Belmont Manager - Sharing The Journey

Corey Schmidt's post:

I have always loved the game of basketball, and I played it my entire childhood. When I was in high school I played basketball all four years, but it wasn't until my senior year that I actually got substantial playing time at the varsity level. So I realized that pursuing playing basketball beyond high school was unrealistic. At some point in my high school career I decided that I would like to pursue teaching at the high school level and coaching along with that. I just loved the idea of helping people and I had a knack for teaching others and getting them to understand, and top that with being able to work with the game I loved, it sounded great.

So when looking for colleges I was looking for a good basketball program and especially coach because I knew I wanted to be working with the basketball team in some facet. I also wanted to stay close to home, so from there it was an easy decision to go to Belmont. The summer before my junior year I contacted Casey Alexander who was the associate head coach at the time, and talked to him about my interest. I stayed in contact with him throughout the year, and I also came in to interview with Coach Byrd. Eventually I was contacted by Coach Alexander who let me know I would be able to work with the team.

Rick Byrd Belmont Head Coach

My freshman year at Belmont was the first year they every had more than one manager, and they upgraded quite a bit to four including me. Some of our responsibilities were laundry, setting up for practice, keeping the clock and assisting in drills during practice, filming practices, traveling with the team and taking care of the same things on the road, and any other miscellaneous things the coaches asked us to do. Some of the best advice I got as a manager was from a fellow manager at Belmont, T.J. Saint. He told me that no matter what I was doing to try and be the best at it; if that meant folding towels than I should try to do the best job I could at making them neat and the area where we put them tidy. So our motto for that whole year was "best managerial staff in the country" because everything we did we tried to be the best at it, and I mean everything. And that is what made me what I consider to be a successful manager. So that would be my advice to any other managers out there to do, try to be the best at whatever you are doing no matter how menial the task may seem.

Selection Sunday Party

Belmont went to the NCAA Tournament this past year and we were a #13 seed playing against the University of Wisconsin in Tucson, AZ. Everything about it made it an awesome experience. Reggie Miller broadcasted our game so he was at our shoot around which was really cool. The floor being that NCAA Tournament logo was cool. And that NCAA patch that we put on every players jersey was cool. We were losing the entire game so the actual game was a little bit of a letdown but the atmosphere was what made it such a fun experience.

But even with all that I would say my favorite game at Belmont was when we played the University of Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse. I did not travel with the team my freshman year but I drove myself to some of the away games and got to still sit with the team on the bench. This was one of those times when I could not pass up a great opportunity to see all the tradition that goes into Kansas basketball. So my dad and I drove 11 hours from Nashville, TN to Lawrence, KS all be it in a snow storm for over half of the trip. When we got there I look around the arena and just soaked in all the history. But other than all that we made that the most memorable experience the environment for the game. I always knew Kansas had some of the best fans in the country and they showed it that game. It felt like what I would imagine a National Championship game to feel like with all the energy the fans showed, even for a non-conference mid-major game. It was an amazing experience and I will never forget that for the rest of my life.

My ultimate goal now has changed slightly from when I came into college. My experience at Belmont has been so great that I now want to be a college coach. To achieve this goal I have started taking on a greater role with the coaching staff here at Belmont helping out wherever I can. I also have worked multiple basketball camps over the past two summers. Besides from working Belmont's camp both years, I have worked Butler's camp twice, Vanderbilt camp once, and Tennessee camp once. It is a great way to make connections that might help out down the road.

I am going into my third year at Belmont, and it has been a great experience so far. I am not always doing fun and exciting things but it is what I make of it so I try to keep a positive attitude and do it to the best of my ability because I know it will pay off in the long run. I hope to be a college coach one day and the experience and knowledge I have gained from being a manager are irreplaceable. To be a manager at Belmont has been the best decision of my life so far.