February 23, 2011
It might be a stretch to compare him to Michael Jordan, but he would not have gotten where he is if he had not been cut from the freshman basketball team.
"I'm actually really happy that I got cut from my freshman team because if I didn't I definitely wouldn't have ended up here," head manager for the Marist men's basketball team, Rob Hoey said.
Hoey, a junior, is in his third season as a team manager, and second as the team's head manager.
After serving as a manager for East Catholic High School in Manchester, Conn., all four years of high school, he realized it was something he wanted to continue in college.
"Being part of the high school basketball family made me want to see what the college family was like," said Hoey from his room, where the walls are adorned with Marist posters, pennants, and pictures.
However, Hoey's curiosity does not stop at the basketball court.
"He asks a lot of questions," said junior Pat Dillion, Hoey's housemate for the last two years. "He'll ask questions about sports, classes, style... He genuinely just wants to know things."
That is not to say Hoey does not have a lot of questions himself, though.
"He's on top of everything," said Outlaw, Director of Operations for the Marist men's basketball team. "In the job description Rob reports to me, but in a lot of ways I report to him. He's always on top of me, making sure everything that needs to be taken care of is taken care of."
Some of Hoey's duties as the head manager include setting up for practices, film exchange with other schools, taking food orders, and doing the team's laundry. In addition, Hoey has to arrive at practices 1 hour early and stay 45 minutes late, and show up for games two hours early and stay until two hours after the game is over.
"It's a lot of late night," said Hoey, a Communication major with a concentration in Sports Communication. "Especially during the season it can become easy to want to skip a class of not do an assignment. I miss enough classes for road trips though so I know that's not an option."
This work ethic is what separates Hoey not just from other managers, but from other students as well.
"Hoey is very diligent, organized, motivated, and focused," Outlaw said. "It's those traits that make him not just a great manager but also a great person."
The amount of responsibility and work Hoey and his staff of seven other managers have might seem daunting, but for Hoey, it is all about getting the dream job.
"I want to be President of Operations for an NBA team someday," Hoey said. "And being a manager is a great way to get into that. So much of it is having the right connections and meeting the right people, but in order for that to happen you have to pay your dues."
Through Hoey's job with the basketball team, he has worked at summer basketball camps for schools like St. John's and Villanova University, through the recommendation of Head Coach Chuck Martin.
"Getting that letter of recommendation, whether it's from Coach Martin or someone from one of the other camps, is basically the golden ticket," Hoey said.
Working in operations is a job that Outlaw knows Hoey can excel in.
"One of his strengths is understanding situations and figuring out the best way for things to be handled," Outlaw said. "He doesn't mind working hard at what he does to be the best at what he does."
According to Outlaw, one of Hoey's biggest assets is that he does not try to be someone else.
"Rob is himself all the time, which is more than you can say for a lot of people his age," Outlaw said. "He has a very good sense of himself, and he is always just focused on being a better Rob."
Dillon agrees, but he thinks there is still a lot to be uncovered.
"I think he should be more confident than he is," Dillon said. "He's had interviews with ESPN, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the New Jersey Nets for internships and he's made connections for himself everywhere. I still don't think he's come close to reaching his full potential."
Hoey thinks that getting an internship this summer is crucial, but he understands that he is gaining valuable experience in his time as a manager, too.
"Basketball has really turned into my internship," Hoey said. "Hopefully I'll end up with an internship with an NBA team this summer, but at the same time few internships can match what I do everyday for the basketball team."
While his diligence and organization is what makes him good at his job, it is not hard to spot Hoey at a basketball game because he is usually the best dressed on the Marist bench.
"Rob has a very good sense of style," Outlaw said. "If I get a compliment from Hoey on something I'm wearing then I know I'm doing a good job. He's very good at letting the coaching staff know if our style isn't up to par, though."
Hoey loves to look good on the basketball court, but everyday clothing is just as important.
"He really enjoys looking good," Dillon said. "He has about 30 pairs of shoes in his closet, and they're all still in their original boxes. He also has a big collection of suits, dress shirts, sweaters and polos to wear around campus."
Clothing is just one of the ways Hoey likes to express that everything has to be done the right way. Whether it is managing the equipment, a homework assignment, or getting dressed for the day, Hoey is going to make sure it is done perfectly.
"If you do something right the first time, you never have to go back and do it a second time," Hoey said. "But i you don't get it right, it's important to keep going back until it's the best that it can be."
Hoey prides himself on his hard work and dedication to his goals, but if there is one rule he lives by, it is something ingrained in him by his parents from an early age.
"The big thing is being nice and polite to everyone you meet," Hoey said. "whether or not they like you, you still know that you did everything you could."
No comments:
Post a Comment