Aug 13, 2013
Lobo Football Photo Gallery: The Managers
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
Chris Schieder makes a list and checks it twice.
New Mexico’s operation specialist for football then checks his list again and maybe tosses in a few extras because when you go on a two-week road trip with a road party of about 140, it’s best to adhere to that old adage:
“It’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
If the New Mexico football team needs anything for their fall camp in Ruidoso, their equipment manager probably has it.
“Last year was the first time I had ever gone away to a full fall camp and there was the stress of getting down here and not having something,” said Schieder from the Lobos’ fall camp in Ruidoso.
“I over-packed last year. We had a lot of extra stuff.”
It’s actually kind of hard to get too much extra stuff on the Lobo trucks that make the sojourn from Albuquerque to Ruidoso – and back. The Lobos’ 18-wheeler is packed with tons of Lobo gear: helmets, pads, shoes, tackling dummies, tackling sleds, chains, yardage markers, cleat cleaners – even the Lobos’ “mule,” a four-wheel transport vehicle which looks kind of like a hummer version of a golf cart.
And don’t forget the footballs!
Schieder and his managers also check all 105 player bags to make sure that nothing was left out. “When we get there, we don’t want any hiccups,” he said. which also means you don’t want a player down in Ruidoso without his shoes or helmet.
Of course, packing and bringing the gear to Ruidoso is not the end of the job for Schieder or his eight student managers.
“They are pretty much the first ones in and that last to leave,” said Schieder. “We meet at 7:20 for breakfast and the day probably ends around 9:30 p.m.”
The student managers have to hit the practice fields early because they set up the practice stations for the Lobos and the coaches. The managers then have to breakdown the fields when practice ends.
Then they have to do laundry.
“Doing laundry might be the toughest thing because it takes so long,” said Schieder. “The student managers are kind of like offensive linemen. They don’t get much glory, but they love what they do.
“We are like a big family. I can’t say enough about these guys. They make my job so much easier and all these guys are so proud of the program and so proud to be a part of the University of New Mexico.
“You can’t do this without student managers. They get paid and they are all students at UNM, but if you do this, you are doing it because of the love of the game and just wanting to be part of all this. It’s not a glamour job and the hours are long and hard. But they know that the coaches and the players appreciate them.”
Schieder understands the demands – and low pay – that comes with being a student manager for football or any sport. He was a student manager at the University of Cincinnati before going into the profession at various ports of football – East Tennessee State, Wofford College, East Carolina, Duke, Louisiana Monroe – before joining UNM prior to the 2012 season.
His trip to Ruidoso in 2012 was his first extended trip as an equipment manager.
“You plan it like an extended road trip,” he said. “But you have to bring some extras because you are making a two-week road trip. The key is having that list and making sure that everything is checked off. You have to be organized. Our 18-wheeler was packed.”