Let's back up for a second though, shall we? So, I've been pretty low key about my internship and what exactly it entailed. However, it is now over and I am prepared to share some of the details. In January, I started a full time internship with the Detroit Tigers for their Lakeland Operations. What this means is I worked for the Tigers during their Spring Training and then for their Advanced A team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers. I specifically worked in group sales, but got to do a little bit of everything. January through March were a blast! We got to see the excitement, and craziness, that is Spring Training. Starting in April, we began the minor league season where I feel a lot of the learning took place. Now that we're kind of up to speed, here's how working in baseball was kind of like being a camp counselor.
At the particular camp I worked at we all arrived and spent about a week together before campers arrived. We called it orientation week, or O week. After that, we had 8 weeks of campers ahead of us. This internship was 8 months long and January was kind of like O week. We spent most of it preparing for the day that coaches and players would arrive from Detroit. After that, some of them would remain here until the season was over.
At camp, each Monday a new group of campers arrived. This was their only week with us, and everything was new and exciting. For us, sometimes things were not new and losing excitement. If it was your third week on middle school in a row, you might not be as hyped on things. However, it was important to be excited for the kids because this was their one shot to enjoy it. No matter how many times you had sang a song or painted nails or eaten hot dogs; you had to remember this was the one chance you got to experience it with this group of kids. Now let's think about Spring Training. At Joker Marchant Stadium, we hosted 18 home Spring Training games. For the most part, people were coming to one game out of those 18 and that was it. They had planned their whole vacation around this, maybe even their whole year. They lived for this. Because of this, we run every Spring game pretty similarly-same promotions each game, same order, and same routines. I don't think the excitement of Spring Training never truly went away. However, it was easy for some of the days to become really repetitive. It was important to remember that for the fans, we had to treat every day like Opening Day. This was their only day at the park. It always reminded me of a new week at camp.
My particular position dealt a lot with kids, and I loved it! I was in charge of birthday parties and a program we have called Baseball Buddies. Baseball Buddies allows little league baseball or softball leagues to stand on the field with our team during the National Anthem. Not only did I organize them, I was also responsible for them on game days. Thank God for all of my experience with kids of all ages. Sometimes I would need to walk the kids around the stadium or line them up or just simply have fun with them. Thankfully, I remembered all those silly games I'd play with my campers while we were waiting for something to start or while we were walking from one place to the next. Not to mention I knew how to just talk to the kids! Once you graduate college, it can sometimes be hard to talk to children (the youths, if you will). Baseball camps and clinics were always super fun for me because I loved being with the kids because it was easy for me.
A huge lesson I learned at camp was how to be intentional and selfless, and that has been a huge part of working in this industry. Being intentional has been a huge part of our relationship with the fans here. We are so intentional. From visiting fans in suites to making birthday party memorable, we really work hard to make sure fans have the best experience possible. We are so sure to keep them updated on things, as well as included in things. We take the time to talk to season ticket holders. We announce birthdays over the PA. Not sure where your seat is? We walk you to it. It reminds me of when I was a lifeguard at camp. Our instructor always pushed being intentional and how important it was. I was reminded of that over and over again at the stadium. There's also a million ways (or close) I could think of how selfless we are. We eat when we can, we go out of our way to help a fan, and we don't stop until the game is over (even if that means pulling tarp twice and not finishing until midnight). There were plenty of times I didn't think I could climb the stairs again but my birthday party needed ketchup. Honestly, these are things that should be expected but sadly are not found at every ballpark. We work so hard to make each game more than just the baseball happening on the field, but an entertaining night to everyone in attendance. We work unusual and long hours, but it's so rewarding in the end. That's how it was at camp. Each week we had new campers, and we always treated it like it was week one.
Never would I ever have thought that working at a summer camp would have set me up for a minor league baseball gig. Sure, camp was work experience and a great leadership position. In hindsight, it was so much more than that. When you stop working at camp, it's so typical to say you've gotta get back to the "real world" and get a "real job" (even though what we do there is very much real and very much a job). I used to say that all of the time because I was a business major and no where close to thinking working with kids all summer would help me work towards my goals. It was just a rewarding and fun way to spend my summers. Now, I see how completely wrong I was by thinking that. So, I guess what my main point was here is this: I never thought being a camp counselor could help me achieve my dreams of working in sports. Truth is that I think camp taught me the (second) most amount of skills for working in sports (school being the first). So here's to two really awesome life changing events that turned out to work hand in hand with each other! Have any questions about working my internship in baseball? Were you ever a camp counselor? Do you have any funny stories about baseball or summer camp? Let me hear them!
Until next time,
Brandt
