the TVs for us when it's time; the public relations rep comes by and tells us to be sure to get some complimentary food and drink. As we get closer to game time I see there is representatives from U.S. Soccer, NPSL, USL, and major Cincinnati media outlets. Before the game I head down to the locker room and trade information with our media contact. We agree to give player names and numbers but neither of us agree to share formation; this is a serious match for both sides. FC Cincinnati has been playing subpar for their standards and the tension is obvious they need a win. Last years USOC game here had 10,000 in attendance so we know we are getting exposure just by facing these guys. I head back to the press box and settle in; this is the coolest moment of my sports career thus far. It ends up being a hard fought match that we should have won in regulation but the referee missed the ball cross the goal line. This is the same sideline referee that never worked a substitution grid before our previous match. We got unlucky as their best player, whom has a recognition of playing dirty, went offsides and scored in the 115' in extra time. This is what I don't like about my experience, its extremely unfair for the underdog sometimes. I kept stats for our time the whole game and because FC Cincinnti has the resources, they are posting stats in real time that are beneficial to their point of view. This was confirmed on the ride home as I spoke with the players. They agreed with my stats of them having less shots and us more. We arrived home about 3AM and the coffee was flowing. I needed to present in my day job in a few hours. It's going to be a long Thursday.
Friday, May 19
Today is all about exposure. We were invited by AmericaScores Cleveland to coach up the kids during a dedication ceremony. The goal isn't going to be followers or clicked links today its going to be media contacts and eyeballs on the Royal Blues of our players. I drive into Franklin Delano Roosevelt Elementary located at 800 Linn. Dr. in the Glenville Community about 8:30am. I am greeted by Terry and goal keeper coach Niulis while we wait for players Marijo Musa, Vinny Bell, and Jason Flowers. We walk into the school and go through the metal detectors to be greeted by the principal and the AmericaScores contacts. Meeting with and understanding more about what AmericaScores does is amazing, they group schools together to not only play soccer matches against each other but couple creative writing into it; I am very intrigued to see how we can partner with them more in the future. After some coffee and a muffin we head out to the field. The UAE ambassador to the U.S., Youssef, is dedicating his tenth soccer field to economically challenged areas in the states. The location was selected with help from Cleveland Clinic who is hosting the event to boost their own public relations. During the opening of the ceremony Terry and I are taking pictures of the players so we can have our own article and add to our community page. Once the ceremony starts we are there with photographers from the Plain Dealer, school district, and local blogs. I am able to share contact information with the primary Public Relations Manager for Cleveland Clinic so we can have an open line for further partnerships and sharing of philanthropic events. During the ceremony the team is noticed by many in attendance including the local photographers and cameramen. The local school district has a reporter and public channel access so I get Terry and the players an interview with them. After the day is set we sign soccer balls for the kids and leave everybody happy. This is the type of thing that really makes me want to help the team. Making more relationships of significance in the community is quite rewarding.
Saturday May 20, 2017
The trip to Syracuse is a long one. I arrive at the bus at about 11a.m. and am greeted by my peer Ken. We spend the better part of the trip chatting about our thoughts on the league, team, and how we can fit into the whole equation. We scheme about potential articles and shoot ideas off each other for topics, relative content, and how we run the media sites in the most professionally tiered manner possible. We are on our way to play a new team that has never had a game until today; I guess they wanted the champions to visit to draw a decent crowd. When we arrive we are busy because it is just us two on this away game as opposed to the usual seven of us. We scurry to the press box to settle in as we upload our social media, stats, and article mediums. Syracuse personnel are just meeting each other for the first time and we already feel like veterans having done this a few times; their raw views are comical. I upload a couple pictures to Instagram and make a couple tweets to let our fans know we have arrived and are ready to roll. As the game progresses I notice the Syracuse personnel are not very good at noticing the plays, calling subs, or keeping the stats however, they were very engaging with the fans. I took away some good ideas for us during gameday because Syracuse ran their engagement almost like its a hockey game. They had a chant all planned out with their supporters that was annoying yet satisfying to the fans. We trounced them on the field but the fans seemed to enjoy the game. I shared our statistics with the league after the match and it seemed I was correct in thinking I had a grasp on it. My statistical records matched. After the game Ken ran to do some interviews and they turned out really well; I prepped him with a few things to say and we did a great job in Terry's eyes. We also had a new player added to the roster, I sat down with him to get his background, number preference, and contact information for our website. This turned out to be a really good road trip because I got to interact with the players more, get extra experience, and get things ready for the week in terms of a game plan for media outreach and sponsorship. I wish all games were on the road and I wasn't driving.
