There is an instant rush as the girls soccer team walks onto the field, and the crowd explodes. “There’s different clapping […] it’s a really big deal,” manager of the girls varsity soccer team Charlotte Goings said, smiling while talking about the experience. An unexpected excitement develops “when someone who normally doesn’t play gets minutes and does something important,” co-manager of the boys varsity soccer team Finn Cox said. As the teams advanced, the coaches made decisions about who they’d plan would play and who would support the team from the bench. While Cox had already worked as a manager, midfielder Caden Burns had begun the season playing on the team, but the coaches promoted him to co-manager with Cox as they entered state.

Walking through the Huss doors, down the hallway, into the lunch room, or when opening Instagram, the excitement around boys and girls varsity soccer sweeping State Tournament victories is infectious and apparent. Players and coaches are at the forefront of the victories, but lingering behind the bench are another essential member of the team: the managers.

Managers show up and support the team game after game. Managers wear many hats, from leader, to ball-runner, to number one supporter, water-bottle filler, but first and foremost, friend to the team. “I would help out by pumping balls and grabbing [jerseys],” co-manager of the team boys varsity soccer team freshman Kiki Sullivan said.

Last season was the first time that girls soccer advanced to state since 2004, and though they finished as runner-up, this season they returned in a tight come-back game in the state finals to claim their gold medals as first. Meanwhile, boys soccer succeeded to win first in state back-to-back, and for the sixth time in the history of the Boys Soccer program.

The players have emphasized how the energy from the benches improve their mentality on and playing on the field. For example, Goings has tried to facilitate “…a lot more cheering on the bench.”

The positive energy promoted on the bench carries on the general atmosphere of the team. “Throughout my years managing I have become good friends with the players … [which] translates during the school day,” Goings said. Similarly, Sullivan felt a special connection to the players. “Relationship-wise, I had one of my best friends on the team and my brother[… I basically felt like I was on the team, I just couldn’t play.”

Cox agrees that the team has become the friends that he hang outs with the most. Cox also said the most rewarding part of being a manager isn’t the work; it’s the people. “Just being there with all the players,” Cox said.

Goings appreciates the unique position a sports manager has. “It’s fun because its a different way to experience sports,” Goings said.

Mangers across the board agree that GVS and BVS shared an exciting buzz going into state. Cox found that the boys had a “cocky” expectance to return to state as they did the year before, yet a nervous eagerness to make it to the US Bank still prevailed. “I think going into the season there was this expectation that we were gonna go far because we won it all last year,” Cox explained.

Burns noted that the intensity was up and agreed that “[the players] were quite confident … we spent the season working really hard. We were going to do the best we could and we thought that could take us pretty far,” Burns said.

For GVS, the nail-biting sections game created a positive momentum that led the girls to state: “Since Minnehaha is a really big rival, [sections] was [a] really exciting game… [it was a] last minute goal to win, great energy there,” Goings said.

With bigger stakes, a bigger stage, and a bigger crowd, the soccer team managers agreed that their roles allowed them to experience the adrenaline from state in a unique way. “I’m just excited to be at the Bank with all the players. Even if I’m not a player, it’s exciting to be there,” Cox said.