By Matt Graber
For my job shadowing assignment, I shadowed Brian Hansen at the November 9 Women’s Volleyball game vs. Northeastern. Hansen is the Sport Information Director for the volleyball team. I had never attended a JMU volleyball game before so I was interested in seeing what his responsibilities were and how the stats would be kept.
The game started at 7:00, and I met Hansen at press row around 6:30. He and his staff had already set up at a long table with a bunch of computers, printers and headphones. I had the opportunity to talk to Hansen for a little while before the game started and I learned that he has been doing his job for 6 years. He said that as a sports fan he enjoys going to games for a living, but he admitted that there are drawbacks such as extensive travel and working a lot of nights and weekends.
As the game was starting I took a seat on press row next to the stat keeper. The only rule I had to follow was ‘no cheering on press row’, besides that my only responsibility was to observe while wearing one of the headsets. Hansen noted that would stand because he needed to be on his toes. Once the action began I could see exactly what he meant. Hansen began calling every dig, set, attack and kill, as well as the player’s numbers, while his assistant typed them into a computer. Due to the fast-paced nature of the game, I was amazed he could keep track of so many stats. When I asked him how he did it, he replied that after 6 years it had become second nature. After each set, Hansen’s assistant printed out pages and pages of stats to be distributed to both sides. After JMU’s three set victory, Hansen left to begin his post-game preparations.
The main thing I took away from the game is how complicated volleyball stats are and how involved Hansen’s job is. Hansen was so engrossed in the game that I didn’t really get the opportunity to ask many questions. I enjoyed the game but I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t have the opportunity to get more involved.
After watching him in action, I feel that I wouldn’t enjoy Hansen’s job very much. It seemed like he was so busy keeping stats that he couldn’t really enjoy the game; he always had something to do and he never even got to sit down. I love sports and I love watching and attending games but keeping stats seems too hectic and distracting. I would prefer a job in the sports industry where I would have the opportunity to just watch the games as a fan on game day. Overall my job shadowing was an eye-opening experience that gave me a closer look at the Sports PR industry and helped me realize what kind of job I would prefer.