Thursday, May 25
On Wednesday I had asked one of my co-workers at Huntington if her boss likes soccer since he owns a bar. Apparently I asked the right person, INN Between Bar & Grill apparently is a soccer haven for Cleveland. I reached out to Manuel to talk a little business but he said I should come check the place out. I lucked out, The Cleveland Indians game was a rainout so I had some free time and a place to go watch the Cavs playoff game. I went to the bar and Manuel and I spoke about possibilities with the Bar and AFC Cleveland, Manuel cleared the air regarding race relations as he is Serbian and we have a couple Croation players, he doesnt want politics at all in his place of business. While he was tending to a patron I googled the bar and it was named as one of the best places to watch EPL in Cleveland. I asked him about that and he then called an older gentlemen over wearing a Cleveland Crunch track jacket. I am not sure his name to this day but he apparently is a legend in Cleveland. It doesn't matter as I have confirmed I am in the right place. We chat some more and I feel out the atmosphere of the place, Terry and I will be coming here soon to talk more business, the bar is only six miles from the stadium.
Friday, May 26
Terry is in a scramble to get the team to Dayton, we rent vans and I drive half of the team down there. I soon learn from the players that vans are not a usual occurrence as they voice their concerns about having a charter bus. I promised them I would talk to Terry about the travel situation further. We arrive in Dayton after a 3 hour drive and the players are serious about winning. They want six point this weekend as they are not used to being in less than first place in the division. Once again it's just a two man operation for us between Ken and myself. We are greeted by Dayton's team President as we enter the press box. He was very curious about our time in Cincinnati as Cincy FC poached many of their staff from a year ago. He was very welcoming and even bought our one fan supporter a beer to help him enjoy the game. I soon learn that Dayton revitalized their roster with players that have been playing together all their lives; they are pretty confident they will beat us. During the game there was some pretty horrendous officiating which has become a theme. It's pretty difficult not to let the improper execution of the officials show through our media as the team ends up losing in convincing fashion. Dayton's media manager came up to me and congratulated us on the website, articles, and job we are doing so far. That's pretty cool that we are getting noticed. The main thing I learned today is we are doing a lot more with much smaller resources than the other teams. Our facilities, investors and paid staff are all much less than our opponents. This actually doesn't bother me at all, it proves the potential and opportunity exists for us to be part of something great.
Friday/Saturday June 2/3
The Hank Steinbrecher Cup is finally here. We are hosting a national tournament of champions so USASA and NPSL team members are here and paying attention. This is the first time I am doing full stats for two teams I have no interest in. Chicago FC United and Michigan Bucks are two very good teams but I have no idea of their roster, positions, or colors until just about game time. As the game goes on I realize I am mixing stats so I have to backtrack and assure everything is accurate; all of the tournament stats are coming from my pencil. I made it through the game without much difficulty but I am much more comfortable with our second game of the day because it's our team vs. a team just made Sports Illustrated for their amateur success. Statting the game was a cinch and I feel like I can do it anytime/anywhere by now. We won the game and are heading to the Championship game on Saturday; this is where the team really relies on me to get some tickets sold.
After the game I take Ken's recap of the game and send out MailChimp emails to our media contacts of 96 plus to see who might be interested. MailChimp allows me to see of the emails sent, who opens them, and who additionally will click on the email hotlink to our webpage. It wasn't entirely successful but I noticed several email addresses I have yet to have specific connection with. I also send out an email to our fans, about 1300 of them, to draw interest for the game. Saturday morning I spend hours searching through old contacts, emails, and messages to find those to get the word out about our game. The previous week one of the league contacts reached out to me to share contact info of media personnel. Most of the information I already have been using but the diect phone number of the local sports editors helps. The best I can do to get more information out there is reach out to the local radio stations. All of the sports media has Cavaliers blinders on because of their finals run but these couple days are without any NBA action. After searching for a while, I reached out to local radio personalities via email and their editors to try and get some sort of action. I am unsure if any actually did anything but I do know it's a doorway to future opportunity for upcoming big games.
