Sometimes, athletes abandon their passion for a sport when entering college. Some athletes, however, utilize that passion in a different way, like becoming the manager of a team —. aAnd that is just what Elizabethtown College women’s basketball manager Emilie Brinser did.
Brinser, a senior at Elizabethtown College, didn’t know that being a collegiate manager was a possibility. She saw an advertisement in the Etown Jay’s app during her first-freshman year for a women’s basketball team manager and jumped at the opportunity.
“I showed up at Coach [Veronica] Nolt’s door and asked to apply,” said Brinser said. “I played basketball in high school and had also done some managing so the love was still there and it just carried over.”
As manager, Brinser sees a plethora of daily tasks to accomplish. She is at practice every day, helping Coach Nolt with assignments. She keeps practice statistics, checks for school records for athletes, and helps with laundry. For game day, Brinser travels with the team and covers the game clock, equipment distribution, and taking charge of the scorebook.
“The role I’ve made it [team manager] has encompassed a lot of things,” said Brinser said.
Coach Nolt would agrees that Brinser takes on countless roles for the women’s basketball team.
“As the student director of basketball operations, she is fully immersed in the daily rhythm of our season and is responsible for the seamless execution of a variety of tasks,” said Nolt said. “Brinz [a nickname for Brinser] makes certain our statistics, practice information, equipment, uniforms, locker room, etc. are all top notch.”
Through her four years as team manager, Brinser has been able to travel with the team to two NCAA tournaments, including one year that saw the Lady Jays move on to the second round of the tournament.
“I get to celebrate the big team moments which is super cool,” Brinser said.
To celebrate her achievements within the team, Coach Nolt created a special memento for Brinser to honor her on senior day.
“On senior day, we honored her in a special way,” Nolt said. “She was presented with a framed jersey with the #1 on it. As a coach, I have never had a player wear the number one because I don’t like the message that it may send. But Brinz was given the number one because she truly is the most selfless person to ever serve in her role and always puts the team and staff before herself.”
Looking to the future, Brinser hopes to continue her work in college athletics. “The goal is director of basketball operations, but I may find something along the way that I love more but definitely staying in college athletics,” said Brinser said. “If the opportunity arose, I would stay at Etown. I love the team, I love the coaching staff, I love everything about Etown.”
While Coach Nolt will not have Brinser as her manager next year, she cherishes the time she had with her these last four years.
“I am grateful beyond words for all she has done for me and for the team,” Nolt said.. “She will always be a part of our ECWBB family!”
