In Part 1, I rambled on about why I became a Washington
Spirit volunteer. I’m glad you’ve all
decided to come back for more because this, like my experience, will just keep
getting better.
The volunteering process wasn’t long or difficult. After I filled out the form on the Spirit
website to be a volunteer, I was contacted shortly afterwards by Nadine, the
Volunteer Coordinator. I did a brief
phone interview and I was invited to Volunteer Orientation at the Maryland
SoccerPlex. And so began the adventure…
The thing about volunteering for something is that most
people do it because they’re passionate about whatever cause or organization
they’re signing up with. Volunteering
for a new women’s soccer team in a new league is no different. I didn’t know what to expect when I walked
through those SoccerPlex doors. Granted,
it didn’t help that I showed up humorously early because I didn’t want to risk
being late. DC area traffic is always a
cause for concern, even early on a Saturday morning… or so my brain told
me. I was mildly concerned that I’d be
the oldest one there, surrounded by screaming young fans hoping to catch a
glimpse of a player. But the volunteers
there were professional and just as diverse as the fan base. The people that showed up were just as
passionate about women’s soccer in DC as I was, if not more so. There were people wearing old Washington
Freedom gear and there were people there that barely remember the WUSA. But regardless of any of our differences, it
was clear that we were all there to help support the team. And after a trivia-based ice breaker where
our group in the front row won Starbucks gift cards, it was also readily
apparent that we were all fans of the game as well.
The very first game I worked, I was assigned to be a ticket
scanner on a very, very cold day. It was
the pre-season and we were standing at the gates, holding the scanners with our
numb hands greeting fans from everywhere with a smile and a shiver. Despite how cold it was, seeing the
scoreboard display SPIRIT with the fans in the stands on a gorgeous field at
the SoccerPlex made it all worth it.
The next game, I got a different assignment and was
partnered up with Ian, another volunteer.
We were assigned to be the team statisticians. This time, instead of being outside, we got
to sit in the press box and watch the game from there, pen and paper in hand
documenting shots, corner kicks, assists, goals, and substitutions (even
NCAA-rules substitutions for a game). Thankfully,
once the season began, we used a league-provided stat tracking program and a
laptop, which made it much easier. And
it would be there that I would spend the rest of the season, sitting next to our
public address announcer Ken, Ian, and the media.
I knew I would be going to games all season, but I never
would have anticipated being in the press box watching the games. The stats that we logged went directly to the
league and as the season went on, were live-tweeted. It was and is still is one of the coolest
gigs I’ve ever landed. After games, I
went down to the stands and to the hill to help the ushers and it was then that
I was named the, “Angry Spirit Volunteer” by some of the fans. I do have to put forth this disclaimer: I was never angry. I just wanted to make sure all of our fans
were safe and if I told you to stop leaning/standing on the railing, stop
pushing into the rope line, or gave you the infamous, “You’re already in the
front, you can’t get any MORE front,” line, it was out of concern and love.
As a volunteer that was mostly in the press box, I never
really interacted with the players much beyond the team sponsored meet and
greets and short random snips of conversation.
But I did escort one player’s mother around before a game because
another player’s mother jokingly told her that I was the “mean one” (Backstory:
I didn’t recognize who she was and didn’t let her in the one game I was a
ticket scanner because she didn’t have a ticket.) It was moments like these and being there for
the team’s first home goal, home shutout, and home win (after enduring a
ridiculous rain/lightning delay) that really added the cherry on top to an
already incredible experience. From the
moment we put on the bright yellow volunteer shirt (later, the red Spirit polo)
and made the drive to the SoccerPlex, putting our credentials around our necks,
signing in and getting issued our radios and meal tickets to the end of the
game, tearing down curtains, and moving benches, we were all there as the team went
through highs and lows. And even though
we weren’t on the field wearing the Washington Spirit uniform, we went through
it together as a Spirit Family and I’m excited to do it all over again in 2014.
As I look back on an old tweeted picture of that first orientation
meeting and the people in that front row that won those gift cards… I see that
those random strangers that I first met a year ago have become a part of the
Spirit Family, the Spirit Crew, and most importantly, my friends.
To be continued, in Part 3.
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