I head to the stadium for our match. All of the guys are very lax for the first game because we are not doing a whole lot. I still had to pay close attention as I stat the game. The guys on the field also seemed quite disinterested but it is very cool seeing these top notch programs handle adversity fighting for third place. The coaches and players that are used to success are screaming at each other, strategizing, and near fighting each other in an effort to make things right. The league officials seem to like it and enjoy the game. Stats for me seemed easier except for the one time Christos FC, whom seem drunk all the time, were wearing different numbers just to mess with every one. The Hank Steinbrecher Cup Championship was next and everyone was in tune with each other regarding streaming, broadcasting, graphics, and social media. We did well by the league as they re-posted and re-tweeted much of or content to the rest of their own followers. The tournament ended up being a success as we finished in second place to a strong Michigan Bucks team that has proven themselves to be one of the best amatuer teams in America. The next steps are to keep pushing our content to the local media news to get more exposure and increase revenue via ticket sales.
June 9, 2017
The home game against FC Buffalo presents a key opportunity for the team and our staff to shine after hosting the Steinbrecher Cup. After sending out a MailChimp, which I have designed a new template, to remind followers and media of the matchup, I head to the stadium to get there in plenty of time to ready the staff. Upon arrival one of our youth groups are coming in at the same time to enjoy some soccer. Earlier in the week I met the President of a major contributor of talent to the Cleveland soccer community so I wanted to share contact information of the Croatia Juniors entity and our youth group coordinator to have more of an open line of communication. Once that is set, I help set up the A frames for the advertisements so that the ads are viewable on our live stream of the game. Pre-game I chat with the P.A. announcer/DJ about enhancements to the show. We are lacking pre-game, half time, and post game events so I am curious to hear the ideas of someone who has done it a long time. The game operations are cake now as Ken and I are always available and ready to administer any shortfalls in staff or responsibilities. I handled the stats for the game and submitted them to the league. Terry did give me feedback regarding how I have been recording shots so I will take that into consideration but the NPSL does not have an official description in their handbook. After the game we verify we will meet on the east side for Sunday's game but travel has not been confirmed; I tried a few coach services for availability and cost but they were less than accommodating.
June 11, 2017
Terry had called me the night before and asked if I could drive to the game again, however, I wouldn't be driving a van but my own vehicle. I obliged that I would meet him on the east side in Mentor and we would figure car pool from there. I arrived a little late to the rendezvous because I was asked to pick up a player at the last minute and bring him there. As we arrive there is one staff person, Ken, and about 8 players sitting in their own cars in the parking lot. I immediately knew something odd is going on. I approach a few of the players that I know speak out for the team in every occurrence and they are immediately asking me where the bus is. I call Terry and he states he is still on the south side of town picking up a coach and he doesn't want to meet. This strange situation has me having to scramble to figure something out. I will drive a couple players, Ken will drive a few, and I will have to recruit someone to drive the rest. I call Terry back to see where Coach is and he says he does not know but he was supposed to be at our rendezvous point in Mentor. At that point Coach shows up with one of his assistants and old playing buddy's with extended cab SUVs. Luckily one of the coaches owns a couple company cars we could use. I am still driving but the coaches are as well. The entire drive to Rochester is rough as players and coaches are upset about the travel arrangements and I am the one that has to communicate between the players, coaches, and ownership. At this point I am with the players int hat we need better travel arrangements, I only have so much time to commit to the logistics but I know I will have to be involved moving forward. On the other hand, Terry has been upset he has been purchasing vans and busses but players are driving themselves anyway. Someone will have to make both sides realize the exception cant be the rule. We meet up with Terry at Angola where he likes to stop any time we travel East, however, coach needs his players fed so they want to meet at Panera about 20 minutes away. I agree to make a quick stop and take my players to meet the others at Panera. Because of the riff raff we are running a bit behind and all of the cars are travelling at their own pace. My car arrives at the field a couple minutes early but we realize it doesn't look right. We had been given bad information on the address. We bolt to the correct field and my players are about 40 minutes late than the others. With everything going on we are late to the press box and Rochester is less than accommodating, they have a whole bunch of teenagers running music, scoreboard, and social media to the tune of mass chaos. I take my laptop and sit outside the box in the stands. For the first time it's up to me to run all of social media, stats, and pictures. I live tweet the game, it was fun but it obviously was a distraction from stats, I may have missed one or two things. The issue was that Rochester run their atmosphere like we are indoors, they have cheerleaders and music that plays non-stop top 40 hits. The whole experience was awful as we got creamed on the field as well; the team needed this one to keep a stranglehold on playoff eligibility. I am super happy we get to go home after the game, the positive is that I got to know a couple of the players a whole lot better than I ever thought I would by going through the process together. Luckily, Terry agreed to having a meeting with players and coaches in the coming week to figure things out.
