(From left to right, Hayden Yau ’24, Leo Li ’25, and Andrew Lee ’26)
At Blair, every varsity sports team has a system called managing. Managing is when a group of two or three people chooses to help out in the team as a manager. The roles of these people include picking up equipment, preparing equipment for a game, helping the coach instruct, and giving advice to the athletes. In this article, we will go into detail about what being a manager is like for a varsity tennis team at Blair. In this Q&A with Hayden Yau ’24, Andrew Lee ’26, and Leo Li ’25, managers for girls varsity tennis, they expressed how their passion for tennis helps make managing the girls’ team a memorable experience for him and an impactful method of improving the girls’ strategy in dealing with new playing styles.
Question: What are your roles during daily practice and matches?
Andrew Lee: My role as a manager is to help the team out by picking up tennis balls, giving out water bottles, and preparing the courts by setting up scorecards, new tennis balls, and water for matches.
Question: What do you most enjoy about being a manager?
Hayden Yau: What I enjoy most about being a manager is that I get to play tennis which is a sport I love and [I] get to help play with the girls on the team. Not only does it give me more practice on the court, but it also introduces the players to the different playing styles of their teammates.
Question: What do you think are your most impactful contributions to the team?
Leo Li: My most impactful contribution would be setting up the court for matches and helping coach out with different playing styles, lineups, and advice to give to the players.
Question: Why do you think Blair Athletics has the managing system?
Hayden Yau: I think that Blair has the managing system so that the students are able to learn more about what it takes to be a team manager and see a sports team from the point of view of a coach and not someone competing for the team.
Coached by Mr. Clairmont, the girls’ varsity team is off to a great start this season with one win against Vernon Township High School. Mr. Clairmont and the management team (Hayden Yau, Andrew Lee, and Leo Li) are looking forward to improving the team and leading them to a successful season.