June 16, 2017
I had been working on a few sponsorship opportunities for some time and finally closed a deal for our licensed popcorn supplier, Main Street Fudge & Popcorn. Their VP of sales came by and dropped off a check for the team and Terry is ecstatic. I'm pretty happy to be generating income for the team to relieve Terry of some of the pre-season woes in attendance. It should be fun on-boarding a new entity for partnership and should make the next one even easier.
June 17, 2017
It's an easy day as it is a non-league regulated friendly. Many of the starting lineup players are taking the week off. However, as the day starts the realization that most of the operations will follow on me sets in. I help with editing the PA announcer's script as well as finding the opposing players names, numbers, and positions so we can operate with integrity in the press box. Keeping all of the names straight during the game as well as keeping stats for both teams became frustrating at times. There is a lot of scoring and statistically relevant actions because the opponent, Challenger FC, is a youth team with many players looking to prove themselves in front of a nice crowd. After the game the result is issued to the website and noting needs submitted to the league so an easy cleanup kind of day. The only hiccup is our new sponsor is absent.
June 23, 2017
Communication between myself, Terry, and others starts early and often today. Today is the first day Vernon of Main Street Fudge & Popcorn is bringing new product for us to sell. I coordinate with Terry to expect our sponsor before I arrive to the stadium with product. Also, there is communication between myself and our social media/graphics personnel to get a welcome tweet and post with a proper graphic of Main Street Fudge & Popcorn's image. Once I arrive at the stadium at about 5:15pm I am greeted by Terry as he is learning about what to do with all of our sponsor's product. We will be invoiced for the product and will keep the sales of the product separate so we can inventory the amount of product as well as what sells during the game. There are samples as well as bags to sell for $5, it seems excessive but this gourmet popcorn is actually very good. After the sponsor is set I scurry to the coaches locker room to set for team individual pictures. The team has new kits this year because of the championship season earning a star to add to our jerseys. Between players arriving late, not wanting their picture taken, and the coaches wanting the players on the field it does prove as a challenge to get everyone a head shot; even the photographer was difficult as he was upset with the background as well as the lighting. Once the players make it to the field I am greeted by the visitor Pittsburgh's CEO, media, and coach about what they need and their players possible starters. This team is by far the most like-able group of guys as they are really excited to host us in a couple days. In the box I get to see how the Pittsburgh media person does the stats, twitter, photos, and website information all by himself. He has been in the business for a while and covered entities like the Steelers and Pirates so it was cool to see him work as he sat right next to me. The stats are easy to keep as it is not a very eventful match with us scoring in the final minute of the match. Although the pre-game situation was busy, I felt today was the my most involved day with the team; it felt really good handing Terry a check for our new sponsor's first installment as well as seeing our team welcome that new sponsor.
July 1, 2017
The team is hosting a 3v3 tournament in the morning and it has a national affiliation with other clubs that host the same. The tournament helps the team operate all day and sell concessions and merchandise to earn revenue. My arrival pre-game is alleviated as the sponsors are already there handing out samples, Terry is in a good mood from the day of soccer, and our players are feeling comfortable. The Syracuse President seeks me out as he was a welcoming host in Syracuse earlier in the year. I help his media, coaches, and the referee get roster information from our coaching staff. I also help clear a spot for their President to sit in the box next to myself so he can be comfortable on a hot day. I coordinate getting the visiting team's roster information for our stream and PA guys. During the match things got a little confusing due to a player scrum just after half time. It was an embarrassing moment for the referee and some of the players as many caution cards and a send off happened over the course of five minutes. The opposing President is worried about how things will be perceived by the league but is happy we have a stream that he can watch again to verify what happened with the altercation. The statistical information has the sheet very full and I am happy that I record stats a couple more detailed ways than what the league requests so I can relay the information easier to those on our staff. Terry took off early on this day as we are getting ready to make our playoff push over the next two weeks; likely plenty of off the pitch work to be done this week.
July 7, 2017
Today marks the last home game and the last chance to impress the fans, supporters, media, and sponsors. After taking off the day job a little early, arriving at the stadium so Terry and I could chat about the day really helped. The salesman for Main Street Fudge & Popcorn showed up in time to greet fans entering as well as pass out samples of the product, I think this solidified them coming back next year as we still need the final installment for the partnership payment. Expecting a strong crowd on the day, I helped Terry get products together for a raffle for fan appreciation. The products included game worn apparel, signed merchandise, and player photos. As all hands were on deck for the day it was actually pretty simple of a day. It's really nice that we could operate with a full team where everyone knows their responsibilities and operate with integrity. The only operational hiccup is my laptop had to run the stream so I did statistics by hand. It goes to show Terry, Jeff, and I can really lead a team to success. Terry is taking off at halftime because he is extra confident we win the match, readying for payoffs, and he has U2 tickets for the evening. There is no worries as after getting the PA the script, statting the game as usual, and helping with the post-game wrap up, tearing down the field is easy. The most uninviting part of the day is knowing it might be the last time we are together, our graphics and social media personnel both stated they are unlikely to return next season with the possibility our beat writer may take off as well. I am obviously spending the remaining moments doing my best to plant the seed to retain them on way or another considering how much the other teams look up to our operation as the gold standard. Hopefully I get to work with these guys again.
July 9, 2017
The trip to Erie is the easiest road trip of the season. Most of the players drove themselves because it is so close. Ken offered to drive me there so we carpooled and chatted about the season ending article that will articulate all of the playoff scenarios. Upon arrival the referees are taking the match more seriously than in the past and it is nice to see as we need more integrity there as a league. Everyone has their game face on from the get go and it's a good thing as Erie asked us to operate the game. We brought our cameras, broadcasters, and announcer with us to provide a full scale operation to their field. The entire league is looking at this game because Erie is one of the best new teams and AFC Cleveland is the defending league champions while it is possible one of the teams doe snot make the playoffs. Setting up the players will call requests and situating the press box are the pre-game duties for myself and we have the pleasure of one of the opposing team's players sit in with use because of his suspension. The game is at Gannon University in Erie and it is a multi-use field so the press box position is a little odd as it hangs over the field. Some of the near side plays were difficult to see and it made it potentially frightening from a statistics standpoint we may miss something. We have the pressure of situating things for us, the opposing team, and league on the happenings of the match so it's quite important we get everything right. Although the result of the match did not end in our favor 0-1, from a staffing standpoint we worked very well as a team away from home. This is the first time we had so many of the staff at an away game and it went particularly well. After the game I helped our players pack up, the coach sign the stat paperwork, and get Terry's thoughts on the upcoming season ending match that will determine the team's postseason fate. The hour ride home was easy and welcomed in comparison to road trips in the past.
July 14, 2017
The final game of the season is a must win. I am not attending and neither is several of our staff. Myself and others of AFC Cleveland are operating the CONCACAF match including the U.S. team match. I am in touch with my attending staff, Ken Jackson, repeatedly getting updates. I think the fact I was able to help him grow to take my spot in such an important match and do it all himself is more rewarding than everything I learned during this mentorship. Although the team lost, our staff killed it in getting the players there and back, covering the game via Twitter and getting the stats results to the league. Terry and I set a debrief meeting for the next week as the Americans match tomorrow will be our consolation for not making the playoffs and experiencing that as a group this year.
July 25, 2017
Terry and I have an hour long phone call about the opportunities AFC Cleveland has this off-season. The mentorship of 2017 has been great but it's not going to end here. I think we make a great team and I am committed to seeing AFC Cleveland succeed now and into the future. I can't wait to have further experiences with the organization. Go Royals!